The Unity Coding Cheat Sheet

Use the current one

By leaving out a GameObject, you are refering to the GameObject the component is attached to

transform.Translate(0, 10, 0);

Use a public variable

You can store a reference to a GameObject in a variable and use that.

You can drag GameObjects onto the variable in the editor.

public GameObject player;

void Update() {
  player.
    transform.
    Rotate(0, 20, 0);
}

Find objects by tag

You can use tags to organize your objects. Use GameObject.FindWithTag to find a GameObject with a particular tag, or GameObject.FindGameObjectsWithTag to find all GameObjects with a particular tag.

GameObject.FindWithTag("Player").
        SendMessage("Jump");

Find objects by name

(NOT RECOMMENDED) Use GameObject.Find to search the scene for a GameObject with a particular name.

GameObject.Find("Asteroid").
        transform.
        Translate(0, 10, 0);

NOTE: Unity adds "(Clone)" at the end of Instantiated GameObject names.

Use the current one

By leaving out a GameObject and a Component, you are referring to the very component you are scripting. You can access its methods and fields directly.

public float speed;

void Update() {
  Move();
}

void Move() {
  transform.
    Translate(0, speed, 0);
}

Use GetComponent

You can access any component on an object using the GetComponent method. This is how you will access your own components.

public GameObject submarine;
		
submarine.
    GetComponent<Periscope>().
    Raise();

// Component.GetComponent works too
submarine.
    GetComponent<Periscope>().
    GetComponent<NuclearReactor>().
    TurnOff();
	

Use a public variable

You can store a reference to a Component in a variable and use that.

You can drag GameObjects onto the variable in the editor. Unity will extract the Component for you.

public Transform playerPosition;

void Update() {
  transform.
    LookAt(playerPosition);
}

Get a built-in one

You can access one of Unity's built in components using a shorthand syntax. All available components using this syntax are listed under 'Variables' on the Component reference page. NOTE: In Unity 5.0 or later, the only built-in shortcut is now transform (lowercase T). (Why?)

gameObject.
        rigidbody.
        AddForce(0, 20, 0);

Read Field

Get "public" data in another component.

public GameObject player;
		
Debug.Log(player.transform.
          position.x);

Write Field

Edit "public" data stored in a component.

NOTE: For Vectors, you CANNOT change just one part (like "x") alone. See example below.

public GameObject player;
		
player.transform.
    position = new Vector3(20,1,5);

// this will NOT work in C#
player.transform.
    position.x = 20;
		  
// this is annoying but it works
player.transform.
    position += new Vector3(20,0,0);

Call Method

You can call "public" methods exposed by the component.

public GameObject player;
		
player.transform.
          Translate(20, 30, 10);

SendMessage

(NOT RECOMMENDED) You can trigger a similarly named method on all components attached to a GameObject using SendMessage. This allows you to skip specifying a component.

GameObject.Find("Player").
          SendMessage("Dance");