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Tool Decision Guide

Quick reference: "Which tool should I use?" — based on Firecrawl MCP's decision matrix pattern.

Decision Table

I want to... Use this tool Why Example
See everything in my scene get_hierarchy Shows all objects, their structure, and active/inactive status await get_hierarchy()
Find specific objects search_scene Searches by name pattern, tag, or type await search_scene(query="Enemy*")
Check object properties get_component Read a single component's properties await get_component("Player", "Transform")
Check many objects at once inspect Bulk read multiple objects/components in 1 call await inspect(paths="Player,Enemy1", components="Health")
Change a property set_property Update one value on a component await set_property("Player", "Transform", "position", "0,1,0")
Create an object create_object Spawn a new GameObject await create_object(name="Cube")
Delete an object delete_object Remove an object from the scene await delete_object("Cube")
Add/remove components manage_component Add or remove a component type await manage_component("Player", "Rigidbody", "add")
Wire up events wire_event Connect a button click or event to a method await wire_event("StartButton", "Button", "onClick", "GameManager", "StartGame")
Run automated tests run_playtest Execute a test script in play mode await run_playtest(script="ASSERT Player/Health > 0")
Take a screenshot screenshot Capture the scene from one or more cameras await screenshot(camera="multi_view")
Debug compilation issues get_compile_errors Check if there are C# compilation errors await get_compile_errors()
Read console output get_console See all Debug.Log messages and errors await get_console()
Run diagnostics doctor Check MCP health, connections, and common issues await doctor()
Bake lighting or occlusion bake Bake lights (async) or precalculated occlusion culling await bake(target="lighting", action="start")
Build a player build Create a standalone player for Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, or WebGL await build(action="build", target="StandaloneOSX", dev=True)
Manage UPM packages package List, search, add, or remove UPM packages await package(action="add", name="com.unity.cinemachine")
Do multiple things at once batch Chain 2+ operations in a single call await batch("create_object name=A\ncreate_object name=B")
Give a vague instruction do Natural language → automatic tool selection await do("create a red cube at the origin")

When to Use batch

Use batch whenever you need 2+ operations:

# Good: 1 batch call for 4 operations
await batch("""
create_object name=Player
create_object name=Enemy
set_property Player Transform position 0,1,0
manage_component Player Rigidbody add
""")

# Avoid: 4 separate calls
await create_object(name="Player")
await create_object(name="Enemy")
await set_property(...)
await manage_component(...)

When to Use inspect

Use inspect when reading from 3+ objects or 3+ components:

# Good: 1 inspect call for all reads
await inspect(paths="Player,Enemy1,Enemy2", components="Health,Damage")

# Avoid: 6 get_component calls
await get_component("Player", "Health")
await get_component("Player", "Damage")
# ... etc

When to Use do

Use do for natural language tasks — it picks the best tools automatically:

# Good: Let 'do' figure out the tools
await do("create a red cube 2 meters in front of the player")

# vs: manual tool selection (longer)
await create_object(name="Cube")
await set_property("Cube", "Renderer", "material.color", "1,0,0,1")
await set_property("Cube", "Transform", "position", "2,0,0")

Verification Checklist

After any mutation, verify:

Mutation Verify with
set_property get_component — value matches
create_object get_hierarchy — object appears
delete_object get_hierarchy — object gone
manage_component add get_component — component exists
wire_event get_component — event connected
batch (3+ ops) verify last mutation in chain

Quick Flow

  1. See the scene? → get_hierarchy
  2. Find something? → search_scene + get_component
  3. Change something? → set_property or manage_component + verify with get_component
  4. Create/delete? → create_object/delete_object + verify with get_hierarchy
  5. Multiple ops? → use batch
  6. Confused? → use do (natural language)
  7. Tests pass? → run_playtest
  8. Something broken? → get_console + get_compile_errors + doctor