Browsing
Double-click a Base, click the > arrow on the right side of its row, or select it and press Return to navigate into it. The window title and toolbar update to show the Base name — including its emoji if one is set.
Note
By default, double-clicking a leaf item triggers its Enter action. If you prefer double-click to rename instead, change Double-Click Action to Rename in Settings.
Press Escape to return to the Home view.
Ctrl+Left / Ctrl+Right (or the < > toolbar buttons) moves through your navigation history. The buttons are greyed out when there is no history in that direction.
| Context | What Escape does |
|---|---|
| Search bar is active | Clears the search field |
| Browsing inside a Base | Returns to Home |
| Quick Browse popup open | Closes the popup |
When you are inside a Base, a tag bar appears at the bottom of the window:
- Scene link tag — shows the linked scene filename. Click × to unlink.
- Default Base tag (PRO) — shown when this Base is the Quick Browse default. When set, Quick Browse navigates straight to this Base on open instead of showing the Home view. Click × to clear it.
Drag any asset from Unity's Project window onto a Container or Base. You can also drag from:
- Hierarchy — GameObjects are automatically wrapped in Scene Object references; scene names create scene references.
- Inspector — drag a component header to create a Scene Component reference.
- Across tabs — hover the SecondBrain tab in the dock while dragging (without needing to focus it first) and drop at the target position inside the tree.
Right-click any Container or Base and choose Create Child. A submenu lists all valid child types for that node. You can also click the + button that appears at the right side of a selected row to create a new child Container directly.
When Force naming on create is on (the default), an inline ghost row appears:
- Type a name → press Enter to create.
- Press Escape to cancel without creating anything.
- Empty or duplicate names are rejected inline.
To create items with an auto-generated name instantly (no ghost row), disable Force naming on create in Settings.
Press Ctrl+N to create a new Container:
- If a Container is selected → a child Container is created inside it.
- Otherwise (no selection, or a leaf item is selected) → a new Container is created at the root level of the current view.
Select one or more items and press Ctrl+G to wrap them in a new Container:
- If all selected items share the same parent → the new Container is created under that parent, and the items are moved into it.
- If items come from different parents → the new Container is created at root level, and all items are moved into it.
The new Container is automatically selected and expanded after the operation. The action is fully undoable.
Press Ctrl+V inside the browser to paste the current clipboard text as a new Text Asset child of the selected Container. If the clipboard contains a URL, the asset name is set to the URL's hostname automatically.
Pressing Return (or double-clicking when Double-Click Action is set to Enter in Settings) triggers the item's enter action:
| Item type | Enter action |
|---|---|
| Base | Navigate into it |
| Container | Toggle expand / collapse |
| Scene Object ref | If scene is open: open a floating inspector for the GameObject. If scene is not open: open the scene and ping the object. |
| Scene Component ref | If scene is open: open a floating inspector for the Component. If scene is not open: open the scene and ping the object. |
| Scene | Open the scene |
| Prefab | Open in Prefab Stage |
| URLs | Open in system's browser |
| Action Item | Execute (PRO) |
Several item types display a small focus icon on the right side of their row. Clicking it toggles focus-on-select behaviour for that specific item. The icon turns blue when enabled.
Scene Object refs and Scene Component refs (only visible when the scene is open):
- Off (dim) — selecting the ref updates Unity's selection but leaves the Scene View camera where it is.
- On (blue) — selecting the ref also frames the Scene View camera on the referenced object, the same as pressing F in the Scene View.
The toggle is saved on the asset itself and persists across sessions.
Folder assets:
- Off (dim) — selecting the folder highlights it in the Project window but does not navigate into it.
- On (blue) — selecting the folder automatically navigates the Project window into it, the same as pressing Return.
The toggle is per-folder and stored in EditorPrefs.
Right-click → Rename or press Ctrl+R. An inline edit field replaces the label.
Rename is not available for Scene Object or Scene Component references — their names reflect live scene content.
Right-click → Duplicate or press Ctrl+D. A copy appears directly after the original with a unique auto-generated name.
Duplication is only available for leaf items (assets, references). Containers and Bases cannot be duplicated.
Right-click any item and choose Remove from Base, or select it and press Delete / Backspace.
What happens depends on how the item is stored:
| Item type | What Remove from Base does |
|---|---|
| Container, Action Item, or any asset embedded directly in the profile | Destroyed and removed from the profile file |
A linked asset with its own file (e.g. a Scene Object ref saved as a separate .asset) |
Unlinked only — the file stays on disk |
Both cases are fully undoable with Ctrl+Z. For anything that can't be undone in-editor, use git discard to restore disk state.
Right-click → Properties opens the Unity Properties window for the selected asset. For Scene Object / Component refs, it opens on the resolved live object if the scene is currently loaded.
All operations — create, rename, delete, duplicate, reparent, move, and navigation — are integrated with Unity's undo system (Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z).
Drag any row to reorder it within its parent or move it into a different Container. A drop indicator shows the exact insertion point. The drag only activates after you exceed a short distance threshold, so single-click selection is not affected.
| Drop target | Result |
|---|---|
| Onto a Container | Asset added inside the Container |
| Between rows | Asset inserted at that position in the parent |
| Onto an empty Base | A default Container is auto-created; asset placed inside |
Scene GameObjects dragged from the Hierarchy are wrapped in a Scene Object reference. Scene components are wrapped in a Scene Component reference.
Warning
Assets from scenes that have never been saved to disk are rejected with a notification and not added.
Items can be dragged back out of SecondBrain to other Unity windows:
- Another SecondBrain window — drop onto a Container or between rows to move the item across windows.
- Scene View — places the asset at the cursor position in the scene. Only asset types Unity supports dropping into the Scene View work here (e.g. Prefabs, Materials).
Right-click a Container → Move to → {BaseName} to move it and all its contents to another Base. This option appears only when you are inside a Base and at least one other Base exists.
The move is fully undoable.