Shadergraph Design

---
name: unity-shadergraph-design
description: "Source-anchored Shader Graph design rules for Unity 2022.3 / ShaderGraph 14 and Unity 6 current Graphics. Load before proposing graph structure, node chains, SubGraph boundaries, keyword strategy, property/blackboard layout, or ShaderGraph editing plans. Triggers: ShaderGraph, Shader Graph, shadergraph design, shadergraph architecture, shadergraph recipe, shadergraph pitfalls, shadergraph review, SubGraph, Master Stack, Blackboard, Keyword, Boolean Keyword, Enum Keyword, Material Keyword, Shader Keyword, PropertyNode, Custom Function Node, Sample Texture 2D, Sample Texture 2D Array, Sample Cubemap, Lerp, Step, Smoothstep, Remap, OneMinus, Normalize, Saturate, Time, UV, Tiling And Offset, Normal Vector, World Position, Object Position, Screen Position, Fresnel Effect, NormalFromHeight, Vertex stage, Fragment stage, Lit Target, Unlit Target, Sprite Lit Target, Fullscreen Target, URP shader, HDRP shader, Built-in shader, ShaderGraph 14, com.unity.shadergraph, shadergraph_list_supported_nodes, shadergraph_get_structure, nodeId, slotId, 着色器图, 着色器节点, 子图, 节点图, 节点连线, 主节点堆栈, 黑板属性, 关键字, 自定义节点, 顶点着色器, 片元着色器, 片段着色器, 表面着色器, URP 着色器, HDRP 着色器, 着色器属性, shadergraph 设计, shadergraph 方案, shadergraph 审查."
---

# ShaderGraph - Design Rules

Advisory module. Read this before giving Shader Graph guidance. The goal is to keep recommendations anchored to actual package/source behavior, not stale model memory.

> **Mode**: Documentation only — no REST skills to gate; load freely under any operating mode (Approval / Auto / Bypass).

## Source Scope

Validated against:
- Unity 2022.3 package source: `E:/CodeSpace/temp/shadergraph/com.unity.shadergraph@14.0.12`
- Unity 6 Graphics source: `E:/CodeSpace/temp/Graphics/Packages/com.unity.shadergraph`
- Runtime/editor behavior in this repo's ShaderGraph skills and dual-version test environments

Core anchors:
- `Editor/Data/Graphs/GraphData.cs`
- `Editor/Data/Nodes/AbstractMaterialNode.cs`
- `Editor/Data/Interfaces/Graph/SlotReference.cs`
- Specific node files under `Editor/Data/Nodes/...`

## When To Load

Load before:
- Designing a new Graph or SubGraph architecture
- Reviewing a proposed Shader Graph node chain
- Advising on blackboard properties, keywords, samplers, or SubGraph boundaries
- Suggesting changes to graphs through the constrained `shadergraph_*` node editing skills

## What This Module Assumes

- Graph editing is limited to the current safe node whitelist exposed by `shadergraph_list_supported_nodes`
- Guidance must stay inside what Unity 2022.3 and Unity 6 both support
- `shadergraph_get_structure` is the fact source for current node ids, slot ids, and live topology
- The practical overlap is 28 nodes across both versions; `AppendVectorNode` is currently Unity 6 only in live validation

## Sub-doc Routing

| Sub-doc | Read when |
|--------|-----------|
| [VERSIONS.md](./VERSIONS.md) | You need version differences or portability rules |
| [NODES.md](./NODES.md) | You need the supported node subset and editable fields |
| [RECIPES.md](./RECIPES.md) | You need patterns that the current skill subset can actually build |
| [PITFALLS.md](./PITFALLS.md) | You are reviewing a graph or suspect bad advice / hidden costs |
| [REVIEW.md](./REVIEW.md) | You want a checklist for judging a Shader Graph plan |

## Hard Rules

- Do not recommend nodes outside the current whitelist unless you clearly say the current skills cannot build them.
- Do not talk about "editing by node name"; the implementation uses serialized `nodeId` and `slotId`.
- Do not assume Unity 2022.3 has package graph templates. It commonly does not.
- Do not tell the agent to mutate Master Stack, Target, Context, Block, or SubGraph output structure. Stage 2 does not support that.
- For `PropertyNode`, create or verify the blackboard property first; the node binds a real property object, not just a string.
- Prefer small SubGraphs when reuse or porting matters, but keep them within the currently supported node subset if you expect the skills to edit them later.

When in doubt, cite the relevant source path or ask the runtime graph for structure first.