Linked Folders

What a linked folder is#

A linked folder is a folder of 3D models that lives outside your project — a downloaded asset pack, a stash of models you authored in Blender, an external drive full of kitbash parts — that the editor browses in place. Nothing is copied when you link it. The folder shows up as a tile in the Models library next to your project's own folders, you open it and scroll through thumbnails like any other folder, and a model only enters the project at the moment you use it.

That is the whole point: a huge collection of models stays one click away in every game you open, without any of it bloating the game you are building.

Use a linked folder when:

• You own a large asset pack and want to pick pieces from it as you build, not import the whole thing up front.
• You keep your own model exports in one place and want every project to see them.
• You want to browse models that are still being iterated on elsewhere, and bring in a copy only once a model is final.

Do not treat a linked folder as an import: a model that is only linked is not part of the project, is not packed into builds, and cannot be placed on a map or assigned to an item, NPC or object until you add it.

Where linked folders appear#

Linked folders are part of the Models category in the Assets editor (the Assets button in the top bar). Click Models in the categories rail on the left. The Models view has two category chips at the top:

• All Models — the folder browser. Project folders, linked folders and models are shown together, with a breadcrumb above the grid.
• Recent — the newest imports in one flat grid. Linked folders are not shown here, and the Link Folder and New Folder buttons are hidden.

Link tiles are listed at the root of the library, alongside your project folders. A link tile carries a chain glyph, the folder's display name and the word linked underneath. If the folder cannot be reached right now (a moved directory, an unplugged drive) the tile turns red, shows a warning glyph and reads unavailable instead; hovering it shows the path with "(not reachable right now)".

The same Models view is mounted as the model shelf on the Data Editor's create page ("Project models & linked folders — drag onto a type card, or click to use while creating"), so linked folders are also available while you create an item, NPC or object. See Items, NPCs and Objects.

Link a folder#

There are two ways to link a folder. Both do the same thing.

Drag a folder in#

1. Open Assets and select the Models category.
2. Drag a folder from your file explorer onto the Models grid.

Folders are linked, never imported. If you drop exactly one folder, the editor opens it immediately. If you drop several, they appear as link tiles at the library root. Loose model files dropped in the same gesture are imported into the project as normal models.

Use the Link Folder button#

1. In Models, go to the library root with the All Models chip selected.
2. Click Link Folder (to the right of the breadcrumb, next to New Folder).
3. In the "Link a folder of models" dialog, choose a directory and confirm.

The new link tile appears at the root and the editor opens it. Linking a folder that is already linked simply opens the existing link.

Browse a linked folder#

Click a link tile to enter it. Inside, the grid shows the folder's real subdirectories as folder tiles, followed by its model files as cards. Click a subfolder to go deeper; use the breadcrumb above the grid to step back out. The first crumb is the link's display name, and clicking the library root crumb leaves the link and returns to the project library.

The editor reads one directory level at a time, so linking a huge tree costs nothing until you actually open a subfolder.

Model cards in a linked folder are drawn with a warm border so they never read as project content. Each card's tooltip shows the model's name, its full path on disk, and its state: either "Double-click to add to the project" or "Already in the project".

What counts as a model#

Only files the editor can preview or import are listed:

Thumbnails for linked models are rendered on demand and cached, the same way as for project models; a card shows a dimmed placeholder until its render lands.

Search#

The search box at the top of the Assets editor drives the Models view. While you are inside a linked folder, a search is recursive: it matches model names anywhere under the directory you are in, not just the level on screen, and shows the results as one flat grid. Clear the search to return to browsing.

The 300-card cap#

A single directory view is capped at 300 model cards. A stash folder can hold thousands of models, and every card is a live control plus a queued thumbnail render; past a few hundred, browsing would turn into a freeze. Truncation is never silent: a note card at the end of the grid reads "+N more — search to narrow". Search, or open a subfolder, to reach the rest. A recursive scan (search, "Add All") is bounded as well, at 4000 model entries and 3000 directories walked.

Add a model to the project#

Nothing in a linked folder is in the project until you use it. Any of the following gestures pulls a model in. The file is copied into the project's model library; the original stays untouched where it is.

Selection works like the rest of the Models view: click selects one card, Ctrl+click toggles a card, Shift+click selects a range, and clicking empty grid space clears the selection.

After a model is added, its card in the linked folder gains a green check badge in the corner and its tooltip changes to "Already in the project". The editor remembers which file each project model came from, so adding the same file again reuses the existing project model instead of creating a second copy — from any project folder, any session, and any gesture above.

Selecting a linked model#

Selecting one linked card fills the details panel on the right with the model's 3D preview and a short summary: "Type: 3D Model (linked folder)", the format, file size and folder, and whether it is already in the project (and under which name). The tag line reads "Linked — the file stays where it is on disk". Selecting several shows "N linked models selected" with the hint "Drag them onto a project folder, or right-click > Add to Project."

Manage links#

Right-click a link tile at the library root for its menu:

Subfolder tiles inside a link offer Open, Add All Models to Project and Show in File Explorer.

If a linked folder disappears while you are browsing it (drive unplugged, folder moved), the view falls back to the project library rather than showing an empty grid with no way out. The tile stays in the list as unavailable so you can see why it went quiet and remove it deliberately with Unlink Folder.

Links are per machine, not per project#

Linked folders are stored in the editor's settings, not inside the project. They are paths on this computer, and the point is that the same stash is there whichever game you open.

That has three consequences worth knowing:

• Every project sees the same links. Link a folder once and it appears at the Models root of every project you open on this machine.
• Links do not travel with the project. A collaborator opening the same project on another PC, or a copy of the project restored through cloud project sync, will not see your links. Only models you actually added are part of the project.
• Builds never include linked files. Publishing packs the project's own assets/ folder. A model that is only linked is not in the game.

Paths are normalized (forward slashes, no trailing separator), so the same folder cannot end up linked twice because one drop came with backslashes and another without.

With AI (MCP)#

Linked folders are an editor browsing convenience and have no MCP tool of their own. To bring a model from disk into the project from an agent, use import_asset with the file's path on disk; it runs the full editor import, including the Blender conversion for .fbx and .obj. Use list_assets to see what the project already holds.