Class GroupAttribute

Assigns an organizational group path to a type so that editor tooling and reflection-based systems can categorize and present it within a logical hierarchy.

Inheritance
object
Attribute
GroupAttribute
Inherited Members
Namespace: Scylla.Core.Attributes
Assembly: ScyllaCore.dll
Syntax
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Class|AttributeTargets.Struct|AttributeTargets.Interface, Inherited = false)]
public sealed class GroupAttribute : Attribute
Remarks

When Scylla editor tools enumerate types for display - such as component pickers, type-selection dropdowns, or documentation browsers - they can use the GroupAttribute to organize results into a tree or categorized list rather than a flat alphabetical sequence. This makes large collections of types much easier to navigate.

The group path is specified as a slash-delimited string using "/" as the hierarchy separator, following the same convention used by Unity menus and asset paths. Each segment of the path represents one level of nesting, with no limit on depth. For example, "AI/Enemies/Ranged" places the type three levels deep under the AI root, inside the Enemies subcategory.

Within a group, types can be given an explicit display order via the Order property. Items are sorted by ascending Order value, so lower numbers appear first. Negative values are valid and can be used to pin important types above the default zero-ordered items. When two types share the same Order value, tooling typically falls back to alphabetical ordering by display name.

This attribute is purely organizational metadata and has no effect on runtime behavior. It is non-inherited (Inherited = false), so subclasses must declare their own GroupAttribute if they belong to a group.

GroupAttribute is often combined with DisplayNameAttribute to provide both a friendly label and an organizational category, and optionally with HideInFilterWindowAttribute to suppress a type from appearing even within its assigned group.

Basic grouping - placing two types in the same category:

[Group("AI/Enemies")]
public class ZombieAI : MonoBehaviour { }

[Group("AI/Enemies")]
public class SkeletonAI : MonoBehaviour { }

Controlling display order within a group:

[Group("AI/Allies", Order = 10)]
public class CompanionAI : MonoBehaviour { }

[Group("AI/Allies", Order = -1)]
public class EscortTargetAI : MonoBehaviour { }
/* EscortTargetAI appears before CompanionAI because -1 < 10. */

Deep hierarchical path - arbitrary nesting depth is supported:

[Group("Combat/Weapons/Ranged/Projectile")]
public class ArrowController : MonoBehaviour { }

Reading the attribute at runtime via reflection:

var attr = typeof(ZombieAI).GetCustomAttribute<GroupAttribute>();
if (attr != null)
    Debug.Log($"{attr.Path} (order {attr.Order})"); // "AI/Enemies (order 0)"

Constructors

GroupAttribute(string)

Initializes a new GroupAttribute with the required group path.

Declaration
public GroupAttribute(string path)
Parameters
Type Name Description
string path

The slash-delimited organizational path that identifies the group this type belongs to, for example "AI/Enemies" or "Combat/Weapons/Ranged". Must be a non-null, non-empty string. Use "/" as the hierarchy separator; leading and trailing slashes are not recommended as individual tools may interpret them differently.
Exceptions
Type Condition
ArgumentNullException

Thrown when path is null or an empty string. An empty group path conveys no organizational information and likely indicates a mistake, so the constructor rejects it eagerly.

Properties

Order

Gets or sets the display order of this type within its group, relative to other types assigned to the same group path.

Declaration
public int Order { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
int

An integer sort key. Lower values are displayed first; higher values are displayed last. The default is 0. Negative values are valid and can be used to elevate important types above the default-ordered items. When two types share the same Order value, tooling typically sorts them alphabetically by display name as a secondary criterion.
Remarks

Set this property via the attribute initializer syntax:

[Group("AI/Allies", Order = 10)]

The Order value is local to the group identified by Path - it does not affect ordering between different top-level group categories.

Path

Gets the slash-delimited group path that defines where this type sits in the organizational hierarchy.

Declaration
public string Path { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
string

A non-null, non-empty string using "/" as the hierarchy separator, for example "AI/Enemies". This value is immutable after the attribute is constructed. Tooling should split on '/' to obtain individual path segments when building a tree view.
Remarks

Segments may contain spaces and most printable characters. The framework does not impose further restrictions on segment content beyond requiring the overall string to be non-empty.

Extension Methods

See Also