Why does Type.GetType return null in IL2CPP builds?

Managed Code Stripping removes types not statically referenced. Reflection lookups don't count as references. Add a link.xml at any folder under Assets/ with entries listing the assemblies and types to preserve.

Where do I put link.xml?

Anywhere under Assets/. Unity collects all link.xml files at build time. Common practice: Assets/link.xml at the project root.

How do I preserve everything in a namespace?

Use . Wildcards match any type in the namespace and preserve='all' keeps members. Use selectively — preserves bloat the build.

Fix: IL2CPP Strips Reflection-Used Class

Quick answer: Add Assets/link.xml with explicit <type fullname="MyType" preserve="all"/> entries for any class accessed only via reflection.

Editor: Type.GetType("MyMod.Plugin") returns the type. iOS IL2CPP build: returns null. Stripper saw no static reference and removed the type.

The Symptom

Reflection-based serialization, plugin systems, or scripting layers (MoonSharp, Roslyn) fail in builds with NullReferenceException or "Type not found". Editor works.

The Fix

<!-- Assets/link.xml -->
<linker>
  <assembly fullname="Assembly-CSharp">
    <type fullname="MyMod.Plugin" preserve="all"/>
    <type fullname="MyMod.Hook" preserve="all"/>
  </assembly>
  <assembly fullname="Newtonsoft.Json" preserve="all"/>
</linker>

Unity merges all link.xml files in the project. Per-package authors typically ship their own; for your code, write one yourself.

Targeted Preserve

Preserve only what reflection touches. preserve="methods" keeps method bodies, preserve="fields" keeps fields, preserve="all" keeps everything. Type-level wildcards work via fullname="MyMod.*".

Per-Type Attribute

For one-off types embedded in mixed assemblies: [Preserve] attribute on the class or method achieves the same as link.xml without the file. Useful when the type is in a generated assembly.

Verifying

Build IL2CPP player. Run reflection lookups. Types resolve. Drop link.xml entry: lookups fail again. Confirms link.xml is doing the work.

“Reflection needs preservation. link.xml whitelist. Builds match editor.”

Related Issues

For shader keyword stripping, see keyword strip. For Addressables content update, see content update.

Whitelist the type. IL2CPP keeps it.