---
name: uloop-status
description: "Check whether the Unity Editor for this project can take a uloop command now, without side effects; also covers `uloop cancel` for stopping the command it is running. Use before sending commands when Unity may be starting, compiling, busy, or closed, and when BUSY does not clear or a command does not finish."
---

# uloop status

Report whether the Unity Editor for this project can take a uloop command now, without changing anything.

## Usage

```bash
uloop status
uloop status --project-path <path>
```

## States

The states are checked in this order, and the first one that matches is reported.

| State | Meaning | Exit code |
|-------|---------|-----------|
| `Busy` | Unity answered, and a uloop command is running and holds the command slot | 1 |
| `Starting` | Unity answered but has not recorded its play and compile state yet | 1 |
| `MainThreadBlocked` | Unity answered, but its main thread has not run for 5 seconds or more, even when asked again after being woken | 1 |
| `Compiling` | Unity answered and is compiling scripts | 1 |
| `ImportingAssets` | Unity answered and is importing assets | 1 |
| `Ready` | Unity answered and none of the above applies | 0 |
| `NotResponding` | Connected to Unity, but it did not answer within 5 seconds | 1 |
| `ServerUnavailable` | The uloop server refused or dropped the connection, and Unity is running for this project | 1 |
| `NotRunning` | The uloop server refused or dropped the connection, and no Unity Editor is running for this project | 1 |
| `Unreachable` | The uloop server refused or dropped the connection, and the Unity process list could not be read | 1 |

Some failures are errors, not states: the operating system refusing the connection (as a sandbox does), an error answered by Unity (such as a package too old to support `uloop status`), an unreadable answer, or an unknown option. These print an error to stderr, nothing to stdout, and exit 1.

## Output

Returns JSON with:

- `State`: one of the states above
- `Ready`: `true` only for `Ready`
- `Message`: what the state means for this Editor
- `NextActions`: what to do next; an empty array for `Ready`
- `RunningToolName`, `RunningToolElapsedSeconds`, `RunningToolPhase` (`Executing` or `WaitingForMainThread`): the running command; `Busy` only
- `IsPlaying`, `IsPaused`, `IsCompiling`, `IsUpdating`: Unity's play and compile state; only when Unity answered and has recorded that state
- `SecondsSinceLastMainThreadTick`: seconds since Unity's main thread last ran; only when Unity answered
- `UnityProcessRunning`: whether Unity is running for this project; `ServerUnavailable` and `NotRunning` only
- `ConnectionError`: the connection error as reported; `NotResponding`, `ServerUnavailable`, `NotRunning`, and `Unreachable` only

Play Mode does not change the state: a paused Play Mode session is `Ready`, with `IsPlaying` and `IsPaused` set.

## Notes

- Exits 0 only for Ready.
- When `Busy` does not clear and the running command shows no sign of finishing, stop it with `uloop cancel`; its outcomes, what it cannot cancel, and what to do after it are in [references/cancel.md](references/cancel.md).
- It never focuses the window, launches Unity, or takes the command slot, so it is safe to poll.
- A sandboxed shell that cannot open the Unix socket gets an error, not NotRunning; run it outside the sandbox.
- uloop cannot detect Safe Mode directly; ServerUnavailable that does not clear is the signal.
- Before reporting MainThreadBlocked it wakes the Editor's main loop and asks again about a second later, so an Editor that is only idle in the background reads as Ready.
- A command sent while the main thread is blocked waits for it. Once the stall reaches 30 seconds before any of the command's code has run, Unity stops the wait and the command fails with `MAIN_THREAD_BLOCKED` (nothing ran, so running it again after the block clears is safe). A command whose own code blocks the main thread is not stopped; the CLI prints a stall notice on stderr every 60 seconds instead and gives up after 5 minutes with `UNITY_EDITOR_UNRESPONSIVE`. `execute-dynamic-code` is the exception: its own snippet may block the main thread for as long as it runs.