Unity-Technologies/UnityCsReference · error · ArgumentException

Couldn't locate scene asset at path {scenePath}

Error message

Couldn't locate scene asset at path {scenePath}

What it means

Thrown by CreateLoadableSceneId after the path passes the .unity check but AssetDatabase.AssetPathToGUID returns an empty GUID — meaning Unity has no registered asset at that path. The scene asset cannot be located, so a handle cannot be built.

Source

Thrown at Editor/Mono/Loadable/LoadableSceneIdEditorUtility.cs:73

        /// Create a LoadableSceneId object based on a scene's path.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="scenePath">The scene's path within the project. Must end with .unity extension.</param>
        /// <returns>A LoadableSceneId handle populated to reference the provided scene.</returns>
        /// <exception cref="System.ArgumentNullException">
        /// Thrown if scenePath is null or empty.
        /// </exception>
        /// <exception cref="System.ArgumentException">
        /// Thrown if the path doesn't end with .unity extension or if the scene asset cannot be found at the specified path.
        /// </exception>
        public static LoadableSceneId CreateLoadableSceneId(string scenePath)
        {
            if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(scenePath))
                throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(scenePath), "Scene path cannot be null or empty.");
            if (!scenePath.EndsWith(".unity", StringComparison.CurrentCultureIgnoreCase))
                throw new ArgumentException($"Path {scenePath} is not a scene path. Must end with .unity extension.");
            var guid = new GUID(AssetDatabase.AssetPathToGUID(scenePath));
            if (guid.Empty())
                throw new ArgumentException($"Couldn't locate scene asset at path {scenePath}");
            return CreateLoadableSceneId(guid);
        }
    }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 225b0fbdb5)

Solutions

1. Resolve the path from a live SceneAsset reference (AssetDatabase.GetAssetPath) instead of a stored string.
2. Verify AssetDatabase.AssetPathToGUID(scenePath) is non-empty before calling, and log which path failed.
3. Re-import the scene and refresh the AssetDatabase (AssetDatabase.Refresh) if the file exists but is untracked.

Example fix

// before
var id = LoadableSceneIdEditorUtility.CreateLoadableSceneId(scenePath);

// after
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(AssetDatabase.AssetPathToGUID(scenePath)))
    throw new InvalidOperationException($"Scene not found in AssetDatabase: {scenePath}");
var id = LoadableSceneIdEditorUtility.CreateLoadableSceneId(scenePath);

if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(AssetDatabase.AssetPathToGUID(scenePath))) throw new InvalidOperationException($"Scene not tracked: {scenePath}");

try { CreateLoadableSceneId(scenePath); }
catch (ArgumentException ex) when (ex.Message.Contains("locate scene asset")) { AssetDatabase.Refresh(); CreateLoadableSceneId(scenePath); }

When it happens

Trigger: Passing a path that looks like a scene path but does not correspond to any imported asset: wrong folder, moved/deleted scene, a path from a different project, or a scene not yet imported into the AssetDatabase.

Common situations: Hard-coded or serialized scene paths that go stale after a scene is moved or renamed. Build scripts reading scene paths from a config that was not kept in sync. Paths with incorrect casing on case-sensitive filesystems.

Related errors

• Preview scene could not be created
• Meta file not found: {metaFilePath}
• Scene path cannot be null or empty.
• Path {scenePath} is not a scene path. Must end with .unity e
• Prefab not found at path {prefabAssetPath}

AI-assisted analysis of Unity-Technologies/UnityCsReference@225b0fbdb5 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c07216840249eba0. Report an issue: GitHub.