This page contains information on predefined Pass tags that you can use with the Built-in Render Pipeline.
For general information on Pass tags, including an introduction to the LightMode tag, see ShaderLab: assigning tags to a Pass. For predefined Pass tag values in the Universal Render Pipeline (URP), see URP Pass tags: LightMode.
These are the valid values for the LightMode Pass tag in the Built-in Render Pipeline. For more information on the LightMode tag, see ShaderLab: using Pass tags.
| Value | Function |
|---|---|
Always |
Always rendered; does not apply any lighting. This is the default value. |
ForwardBase |
Used in Forward renderingThe process of drawing graphics to the screen (or to a render texture). By default, the main camera in Unity renders its view to the screen. More info See in Glossary; applies ambient, main directional light, vertex/SH lights and lightmapsA pre-rendered texture that contains the effects of light sources on static objects in the scene. Lightmaps are overlaid on top of scene geometry to create the effect of lighting. More info See in Glossary. |
ForwardAdd |
Used in Forward renderingA rendering path that renders each object in one or more passes, depending on lights that affect the object. Lights themselves are also treated differently by Forward Rendering, depending on their settings and intensity. More info See in Glossary; applies additive per-pixel lights, one Pass per light. |
Deferred |
Used in Deferred ShadingA rendering path in the Built-in Render Pipeline that places no limit on the number of Lights that can affect a GameObject. All Lights are evaluated per-pixel, which means that they all interact correctly with normal maps and so on. Additionally, all Lights can have cookies and shadows. More info See in Glossary; renders G-buffer. |
ShadowCaster |
Renders object depth into the shadowmap or a depth texture. |
MotionVectors |
Used to calculate per-object motion vectors. |
Vertex |
Used in legacy Vertex Lit rendering when the object is not lightmapped; applies all vertex lights. |
VertexLMRGBM |
Used in legacy Vertex Lit rendering when the object is lightmapped, and on platforms where the lightmap is RGBM encoded (PC & console). |
VertexLM |
Used in legacy Vertex Lit rendering when the object is lightmapped, and on platforms where lightmap is double-LDR encoded (mobile platforms). |
Meta |
This Pass is not used during regular rendering, only for lightmap baking or Realtime Global IlluminationA group of techniques that model both direct and indirect lighting to provide realistic lighting results. Unity has two global illumination systems that combine direct and indirect lighting.: Baked Global Illumination, and Realtime Global Illumination. See in Glossary. For more information, see Lightmapping and shaders. |
In the Built-in Render Pipeline, use the PassFlags Pass tag to specify what data Unity provides to the Pass.
| Value | Function |
|---|---|
| OnlyDirectional | Valid only in the Built-in Render Pipeline, when the rendering path is set to Forward, in a Pass with a LightMode tag value of ForwardBase.Unity provides only the main directional light and ambient/light probe data to this Pass. This means that data of non-important lights is not passed into vertex-light or spherical harmonics shader variables. See Forward rendering path for details. |
Shader "Examples/ExamplePassFlag"
{
SubShader
{
Pass
{
Tags { "LightMode" = "ForwardBase" "PassFlags" = "OnlyDirectional" }
// The rest of the code that defines the Pass goes here.
}
}
}
In the Built-in Render Pipeline, the RequireOptions Pass tag enables or disables a Pass based on project settingsA broad collection of settings which allow you to configure how Physics, Audio, Networking, Graphics, Input and many other areas of your project behave. More info
See in Glossary.
| Value | Function |
|---|---|
SoftVegetation |
Render this Pass only if QualitySettings-softVegetation is enabled. |
Shader "Examples/ExampleRequireOptions"
{
SubShader
{
Pass
{
Tags { "RequireOptions" = "SoftVegetation" }
// The rest of the code that defines the Pass goes here.
}
}
}