Quick Start

Quick Start — First result in 5 minutes

Follow these steps to start optimizing your shader builds with Shader Control.

Step 1 — Import the package

Open Window > Package Manager, locate Shader Control in My Assets and click Import. If you downloaded the .unitypackage manually, double-click it and import all files.

Step 2 — Open Shader Control

Go to Assets > Browse Shaders... from the Unity top menu. The Shader Control window opens. Dock it next to the Inspector for convenience.

Step 3 — Build View (build optimization)

The Build View tab shows all shaders and keywords from your last build. If no data is shown, click Quick Build to perform a fast data-collection build.

1. Expand any shader to see its keywords.
2. Uncheck keywords you do not need — this prevents those variants from being compiled.
3. Build your project normally. Shader Control applies the exclusions automatically.

Step 4 — Project View (keyword management)

Switch to the Project View tab and click Scan Project to list all shaders with source code in your project.

1. Expand a shader to see its keywords and options.
2. Click the checkbox next to a keyword to disable it.
3. Click Save to update the shader file (a backup is created automatically).
4. Click Restore at any time to revert to the backup.

Step 5 — Verify results

Check the statistics bar at the bottom of Shader Control to see the total shader count, keyword count, and variant count before and after your changes.

Checklist

• ☑ Package imported successfully
• ☑ Shader Control window opened
• ☑ Quick Build completed (Build View populated)
• ☑ Unnecessary keywords disabled
• ☑ Reduced variant count confirmed in statistics

Next steps

Learn more about how shader keywords work, or explore Shader Variant Collections for runtime prewarming.