unity-shaders-urp

Unity Shaders — URP

Guidance for Universal Render Pipeline rendering work: when to use Shader Graph versus hand-written HLSL, how to author custom Render Features, how to handle per-instance variation without breaking GPU instancing, and how to keep shader complexity within mobile budgets.

When to Apply

Activate when the conversation involves:

• Creating or editing .shadergraph assets targeting URP
• Writing custom HLSL shader passes for URP (Lit, Unlit, Sprite)
• Implementing a ScriptableRendererFeature or ScriptableRenderPass
• Setting up URP post-processing via Volume overrides or custom Blit passes
• Per-instance material variation with MaterialPropertyBlock
• Diagnosing URP-specific shader compilation errors or missing keywords
• Optimizing shader complexity for mobile or low-end hardware
• Migrating Built-in shaders to URP equivalents

Do NOT activate for HDRP questions — redirect to hades:unity-shaders-hdrp. 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 HDRP, stop and redirect to hades:unity-shaders-hdrp. If Built-in, warn the user and note the migration path.
   • Confirm the UniversalRenderPipelineAsset 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.
   • Call search_by_name("*Render*Feature*") to find custom ScriptableRendererFeature implementations already in use — align naming and patterns.

3. Check documented decisions:

   • Call recall_memory("rendering shader URP") to surface any team decisions about graph vs. hand-written HLSL, approved shader patterns, or performance budgets.
   • If a recalled decision shows a warning validation status, surface the conflict to the user before proceeding.