Sentinal

Sentinal is a routing and input-control package for Unity UGUI. It gives menus a navigation stack, automatic keyboard and gamepad selection, cancel and back handling, view-layer isolation, and Input System action-map gating.

It is intended for projects where controllers matter as much as mouse clicks. Use it for pause menus, settings screens, couch co-op lobbies, tabbed panels, modal prompts, and gameplay HUD overlays that need to share focus safely.

Quick start | Why Sentinal | Components | Installation | Samples

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Why Sentinal

The Sentinal Debug Window at Window > Sentinal > Debug. It shows view history, parent GameObjects, priorities, and input gates.

• Mark a menu with ViewSelector to route it directly or through a ViewAddress ScriptableObject.
• Sentinal selects an initial control when a view opens and remembers the last selected control. View priority and recency decide which open view receives focus.
• ViewDismissalInputHandler sends cancel or back input to the top non-root view. Esc, B, and Circle can use the same path.
• ViewGroupMask and root views keep HUDs, popups, pause menus, overlays, and tab panels from closing or hiding one another.
• ActionMapGate changes Input System action maps for a focused view. You can target the primary player, all players, or specific SentinalPlayer keys. Fresh-press gating prevents the button that opened or closed a view from triggering another control.
• Views register with the static router, so no manager prefab is required. Sentinal also clears its static state when you use Fast Enter Play Mode.

Quick start

1. Make a panel routable

Add ViewSelector to a UGUI panel or screen.

Set these fields:

• First Selected to the first button, toggle, or selectable control.
• Priority if this view should take focus over other open views.
• Root View for persistent screens such as HUDs or main menu roots.

Open or close the screen through its component:

settingsView.Open();
settingsView.Close();

2. Open a view without a scene reference

Create a ViewAddress asset from Assets > Create > Sentinal > View Address. Assign it to the view's Address field, then route to it from anywhere:

using Sentinal;

public sealed class AddressOpener
{
    public ViewAddress address; // assign SettingsAddress, PauseAddress, etc.

    public void Open()
    {
        SentinalViewRouter.OpenView(address);
    }
}

For button navigation without code, add ViewLink to a UGUI Button and assign the same address.

3. Add back navigation

Add ViewDismissalInputHandler to a persistent UI object and assign your cancel action, usually UI/Cancel.

When the action fires, Sentinal closes the focused non-root view and restores a valid selection.

4. Gate gameplay input while a menu is focused

Add ActionMapGate to a view when opening it should change the active Input System action maps.

For example:

• A pause menu can enable UI and disable Gameplay.
• A text prompt can use an exclusive UI map.
• A local multiplayer lobby can target all players or a specific SentinalPlayer key.

Component map

Area	Use these	What they do
Routing	SentinalViewRouter, ViewSelector, ViewAddress, ViewLink	Open, close, focus, and address UGUI views without direct scene references.
View layering	ViewGroupConfig, ViewGroupMask	Separate HUDs, menus, popups, overlays, and tabs by channel.
Input ownership	SentinalPlayer, ViewInputSystemHandler, ActionMapGate, ViewDismissalInputHandler	Route UI input to a player and change action maps for the focused view.
Input-driven controls	InputActionButton, InputActionButtonHold, TabbedView, TabbedViewInputHandler, DisplayInputString	Trigger buttons, hold actions, tab changes, and input labels from Input Actions.
Text prompts	TextInputGateway, PromptedTextField	Start platform text-entry flows from UGUI buttons.

Read the full component guide here: Components.md.

Installation

Requirements

• Unity 2021.3 or newer.
• UGUI.
• Unity Input System for the Sentinal.InputSystem assembly and input components.
• TextMeshPro for text prompt and display helpers.

Unity Package Manager

1. Open Window > Package Manager.
2. Click +.
3. Choose Add package from git URL....
4. Paste:

https://github.com/Tirtstan/Sentinal.git

Samples

Import Examples from the Package Manager to try scenes for routing, input-gated menus, action buttons, and tabbed navigation.

Path in package: Samples/Examples

Debugging

Sentinal includes an editor debug window at Window > Sentinal > Debug. It shows active views, hidden view history, parent GameObject names, priorities, group masks, and input-gate status. Use it when a view does not close, receive focus, or restore the expected selection.

The static router also exposes:

SentinalViewRouter.CurrentView;
SentinalViewRouter.GetViewHistory();
SentinalViewRouter.GetDebugString();