Set up AI assistance

Tick UI ships with files designed for AI coding assistants: a briefing that loads in one read, an agent definition for Claude Code, a flat API index, and a cookbook of copy-pasteable recipes. This page walks through wiring those into your project so an assistant becomes productive on day one.

What the package ships

After you install Tick UI through the Unity Package Manager, the AI-ready files live alongside the manual at Library/PackageCache/com.interludesoftware.tick@<version>/. The four most useful for an assistant:

File	Purpose
CLAUDE.md	The "if you only read one file" briefing. Core patterns, common mistakes, conventions, and pointers to the rest.
Documentation~/AI/agents/tick-ui.md	A Claude Code agent definition specialised for this package. Drop into your project's .claude/agents/ to delegate Tick UI work to a focused subagent.
Documentation~/API_INDEX.md	A flat single-file reference of every public method and type, grouped by topic. Better LLM ingestion than browsing the manual page-by-page.
Cookbook (in the manual)	Around two dozen short recipes for patterns that come up often (modal confirmation, scrollable log, hover animation, drop shadow, and so on).

The manual under Documentation~/manual/ is the canonical reference for everything else. The Gallery sample under Samples~/Gallery/ carries around fifty worked examples; the agent is told to pattern-match against it before writing from scratch.

The ~ on Documentation~ and Samples~ excludes those folders from Unity's asset import. The files still exist on disk and are readable by an AI assistant.

To set up Claude Code

1. Locate the package on disk. After Unity imports the package, it caches under Library/PackageCache/com.interludesoftware.tick@<version>/ in your project. The agent definition is at Documentation~/AI/agents/tick-ui.md.
2. Copy the agent definition to your project's .claude/agents/:

   cp Library/PackageCache/com.interludesoftware.tick@*/Documentation~/AI/agents/tick-ui.md \
      .claude/agents/tick-ui.md
   

3. Add a starter snippet to your project's CLAUDE.md so the orchestrator knows the package is in use:

   ## UI
   
   This project uses Tick UI for in-game UI. The package
   ships a CLAUDE.md, an API index, and a cookbook under
   `Library/PackageCache/com.interludesoftware.tick@<version>/`.
   Read the package CLAUDE.md before writing UI code.
   

4. Restart your Claude Code session. The agent list is read at startup; the new agent appears once Claude Code reloads.
5. Claude Code routes Tick UI work to the agent when its description matches the task. You can also delegate explicitly with @tick-ui in a prompt.

To set up another AI assistant

Cursor, Windsurf, ChatGPT plug-ins, and other coding assistants each have their own configuration. The general approach is the same.

1. Make the package files reachable. Most assistants index the files in your repository; the package files in Library/PackageCache/ are reachable from there.
2. Brief the assistant on the package. Either reference the package CLAUDE.md directly in a system prompt, or paste its contents into the assistant's project-level instructions. It is dense by design; one read covers core patterns.
3. Point at the cookbook for copy-pasteable patterns. The recipes in the Cookbook translate well to one-shot prompts ("write a scrollable log with auto-scroll to bottom").
4. Use the API index for surface-area lookups. Documentation~/API_INDEX.md is a flat reference; it answers "what method does X" without requiring the assistant to search the manual.

Brief any assistant

• The package CLAUDE.md is the first read. It carries the core patterns, common mistakes, and a "where to look for X" table.
• The cookbook is for "I want a snippet" prompts. Recipes are short and self-contained.
• The manual is for prose explanations. When the assistant needs to understand why something works the way it does, the topic-first sections under Documentation~/manual/ cover the model.
• The API index is for one-shot surface lookups. Use it when the assistant needs to know what methods exist without browsing the manual.
• Gallery samples are for pattern matching. The package ships around fifty examples under Samples~/Gallery/; the agent is told to consult them before writing from scratch.

What the agent enforces

The shipped Claude Code agent definition is told to:

• Read the package CLAUDE.md first.
• Follow the canonical patterns (frame lifecycle, push / draw / pop, Auto(), invisible widgets, schemas-need-bare-Pop, colour helpers, PushID for repeated widgets, panel guards, the ScrollView helper, PushAnimate, layout vs. screen spaces).
• Refuse or rewrite anti-patterns: storing widget state in the application, wrapping schemas in Auto(), paired Top(N) / Top(-N) for fixed-plus-rest layouts, raw Color constructors, unguarded BeginPanel, double BeginFrame.
• Pattern-match against Gallery samples before writing new code.

If you brief a different assistant manually, mirror those rules.

Pitfalls

The agent doesn't get picked up. : Claude Code reads .claude/agents/ at session start. Restart the session after adding the file. If the file is in the wrong place (for example .claude/agent/ singular), Claude Code silently ignores it.

The assistant can't find the package files. : Some configurations index only the Assets/ tree by default. Add Library/PackageCache/com.interludesoftware.tick* to the assistant's allowlist, or copy the relevant files (CLAUDE.md, cookbook.md, API_INDEX.md) into a project-local Docs/ folder so they sit alongside your code.

The assistant writes code that violates the patterns. : Re-share the package CLAUDE.md in the prompt; many assistants drop earlier system context after long sessions. For Claude Code, confirm the agent loaded by asking the assistant to list its available subagents.

Additional resources

• Build your first screen: a guided walk-through that pairs well with an AI-assisted workflow.
• Cookbook: short recipes the assistant can pattern-match against.
• Migrating: if you're moving a project from another UI library, the assistant can help translate patterns one screen at a time.