Render pipelines & SRP
The render pipeline controls how Unity turns a scene into pixels. These guides cover URP and HDRP choices, the Scriptable Render Pipeline, renderer features, custom passes and Render Graph. Read this section if you are choosing a pipeline, migrating, or extending rendering in a way the defaults do not allow. 58 hand-picked Unity guides, tutorials, videos and repos, kept current.
- Custom SRP 7.3: Raster Shadow Passes
Custom SRP tutorial converting shadow passes to raster render passes.
catlikecoding.com · Oct 2026 - Custom SRP 7.2: Separate Shadow Passes
Custom SRP tutorial introducing separate shadow passes.
catlikecoding.com · Sep 2026 - Custom SRP 7.1: Splitting Shadow Code
Custom SRP tutorial splitting directional and other shadow code.
catlikecoding.com · Aug 2026 - Sakura Rabbit: water effects for Unity URP on mobile
A water shader demo made for URP on mobile. The project is available to download.
80.lv · Jun 2026 - Custom SRP 7.0: Unity 6.5
Custom SRP tutorial upgrading to Unity 6.5.
catlikecoding.com · Jun 2026 - Sakura Rabbit: real-time snow coverage shader for URP on mobile
Snow that builds up on surfaces in real time, running in URP on mobile. The project is available to download.
80.lv · Jun 2026 - Your PSO cache is only as good as your playthrough
Explains how Unity 6.5's GraphicsStateCollection cache-miss collection reduces shader compile stutter on DX12, Vulkan and Metal.
thegamedev.guru · Jun 2026 - Custom SRP 6.2 3D Color LUT
Custom SRP tutorial creating a 3D color LUT.
catlikecoding.com · Apr 2026 - Custom SRP 6.1: Showing Color LUT
Custom SRP tutorial showing the color LUT for color grading.
catlikecoding.com · Mar 2026 - Rendering at 500 km/h in Gear.Club Unlimited 3
Rendering tech behind a racing game: GPU-driven architecture, ray tracing and 60 fps at high speed.
unity.com · Mar 2026 - How Toca Boca Built a High-performance Scalable Rendering Backend
Custom Batch Renderer used to render many avatars efficiently and at scale.
unity.com · Mar 2026 - Custom SRP 6.0: Unity 6.3
Custom SRP tutorial upgrading to Unity 6.3.
catlikecoding.com · Dec 2025 - Zelda Recall Rune in Unity URP
Recreates the Zelda Recall Rune effect by drawing chosen objects to a mask and outlining them in URP.
danielilett.com · Oct 2025 - Custom SRP 5.1: Raster Render Passes
Custom SRP tutorial using raster render passes.
catlikecoding.com · Sep 2025 - How we use visual effects to build atmosphere in our cRPG, Glasshouse
Using HDRP and visual effects to build the moody feudalpunk atmosphere of a CRPG.
unity.com · Sep 2025 - Lighting & Environment HRDP Updates in Unity 6
HDRP improvements in Unity 6 for physically accurate lighting, high-fidelity materials and cinematic effects.
unity.com · Aug 2025 - High-End Lighting & Environments with HDRP in Unity 6
HDRP in Unity 6: physically accurate lighting, environments and effects, with performance guidance.
unity.com · Aug 2025 - Transparency Scene Color Renderer Feature
Patreon post on a renderer feature for a transparency scene color texture.
patreon.com · Jun 2025 - Custom SRP 5.0: Unsafe Passes
Custom SRP tutorial switching to unsafe render graph passes.
catlikecoding.com · May 2025 - DirectX 12 Improvements in Unity 6
Functionality and performance improvements to the DirectX 12 graphics backend in Unity 6.
unity.com · Apr 2025 - Create shaders and visual effects with URP (Unity 6)
E-book of recipes for making popular shaders and visual effects with URP in Unity 6.
unity.com · Mar 2025 - The Game Kitchen on 3 technical challenges making The Stone of Madness
Three technical challenges in custom rendering, UI and testing while building a 2.5D adventure.
unity.com · Mar 2025 - Custom Post Processing with Render Graph
Patreon post on custom post processing using URP's Render Graph.
patreon.com · Mar 2025 - Custom Post Processing for Volumes in URP
Patreon post on custom post processing for URP volumes.
patreon.com · Feb 2025 - Custom SRP 4.0: Unity 6
Custom SRP tutorial migrating to Unity 6.
catlikecoding.com · Nov 2024 - @halisavakis.com: TotK-style fluid trails on volumetric height fog
Renders a sphere top-down into a buffer, then displaces and blends a custom render texture to leave distorted fog trails.
bsky.app · Nov 2024 - Unity 6 is here: See what's new
Overview of Unity 6's headline features across graphics, performance, multiplayer, XR and workflow improvements.
