rendering-pipeline
Rendering Pipeline in Godot 4.3+
Project-level rendering decisions: which renderer runs where, how the lighting is built for it, how edges are smoothed, what resolution 3D renders at, and how to measure the result. All examples target Godot 4.3+ with no deprecated APIs. GDScript is shown first, then C#.
This skill picks the strategy; 3d-essentials holds the per-node recipes (materials, light properties, GI setup, fog, decals).
Related skills: 3d-essentials for materials, lights, environment and GI node setup, 2d-essentials for 2D lights and shadows, shader-basics for post-processing, compositor effects and the Shader Baker, godot-optimization for profiling CPU/GPU bottlenecks, web-export for the Compatibility-only browser target.
1. Pick the Renderer First
The renderer decides which lighting features exist at all, so choose it before building the look.
| Renderer | rendering_method |
Use for | Missing compared to Forward+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward+ | forward_plus |
Desktop and console, high-end visuals | — |
| Mobile | mobile |
Phones, tablets, standalone XR, low-end desktop | SDFGI, VoxelGI, SSAO/SSIL/SSR, volumetric fog, TAA, FSR |
| Compatibility | gl_compatibility |
Web (the only option there), very old GPUs | Everything Mobile lacks (though SSAO arrives in 4.6), plus FXAA/SMAA and MetalFX; glow is a simplified version |