unity-async

Prefer coroutines for short Unity-bound sequences when the project does not already use UniTask. Choose UniTask only if the project already depends on it or you explicitly accept the dependency, since it is not inherently better for simple cases.

Use Update only for true continuous simulation, polling, or input loops that cannot be event-driven. If the task does not need per-frame work, prefer events, callbacks, or explicit method calls to avoid scattered Update methods.

Always define lifecycle ownership: who starts the work, who cancels it, and when it is cleaned up. In MonoBehaviour, use OnEnable, OnDisable, and OnDestroy for subscribe-unsubscribe symmetry rather than ad-hoc cleanup.

Use IDisposable mainly for pure C# lifetimes, temporary subscriptions, or scope-based cleanup helpers. It should not replace Unity lifecycle methods like OnDestroy as a cargo-cult pattern.

Hot-path risks include many unrelated Update methods and uncached references in frequently executed code. Cache references used in hot paths and prefer event-driven flows over polling where possible.