r.ShaderPipelineCache.Enabled
r.ShaderPipelineCache.Enabled
#Overview
name: r.ShaderPipelineCache.Enabled
This variable is created as a Console Variable (cvar).
- type:
Var
- help:
1 Enables the PipelineFileCache, 0 disables it.
It is referenced in 4
C++ source files.
#Summary
#Usage in the C++ source code
The purpose of r.ShaderPipelineCache.Enabled is to control the enabling or disabling of the Pipeline File Cache system in Unreal Engine. This setting is primarily used for the rendering system, specifically for managing shader pipeline state objects (PSOs).
The Unreal Engine subsystem that relies on this setting variable is the Rendering Hardware Interface (RHI), which is part of the core rendering pipeline. This can be seen from the file location where the variable is defined: Engine/Source/Runtime/RHI/Private/PipelineFileCache.cpp.
The value of this variable is set through a console variable (CVarPSOFileCacheEnabled) with a default value defined by PIPELINE_CACHE_DEFAULT_ENABLED. It can be changed at runtime through console commands or programmatically.
This variable interacts closely with its associated variable CVarPSOFileCacheEnabled, which shares the same value and purpose. They are used interchangeably in the code.
Developers must be aware that:
- This setting significantly impacts rendering performance and load times.
- It’s render thread safe, meaning it can be changed without causing threading issues.
- The Pipeline File Cache system requires the FShaderCodeLibrary to be enabled via Project Settings > Packaging > “Share Material Shader Code”.
Best practices when using this variable include:
- Enable it (set to 1) for improved performance in most scenarios.
- Consider disabling it temporarily for debugging specific shader-related issues.
- Use in conjunction with other related settings like r.ShaderPipelineCache.BatchSize for optimal performance tuning.
Regarding the associated variable CVarPSOFileCacheEnabled:
- It serves the same purpose as r.ShaderPipelineCache.Enabled.
- It’s defined as a TAutoConsoleVariable, allowing for easy runtime modification.
- It’s used in the IsPipelineFileCacheEnabled function to determine if the Pipeline File Cache is active.
- Developers should treat it as equivalent to r.ShaderPipelineCache.Enabled in terms of usage and best practices.
#References in C++ code
#Callsites
This variable is referenced in the following C++ source code:
#Loc: <Workspace>/Engine/Source/Runtime/RHI/Private/PipelineFileCache.cpp:96
Scope: file
Source code excerpt:
static TAutoConsoleVariable<int32> CVarPSOFileCacheEnabled(
TEXT("r.ShaderPipelineCache.Enabled"),
PIPELINE_CACHE_DEFAULT_ENABLED,
TEXT("1 Enables the PipelineFileCache, 0 disables it."),
ECVF_Default | ECVF_RenderThreadSafe
);
static TAutoConsoleVariable<int32> CVarPSOFileCacheLogPSO(
#Loc: <Workspace>/Engine/Source/Runtime/RenderCore/Public/ShaderPipelineCache.h:33
Scope: file
Source code excerpt:
*
* Basic Runtime Usage:
* - Enable the cache with r.ShaderPipelineCache.Enabled = 1, which allows the pipeline cache to load existing data from disk and precompile it.
* - Set the default batch size with r.ShaderPipelineCache.BatchSize = X, where X is the maximum number of PSOs to compile in a single batch when precompiling in the default Fast BatchMode.
* - Set the background batch size with r.ShaderPipelineCache.BackgroundBatchSize = X, where X is the maximum number of PSOs to compile when in the Background BatchMode.
* - Instrument the game code to call FShaderPipelineCache::SetBatchMode to switch the batch mode between Fast & Background modes.
* - BatchMode::Fast should be used when a loading screen or movie is being displayed to allow more PSOs to be compiled whereas Background should be used behind interactive menus.
* - If required call NumPrecompilesRemaining to determine the total number of outstanding PSOs to compile and keep the loading screen or movie visible until complete.
* - Depending on the game & target platform performance it may also be required to call PauseBatching to suspend precompilation during gameplay and then ResumeBatching when behind a loading screen, menu or movie to restart precompilation.
*
* Other Runtime Options:
* - In the GGameIni (and thus also GGameUserSettingsIni) the Shader Pipeline Cache uses the [ShaderPipelineCache.CacheFile] section to store some settings.
* - The LastOpened setting stores the name of the last opened cache file as specified with Open, which if present will be used within FShaderPipelineCache::Initialize to open the existing cache.
* If not specified this will default to the AppName.
* - The SortMode settings stores the desired sort mode for the PSOs, which is one of:
* + Default: Loaded in the order specified in the file.
* + FirstToLatestUsed: Start with the PSOs with the lowest first-frame used and work toward those with the highest.
* + MostToLeastUsed: Start with the most often used PSOs working toward the least.
* Will use "Default" within FShaderPipelineCache::Initialize & OpenPipelineFileCache if nothing is specified.