unity.com · Oct 2024 - Introduction to URP for advanced creators (Unity 6 edition)
Free Unity 6 guide to URP covering render graph, GPU Resident Drawer, decals and Full Screen Shader Graph.
unity.com · Oct 2024 - Custom SRP 3.2: Simplification
Custom SRP tutorial simplifying the render pipeline.
catlikecoding.com · Oct 2024 - Mystery Dungeon Sketches in Unity URP
Builds a Mystery Dungeon style sketch look in URP with shadow maps, depth textures, post processing and triplanar mapping.
danielilett.com · Sep 2024 - Unity 6's New Global Illumination Lighting Features
Unity 6 global illumination options, including Adaptive Probe Volumes, for better-looking and cheaper lighting.
unity.com · Jul 2024 - Tip: RTHandles.Alloc ignores the stencil in RenderTextureDescriptor
Mastodon tip: RTHandles.Alloc ignores the stencil format set in the RenderTextureDescriptor.
mastodon.gamedev.place · Jul 2024 - Achieve Faster CPU Rendering with Render Modes & Graphics Jobs
Explains render modes and graphics jobs for faster CPU rendering in Unity.
thegamedev.guru · Jul 2024 - SRP Batcher: Does it "Truly Suck"?
Examines whether the SRP Batcher really helps performance in Unity.
thegamedev.guru · Dec 2023 - URP Light Color
Patreon post on URP light color handling.
patreon.com · ~Aug 2023 - Forward+ (Plus) Rendering in Unity URP 14+ - Shine Your Lights!
Explains Forward+ rendering in URP 14+ and how it allows many real-time lights.
thegamedev.guru · Apr 2023 - Hex Map 2.0: URP
Hex Map 2.0 update migrating the project to URP.
catlikecoding.com · Apr 2023 - Unlocking The Power Of Unity's Scriptable Render Pipeline
Explains what Unity's Scriptable Render Pipeline enables.
youtube.com · Apr 2023 - Cameras and Rendering
Deep dive into Unity's camera system and rendering pipeline. Understanding culling, layers, and multi-camera setups for complex scenes.
bartouv.github.io · Jan 2023 - An Intro to Rendering
Understanding the fundamentals of rendering pipelines. From vertices to pixels, learn how Unity transforms your 3D scenes into images.
bartouv.github.io · Jan 2023 - Order independent transparency, part 1
Explains order-independent transparency approaches for rendering, part 1.
interplayoflight.wordpress.com · Jul 2022 - https://www.cyanilux.com/tutorials/intro-to-the-shader-pipeline/
Cyanilux overview of how the shader pipeline works for beginners.
cyanilux.com · ~Jan 2021 - Z-Buffer & Color Buffer | Unity Tutorial
Explains the Z-buffer and color buffer in rendering.
youtube.com · Feb 2020 - Render Hell 2.0
Updated look at Render Hell, a visual guide to the stages of rendering.
simonschreibt.de · Aug 2015 - Render Hell – Book I
Render Hell book one, an illustrated tour of rendering.
simonschreibt.de · Aug 2015 - Render Hell – Book II
Render Hell book two, an illustrated tour of rendering.
simonschreibt.de · Aug 2015 - Render Hell – Book III
Render Hell book three, an illustrated tour of rendering.
simonschreibt.de · Aug 2015 - Render Hell – Book IV
Render Hell book four, an illustrated tour of rendering.
simonschreibt.de · Aug 2015 - Render Hell – Book V
Render Hell book five, concluding the illustrated rendering series.
simonschreibt.de · Aug 2015 - Sphere Scene in Unity URP
Breaks down rendering a scene contained inside a sphere in URP with cutting techniques.
medium.com - FXAA
Implements the FXAA anti-aliasing algorithm in a custom SRP.
catlikecoding.com - Directional Shadows
Adds shadows for directional lights to a custom scriptable render pipeline.
catlikecoding.com - Directional Lights
Catlike Coding tutorial on supporting multiple directional lights in a custom scriptable render pipeline.
catlikecoding.com - Depth
Long explainer on depth buffer and depth texture, Scene Depth node, and reconstructing world position from depth.
cyanilux.com - Custom SRP 2.4.0
Catlike Coding tutorial on letting the render graph manage post-FX textures in a custom SRP.
catlikecoding.com - Custom Renderer Features
Explains writing custom renderer features and scriptable render passes for Universal RP with examples.
cyanilux.com - Custom Render Pipeline
Catlike Coding tutorial on creating a custom scriptable render pipeline from scratch.
catlikecoding.com - Color Grading
Catlike Coding tutorial on adding color grading tools in a custom SRP.
catlikecoding.com