Last reviewed 31 Jul 2026

Applies to

VRChat Avatar SDK Creator Companion projects Avatar Build and Test Avatar publishing

Difficulty Beginner

Upload a VRChat Avatar with Creator Companion

Use the VRChat SDK Builder to check the avatar, create a local test build, and publish it to your VRChat account. This guide covers avatars already prepared for VRChat as well as models you configured with a VRC Avatar Descriptor.

The video was recorded with an older Creator Companion and SDK interface. The written steps below follow the current Builder workflow and official VRChat documentation.

Validate Before Publishing

Confirm the avatar descriptor and Builder information, resolve blocking errors, then run a local test build.

Open the Avatar project through Creator Companion.
Check the avatar's rig, descriptor, viewpoint, and Console.
Open VRChat SDK > Show Control Panel and sign in.
Complete the Builder information and review validations.
Use Build & Test before publishing online.

Upload permission

Publishing a custom avatar requires a VRChat.com account with New User trust rank or higher. Visitors can still create local test builds that only they can see.

Video Walkthrough

Open the tutorial on YouTube

Creator: Fuuujin

Before Opening the SDK Builder

Confirm that:

the project is an Avatar project managed through Creator Companion
Unity is using VRChat's supported editor version
the avatar creator's documented shaders and package dependencies are installed
the avatar is in the open Unity scene
the model uses the intended rig configuration
the avatar root has a VRC Avatar Descriptor
the Unity Console has no unresolved red compiler errors
you have permission to use and upload the model and included assets

For a model you configured yourself, VRChat's first-avatar guide instructs creators to set a humanoid character's Animation Type to Humanoid in the model's Rig import settings.

Check the Avatar Descriptor

Select the avatar root in the Hierarchy and inspect its VRC Avatar Descriptor.

At minimum, check:

Descriptor area	What to verify
View Position	For an avatar with a head, place the view position between the eyes.
Lip Sync	Select the lip-sync mode and assign the required jaw bone or viseme blend shapes.
Eye Look	Review eye movement settings when the avatar uses them.
Playable Layers	Confirm any custom controllers belong to this avatar and are assigned intentionally.
Expressions	Confirm the expression menu and parameters assets are the intended files.

The descriptor identifies the avatar to the SDK and contains its avatar-specific configuration. Do not publish until you understand the custom controllers and expression assets supplied with a downloaded avatar.

Open the Builder

In Unity, select VRChat SDK > Show Control Panel.
Sign in with the VRChat.com account that will own the upload.
Select the Builder tab.
Select the avatar if the Builder shows more than one valid avatar in the scene.

The Builder displays the avatar's information, performance rank, validation messages, build type, and platform selection.

Complete the Avatar Information

Before publishing, review every field shown by the Builder:

Builder field	What to enter or confirm
Name and description	Reader-facing information for the uploaded avatar.
Visibility	Private limits use to you; Public avatars can be cloned or used through avatar pedestals.
Content warnings	Select the warnings that accurately describe the avatar.
Thumbnail	Select an image or capture one from the Unity scene.
Platforms	Choose the platform targets the current avatar build supports.
Rights confirmation	Confirm the information is accurate and you have the rights to upload the content.

Visibility is not a substitute for upload permission. A private upload still requires you to hold the necessary rights to the model and included assets.

Read the Validation Results

The Builder's Validations section separates problems you must fix from warnings you should review.

Check for:

a missing or invalid VRC Avatar Descriptor
rig or humanoid configuration problems
missing required references
unsupported components
performance warnings
platform-specific restrictions
avatar download or uncompressed size limits

The SDK prevents publishing when a blocking requirement is not satisfied. Performance warnings can also affect how frequently other users see the avatar, so review the reported Performance Rank before upload.

Build and Test Locally

Choose Build & Test Your Avatar to create a local test build without publishing it.

After a successful desktop build:

Launch VRChat.
Open the avatar menu.
Find the avatar under SDK Test Avatars.
Select and apply it.
Test the viewpoint, locomotion, materials, lip sync, expressions, gestures, PhysBones, and contacts.

The test avatar is visible only to you. Other players continue to see the last normal avatar you wore.

When you create another local build for the same test avatar, reselect it and apply it again to use the updated build.

Publish the Avatar

When the local test is correct:

Return to the SDK Builder.
Select Build & Publish Your Avatar Online.
Confirm the avatar information, visibility, warnings, thumbnail, platforms, and rights statement.
Select Build & Publish.
Wait for the build and upload to finish.

After upload, the avatar appears in VRChat and under VRChat SDK > Show Control Panel > Content Manager.

PC and Mobile Builds

Platform targets have different requirements and performance limits. A PC avatar is not automatically a suitable Android or iOS avatar.

The current SDK supports selecting multiple platforms and can use per-platform avatar overrides. Per-platform overrides upload the selected platform versions under the same avatar ID while allowing the mobile versions to use different optimized assets or components.

Treat cross-platform publishing as a separate validation pass:

select only platforms supported by the avatar
review the Builder after each platform choice
use compatible shaders and components
check the platform's avatar size and performance requirements
test the target-platform build on the relevant client

Common Upload Problems

The avatar does not appear in the Builder.

Confirm the avatar is in the open scene and that its root GameObject has a VRC Avatar Descriptor. Check the Console for compiler errors, then reopen the SDK control panel.

The publish control is unavailable.

Confirm that you are signed in with a VRChat.com account at New User trust rank or higher. Then resolve any blocking Builder validation or Console error. Visitors can use Build and Test but cannot publish custom avatars.

The avatar has pink materials.

Check the avatar creator's installation instructions and install the required shader through the documented method. Do not publish until the materials use shaders supported by the selected platform.

The viewpoint is inside the face or above the head.

Select the avatar root, open the VRC Avatar Descriptor, and move View Position to the intended eye location. Build and Test again because the Unity scene view does not replace an in-client viewpoint check.

Build and Test succeeds but publishing fails.

Return to the Builder and read the upload error and validation results. Local testing does not enforce every publishing limit; for example, VRChat's avatar size limits are enforced during upload rather than Build and Test.

The mobile platform produces new validation errors.

Mobile platforms have different shader, component, size, and performance requirements. Prepare a supported mobile version or per-platform override instead of publishing the unchanged PC avatar.

Upload Checklist

The correct avatar and VRChat.com account are selected.
The avatar root has a configured VRC Avatar Descriptor.
View Position and lip sync are checked.
Custom layers and expressions belong to this avatar.
The Console has no unresolved compiler errors.
Blocking SDK validations are resolved.
Visibility and content warnings are accurate.
A thumbnail is selected.
The intended platforms are selected.
Upload rights are confirmed.
Build and Test succeeds in the VRChat client.
The reported performance rank and size are understood.