* - The GameVersionKey is a read-only integer specified in the GGameIni that specifies the game content version to disambiguate incompatible versions of the game content. By default this is taken from the FEngineVersion changlist.
*
* Logging Usage:
* - Enable the cache with r.ShaderPipelineCache.Enabled = 1 and also turn on runtime logging with r.ShaderPipelineCache.LogPSO = 1.
* - Ensure that you have configured the game to open the appropriate cache on startup (see above) and allow the game to play.
* - PSOs are logged as they are encountered as the Unreal Engine does not provide facility to cook them offline, so this system will only collect PSOs which are actually used to render.
* - As such you must either manually play through the game to collect logs or automate the process which is beyond the scope of this code.
* - The data can be saved at any time by calling FShaderPipelineCache::SavePipelineFileCache and this can happen automatically after a given number of PSOs by setting r.ShaderPipelineCache.SaveAfterPSOsLogged = X where X is the desired number of PSOs to log before saving (0 will disable auto-save).
* - Log files are shader platform specific to reduce overheads.
*
* Notes:
* - The open cache file can be changed by closing the existing file with ClosePipelineFileCache (which implicitly Fast saves) and then opening a new one with OpenPipelineFileCache.
* - Different files can be used to minimise PSO compilation by having a file per-scalability bucket (i.e. one file for Low, one for Med, one for High).
* - When logging if you switch files only new entries from after the switch will be logged, which means you will miss any PSOs that should have been logged prior to switching. This prevents polluting the cache with unexpected entries.
* - The UnrealEd.MergeShaderPipelineCaches command-let can be used to merge cache files with the same file-version, shader platform and game-version.
*
* File Locations & Packaging:
* - The writable cache file is always stored in the User Saved directory.
* - The game can also provide an immutable copy within its Game Content directory which will be used as the initial or seed data.
* - Having generated logs in development and merged them with UnrealEd.MergeShaderPipelineCaches they should be packaged inside the Gane Content directory for the relevant platform.
*
* Requirements:
* - FShaderCodeLibrary must be enabled via Project Settings > Packaging > "Share Material Shader Code".
* - Enabling "Native Shader Libraries" is optional, but strongly preferred for Metal.
*/
class FShaderPipelineCache : public FTickableObjectRenderThread
{
// the FShaderPipelineCacheTask class represents a pipeline precompile of a single PSO file cache.
friend class FShaderPipelineCacheTask;
public:
/**
* Initializes the shader pipeline cache for the desired platform, called by the engine.
* The shader platform is used only to load the initial pipeline cache and can be changed by closing & reopening the cache if necessary.
*/
static RENDERCORE_API void Initialize(EShaderPlatform Platform);
/** Terminates the shader pipeline cache, called by the engine. */
static RENDERCORE_API void Shutdown();
/** Pauses precompilation. */
static RENDERCORE_API void PauseBatching();
enum class BatchMode
{
Background, // The maximum batch size is defined by r.ShaderPipelineCache.BackgroundBatchSize
Fast, // The maximum batch size is defined by r.ShaderPipelineCache.BatchSize
Precompile // The maximum batch size is defined by r.ShaderPipelineCache.PrecompileBatchSize
};
/** Sets the precompilation batching mode. */
static RENDERCORE_API void SetBatchMode(BatchMode Mode);
/** Resumes precompilation batching. */
static RENDERCORE_API void ResumeBatching();
/** true if pipeline cache(s) are precompiling. */
static RENDERCORE_API bool IsPrecompiling();
/** Returns the number of pipelines waiting for precompilation of the current PSOFC task.
#Associated Variable and Callsites
This variable is associated with another variable named CVarPSOFileCacheEnabled
. They share the same value. See the following C++ source code.
#Loc: <Workspace>/Engine/Source/Runtime/RHI/Private/PipelineFileCache.cpp:95
Scope: file
Source code excerpt:
**/
static TAutoConsoleVariable<int32> CVarPSOFileCacheEnabled(
TEXT("r.ShaderPipelineCache.Enabled"),
PIPELINE_CACHE_DEFAULT_ENABLED,
TEXT("1 Enables the PipelineFileCache, 0 disables it."),
ECVF_Default | ECVF_RenderThreadSafe
);
#Loc: <Workspace>/Engine/Source/Runtime/RHI/Private/PipelineFileCache.cpp:3058
Scope (from outer to inner):
file
function bool FPipelineFileCacheManager::IsPipelineFileCacheEnabled
Source code excerpt:
UE_CLOG(bCmdLineForce, LogRHI, Warning, TEXT("****************************** Forcing PSO cache from command line"));
}
return FileCacheEnabled && (bCmdLineForce || CVarPSOFileCacheEnabled.GetValueOnAnyThread() == 1);
}
bool FPipelineFileCacheManager::LogPSOtoFileCache()
{
static bool bOnce = false;
static bool bCmdLineForce = false;