Dependency analyzer

Purpose

This guide explains how to use the Dependency Analyzer for static analysis. You will learn to find unused event channels, detect unassigned fields, and understand refactoring impact.

Opening the window

Navigate to Window > Reactive SO > Dependency Analyzer.

Dependency Analyzer

Tabs

The Dependency Analyzer has four tabs.

Tab Description
Event Channels Analyze event channel usage and unassigned fields
Actions Analyze action usage and unassigned fields
Variables Analyze variable usage and unassigned fields
Runtime Sets Analyze runtime set usage and unassigned fields

All tabs provide the same functionality for their respective asset types.

Use cases

Detecting unassigned fields

Problem: You added a PlayerController but forgot to assign the event channel. The game crashes at runtime with NullReferenceException.

Steps:

  1. Open Dependency Analyzer
  2. Click Scan Project
  3. Check the Summary line for unassigned fields
  4. Review the Unassigned Event Channel Fields section
  5. Click the arrow to jump to each location

Example:

Summary: 20 Event Channels, 1 unused, 3 unassigned fields

Unassigned Event Channel Fields:
  MainScene.unity > Player.PlayerController.onPlayerDeath
  EnemyPrefab.prefab > Enemy.EnemyAI.spawnEvent
  UICanvas.prefab > HealthBar.onHealthChanged

Finding unused event channels

Problem: Your project has 50 event channels and you do not know which are unused.

Steps:

  1. Open Dependency Analyzer
  2. Click Scan Project
  3. Enable Show Unused Only
  4. Review the list

You can safely delete event channels with zero usages.

Checking refactoring impact

Problem: Before deleting OnPlayerDeath, you need to know where it is used.

Steps:

  1. Open Dependency Analyzer
  2. Click Scan Project
  3. Search for “OnPlayerDeath”
  4. Expand the event channel to see all usages
  5. Click the arrow to jump to each location

Example:

OnPlayerDeath (VoidEventChannelSO) - 5 usage(s)
  MainScene.unity
    Path: Assets/Scenes/MainScene.unity
    GameObject: Player
    Component: PlayerController
    Field: onPlayerDeath
  BossController.prefab
  GameOverUI.prefab

Documenting usage

Problem: Team members ask “Where is this event channel used?” repeatedly.

Steps:

  1. Open Dependency Analyzer
  2. Click Scan Project
  3. Click Export > Export to Markdown
  4. Save the report
  5. Share with team or commit to version control

Window features

Summary line 

Summary: 15 Event Channels, 2 unused, 3 unassigned fields
Stat Description
Event Channels Total count in project
unused Channels with no references
unassigned fields Fields declared but not assigned

Tree view

Event channels display in a tree structure:

OnPlayerDeath (VoidEventChannelSO) - 3 usage(s)
  MainScene.unity
    Path: Assets/Scenes/MainScene.unity
    GameObject: Player
    Component: PlayerController
    Field: onPlayerDeath
  BossController.prefab
  GameOverUI.prefab

Click the arrow to jump to assets.

Unassigned fields section 

Unassigned Event Channel Fields:

  MainScene.unity > Player.PlayerController.onPlayerDeath
  EnemyPrefab.prefab > Enemy.EnemyAI.spawnEvent

Click the arrow to jump and fix.

Search and filter

Use the search bar to filter:

  • By name: OnPlayerDeath
  • By type: Void, Int, Float
  • Partial matches: Player matches OnPlayerDeath, OnPlayerJumped

Show Unused Only

Enable to display only event channels with zero references. Use this to identify deletable assets.

Exporting results

Click Export and select a format:

Format Use Case
Markdown Human-readable documentation
JSON Programmatic analysis
CSV Spreadsheet analysis

Markdown example 

# Event Channels Dependency Report

Generated: 2025-12-27 10:30:00

## Summary

- Total Event Channels: 15
- Used Event Channels: 13
- Unused Event Channels: 2

### OnPlayerSpawn (VoidEventChannelSO)
**Path:** Assets/EventChannels/OnPlayerSpawn.asset
**Usages:** 3

1. **Assets/Scenes/MainScene.unity**
   - GameObject: SpawnManager
   - Component: SpawnManager
   - Field: spawnEventChannel

JSON example 

{
  "GeneratedAt": "2025-12-27T10:30:00Z",
  "Summary": {
    "TotalEventChannels": 15,
    "UsedEventChannels": 13,
    "UnusedEventChannels": 2
  },
  "EventChannels": [
    {
      "Name": "OnPlayerSpawn",
      "Type": "VoidEventChannelSO",
      "UsageCount": 3,
      "Usages": [...]
    }
  ]
}

CSV example 

EventChannelName,EventChannelType,AssetPath,UsageCount,IsUsed
OnPlayerSpawn,VoidEventChannelSO,Assets/EventChannels/OnPlayerSpawn.asset,3,TRUE
OnPlayerDeath,VoidEventChannelSO,Assets/EventChannels/OnPlayerDeath.asset,0,FALSE

Limitations

The Dependency Analyzer uses static analysis only. It does not detect:

  • Dynamic references (Resources.Load, Addressables.LoadAssetAsync)
  • String-based references
  • Runtime-created references

Use Event Monitor during Play Mode to detect runtime references.

Performance

Scan times depend on project size:

Assets Time
100 ~5 seconds
500 ~15 seconds
1000 ~30 seconds

A progress bar shows scan status. You can cancel if needed.

Tips

  • Run before major refactoring
  • Export to Markdown and commit to version control
  • Use Show Unused Only periodically to keep the project clean
  • Combine with Event Monitor for both static and dynamic analysis

References

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