Build Size Guard (Unity) | Build Size Regression Diffs, Budgets, and CI Gate

Build Size Guard is a Unity Editor tool for build size regression control, not just another “build report viewer”. It treats build size like a tracked metric with snapshots, diffs, and budgets you can enforce in both local workflows and CI pipelines.

The problem it solves

You build, and the APK/AAB, iOS IPA, or desktop build suddenly grows. You need fast answers:

• Did the total build size change?

• What caused the change (top contributors, new or removed content)?

• Is the growth acceptable, or should the build fail?

Core features

1) Automatic build size snapshots (JSON)

• Records a snapshot after each successful build (configurable behavior).

• Stores versioned, VCS and CI friendly JSON with labeled size metrics and contributor breakdowns (GUID preferred where available).

2) Comparison-first diffs

• Pick a Baseline and Current snapshot and compare.

• See total delta plus ranked lists:

  • Biggest increases

  • Biggest decreases

  • New and Removed items

  • Optional moved/renamed detection when stable IDs exist (same GUID, new path).

3) Grouping that stays readable

• Group changes by:

  • Folder/path prefix

  • Asset category (Texture, Audio, Mesh, Shader, Script, Plugin, Other)

  • Addressables groups/bundles when layout data exists.

4) Budgets and regression rules

• Per-target budgets (and optionally per build profile):

  • Absolute size caps

  • Max allowed delta vs baseline

  • Max percent increase vs baseline

• Violations explain what exceeded, by how much, and the top contributors responsible.

5) CI / batchmode gate with exit codes

• Run headless in CI using Unity batchmode.

• Outputs:

  • Human readable console summary

  • Machine readable JSON artifact

  • Optional Markdown summary for PR comments

• Non-zero exit code on budget or regression failures.

Quick start

1. Install the package.

2. Make a build once. A snapshot is recorded automatically.

3. Open Build Size Guard and compare latest vs previous.

4. Set budgets for your targets and enforce them locally or in CI.

Why this is different from typical build report tools

Most build report tools answer “what is my build made of right now”. Build Size Guard is built for “what changed since the last good build, and should we block this regression”. That means comparison-first UI, deterministic diffs, and CI enforcement as first class features.

Notes

• Editor-only design, no runtime footprint in player builds.

• Designed for stable, repeatable outputs so CI results do not fluctuate.