Unity-Technologies/UnityCsReference · error · ArgumentException

The MaterialProperty '{0}' should be of type 'Texture' (its

Error message

The MaterialProperty '{0}' should be of type 'Texture' (its type is '{1})'

What it means

Thrown by TexturePropertyBody when a MaterialProperty passed to a texture drawer has propertyType != ShaderPropertyType.Texture. The method assumes it is drawing a texture slot and rejects any other shader property kind (Float, Vector, Color, Range).

Source

Thrown at Editor/Mono/Inspector/MaterialEditor.cs:1660

            EditorGUI.BeginChangeCheck();
            // Mixed value mask is 4 bits for the uv offset & scale (First bit is for the texture itself)
            int mixedValuemask = property.mixedValueMask >> 1;
            Vector4 scaleAndOffset = TextureScaleOffsetProperty(position, property.textureScaleAndOffset, mixedValuemask, partOfTexturePropertyControl);

            if (EditorGUI.EndChangeCheck())
                property.textureScaleAndOffset = scaleAndOffset;

            EndProperty();

            EndAnimatedCheck();
            return 2 * kLineHeight;
        }

        private Texture TexturePropertyBody(Rect position, MaterialProperty prop)
        {
            if (prop.propertyType != ShaderPropertyType.Texture)
            {
                throw new ArgumentException(string.Format("The MaterialProperty '{0}' should be of type 'Texture' (its type is '{1})'", prop.name, prop.propertyType));
            }

            m_DesiredTexdim = prop.textureDimension;
            System.Type t = MaterialEditor.GetTextureTypeFromDimension(m_DesiredTexdim);

            // Why are we disabling the GUI in Animation Mode here?
            // If it's because object references can't be changed, shouldn't it be done in ObjectField instead?
            bool wasEnabled = GUI.enabled;

            EditorGUI.BeginChangeCheck();
            if ((prop.propertyFlags & ShaderPropertyFlags.NonModifiableTextureData) != 0)
                GUI.enabled = false;

            EditorGUI.showMixedValue = prop.hasMixedValue;
            int controlID = GUIUtility.GetControlID(12354, FocusType.Keyboard, position);
            var newValue = EditorGUI.DoObjectField(position, position, controlID, prop.textureValue, target, t, TextureValidator, false) as Texture;
            EditorGUI.showMixedValue = false;
            if (EditorGUI.EndChangeCheck())

View on GitHub (pinned to 225b0fbdb5)

Solutions

1. Verify the shader declares the property as a texture (sampler2D / Texture2D) and that FindProperty resolves the correct MaterialProperty.
2. Add a type check before calling TextureProperty: if (matProp.propertyType != ShaderPropertyType.Texture) skip or draw differently.
3. Correct the property name string passed to FindProperty to match the texture property.

Example fix

// before
editor.TextureProperty(rect, FindProperty("_Tint", props), "Tint"); // _Tint is a Color

// after
var tintProp = FindProperty("_Tint", props);
if (tintProp.propertyType == ShaderPropertyType.Texture)
    editor.TextureProperty(rect, tintProp, "Tint");
else
    editor.ColorProperty(rect, tintProp, "Tint");

bool IsTextureProperty(MaterialProperty p) => p != null && p.propertyType == ShaderPropertyType.Texture;

static bool IsTextureSlot(MaterialProperty p) => p.propertyType == ShaderPropertyType.Texture;

try { editor.TextureProperty(rect, prop); }
catch (ArgumentException ex) { Debug.LogWarning(ex.Message); }

When it happens

Trigger: Calling TextureProperty / TexturePropertyMiniThumbnail with a MaterialProperty obtained by name where the shader declared that uniform as a non-texture type. Mismatch between shader property declaration and the GUI drawer assigned to it in a custom ShaderGUI.

Common situations: Shader renamed a property from sampler2D to float, but the ShaderGUI still calls TextureProperty. Copy-pasting a ShaderGUI between shaders whose property types differ. Referencing a property by the wrong name string.

Related errors

• The SerializedProperty '{0}' is not supported by BeginProper
• List of materials contains null
• Given rpAssetType must derive from RenderPipelineAsset
• Could not find MaterialProperty: '{propertyName}', Num prope
• No material targets provided

AI-assisted analysis of Unity-Technologies/UnityCsReference@225b0fbdb5 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6d51c90a4f83a0f1. Report an issue: GitHub.