unity-shaders-hdrp

Unity Shaders — HDRP

Guidance for High Definition Render Pipeline rendering work: HDRP material types and when to use them, the Custom Pass framework, the Volume system for per-area blending, ray tracing hardware requirements, and safe patterns for HDRP Shader Graph.

When to Apply

Activate when the conversation involves:

• Setting up HDRP Lit, Unlit, StackLit, Fabric, Hair, or Eye materials
• Creating or editing .shadergraph assets targeting HDRP
• Writing a CustomPass C# class (fullscreen or object pass)
• Configuring Volume profiles for different areas of the scene
• Evaluating or enabling ray tracing features (reflections, shadows, AO)
• Diagnosing HDRP-specific compile errors or missing shader features
• Optimizing HDRP scenes for PC/console performance targets
• Using HDRP's decal system or the Decal Projector component

Do NOT activate for URP questions — redirect to hades:unity-shaders-urp. Do NOT activate for VFX Graph particle shaders — redirect to hades:unity-vfx.

Project Context Check

Before making recommendations:

1. Confirm the render pipeline:

   • Call project_settings(section: "renderPipeline") — CRITICAL first step. If the result indicates URP, stop and redirect to hades:unity-shaders-urp. If Built-in, warn the user and note the migration path.
   • Confirm the HDRenderPipelineAsset is assigned in Project Settings > Graphics.

2. Understand existing shader assets:

   • Call search_by_name("*.shadergraph") to inventory Shader Graph assets already in the project and identify naming conventions and material types in use.
   • Call search_by_name("*CustomPass*") to find existing Custom Pass implementations and understand injection points already used.

3. Check documented decisions:

   • Call recall_memory("rendering shader HDRP") to surface any team decisions about material types, approved ray tracing features, or performance targets.
   • If a recalled decision shows a warning validation status, surface the conflict to the user before proceeding.