uPools

A lightweight and flexible object pooling system for Unity

Overview

uPools is a library that provides object pooling functionality for Unity. It includes various classes for object pooling, such as a generic ObjectPool and a specialized GameObjectPool for GameObjects. You can also create your custom object pools by inheriting from the ObjectPoolBase class. Additionally, it offers the convenience of object pooling using SharedGameObjectPool.

Furthermore, it provides support for asynchronous object pooling using UniTask and object pooling with Addressables.

Features

Numerous classes for object pooling in Unity
Generic object pooling with ObjectPool
Pooling for GameObjects with GameObjectPool
SharedGameObjectPool that can replace Instantiate and Destroy
Callback handling with IPoolCallbackReceiver
Asynchronous object pooling with UniTask
Object pooling with Addressables using AddressableGameObjectPool

Setup

Requirements

Unity 2019.4 or newer

Installation

Open the Package Manager from Window > Package Manager.
Click the "+" button, then select "Add package from git URL."
Enter the following URL:

https://github.com/AnnulusGames/uPools.git?path=/Assets/uPools

Alternatively, open the Packages/manifest.json file and add the following to the dependencies block:

{
    "dependencies": {
        "com.annulusgames.u-pools" : "https://github.com/AnnulusGames/uPools.git?path=/Assets/uPools"
    }
}

Quick Start

You can implement object pooling by simply replacing Instantiate() with SharedGameObjectPool.Rent() and Destroy() with SharedGameObjectPool.Return().

using UnityEngine;
using uPools;

public class Example : MonoBehaviour
{
    [SerializeField] GameObject prefab;

    void Start()
    {
        // Pre-warm objects in advance (additional objects are created automatically)
        SharedGameObjectPool.Prewarm(prefab, 10);

        // Retrieve objects from the pool
        var instance = SharedGameObjectPool.Rent(prefab);

        // Return the object to the pool after use
        SharedGameObjectPool.Return(instance);
    }
}

This is the simplest way to implement object pooling. If you need more fine-grained control, you can explore the following methods.

Pooling Regular Classes

To pool regular classes, you can create an object pool using ObjectPool<T>.

class PooledObject { }

var pool = new ObjectPool<PooledObject>(
    createFunc: () => new PooledObject(), // provide object creation using a Func<T>
    onRent: instance => { }, // actions on Rent (optional)
    onReturn: instance => { }, // actions on Return  (optional)
    onDestroy: instance => { } // actions when the pool is destroyed (optional)
)

// Pre-warm the pool with objects
pool.Prewarm(10);

// Use Rent() to retrieve an object, and Return() to return it to the pool
var instance = pool.Rent();
pool.Return(instance);

// Get the number of objects in the pool
var count = pool.Count;

// Clear all objects in the pool
pool.Clear();

// Dispose of the pool with Dispose()
pool.Dispose();

Warning Note that object pools are not thread-safe.

Pooling GameObjects

For pooling GameObjects, a dedicated GameObjectPool is provided.

// GameObject prefab
GameObject original;

var pool = new GameObjectPool(original);

// Use Rent() to retrieve an object
var instance1 = pool.Rent();

// You can specify position, rotation, and parent Transform when retrieving
Transform parent;
var instance2 = pool.Rent(new Vector3(1f, 2f, 3f), Quaternion.identity, parent);

// Use Return() to return the object
pool.Return(instance1);
pool.Return(instance2);

// Dispose() to destroy the pool and all GameObjects
pool.Dispose();

GameObject instances are activated when retrieved from the pool and deactivated when returned.

Creating Custom Object Pools

You can create your custom object pool by inheriting from ObjectPoolBase<T>.

class PooledObject { }

public sealed class CustomObjectPool : ObjectPoolBase<PooledObject>
{
    protected override PooledObject CreateInstance()
    {
        return new PooledObject();
    }

    protected override void OnDestroy(PooledObject instance)
    {
        // Add actions when the object is destroyed in Clear or Dispose
    }

    protected override void OnRent(PooledObject instance)
    {
        // Add actions when rented
    }

    protected override void OnReturn(PooledObject instance)
    {
        // Add actions when returned
    }
}

Additionally, an interface IObjectPool<T> is provided, which allows you to implement your own object pool by implementing it.

Callbacks

You can insert custom actions on Rent and Return by implementing IPoolCallbackReceiver.

public class CallbackExample : MonoBehaviour, IPoolCallbackReceiver
{
    public void OnRent()
    {
        Debug.Log("Rented");
    }

    public void OnReturn()
    {
        Debug.Log("Returned");
    }
}

In the case of GameObjectPool or SharedGameObjectPool, this component will be retrieved from the object and its child objects, and the callbacks will be invoked accordingly. For other object pools like ObjectPool<T> or pools that inherit from ObjectPoolBase<T>, the callbacks are invoked for objects that implement IPoolCallbackReceiver.

If you create your own object pool by implementing IObjectPool<T, you will need to handle the IPoolCallbackReceiver calls yourself. Implement the necessary logic to invoke these callbacks as needed.

UniTask

uPools supports asynchronous object pooling using UniTask. When you add UniTask to your project, you can use AsyncObjectPool<T>, AsyncObjectPoolBase<T>, and IAsyncObjectPool<T> for asynchronous object pooling. These pools provide asynchronous versions of Rent, Prewarm, and CreateInstance while behaving like regular ObjectPool<T> in other aspects.

Addressables

When using Addressables to generate GameObjects, you need to manage the resources of the loaded Prefabs. uPools offers AddressableGameObjectPool for this purpose, which can be used similarly to GameObjectPool.

// Address of the Prefab
var key = "Address";
var pool = new AddressableGameObjectPool(key);

// Usage is the same as GameObjectPool
var instance1 = pool.Rent();
var instance2 = pool.Rent(new Vector3(1f, 2f, 3f), Quaternion.identity);

pool.Return(instance1);
pool.Return(instance2);

pool.Dispose();

You can also use the asynchronous version AsyncAddressableGameObjectPool by introducing UniTask.

License

MIT License