Why does URP SSAO not show on my scene?

SSAO needs Depth Texture enabled in the URP Asset, the SSAO Renderer Feature added to the Renderer Data, and the camera must have Post Processing enabled. Missing any one disables SSAO silently.

What is the difference between Depth Normals and Depth source for SSAO?

Depth source uses depth-only reconstruction; cheaper but less accurate near silhouettes. Depth Normals uses per-pixel normals for higher quality at higher cost. Default Depth Normals is best for desktop; Depth for mobile.

Why is SSAO too subtle to see?

Default Intensity is 1; Radius is 0.25. Bump Intensity to 2 and Radius to 0.5 for visible darkening in corners. Low values produce subtle ambient that is hard to perceive in many scenes.

Fix: Unity URP Screen Space Ambient Occlusion Not Rendering

Quick answer: Enable Depth Texture in the URP Asset, add the Screen Space Ambient Occlusion Renderer Feature to your Renderer Data, and enable Post Processing on the active camera. Missing any one keeps SSAO silently off.

Here is how to fix Unity URP SSAO that you added but cannot see in the scene. Three pieces have to align: depth pass, renderer feature, camera post-processing flag.

The Symptom

SSAO renderer feature added; intensity cranked up. No visible darkening in corners or contact areas. Frame Debugger shows no SSAO pass.

What Causes This

Depth Texture off. SSAO needs the depth buffer; URP Asset must enable Depth Texture.

Feature missing. Renderer Data needs the SSAO Renderer Feature explicitly added.

Post Processing disabled on camera. Camera component has a Post Processing toggle; off means no post-effects including SSAO.

Source mode mismatch. Depth Normals source produces best quality; Depth source is faster. Mobile-targeted Renderer Data may use Depth.

The Fix

Step 1: Enable Depth Texture. Open the URP Asset (Project Settings → Graphics → SRP Settings). Under General, check Depth Texture.

Step 2: Add SSAO feature to Renderer Data. Find your Renderer Data asset (referenced from the URP Asset). Click Add Renderer Feature → Screen Space Ambient Occlusion.

Step 3: Configure SSAO.

Source:           Depth Normals
Intensity:        2.0
Radius:           0.5
Direct Lighting Strength: 0.5
Falloff:          100
Sample Count:     Medium

Step 4: Enable Post Processing on the camera. Camera component → Rendering → Post Processing = true. Without it, all post effects are skipped.

Step 5: Verify in Frame Debugger. Window → Analysis → Frame Debugger. Look for an SSAO pass after the GBuffer/Depth Normals pass. If absent, the feature is not enqueued.

Performance Notes

SSAO costs 1–3 ms on desktop, more on mobile. For mobile, drop Sample Count to Low and Source to Depth. Or skip SSAO on mobile entirely with a separate Renderer Data for mobile platforms.

“Depth Texture, Renderer Feature, Camera Post Processing. Three checkboxes for visible AO.”

Related Issues

For URP shader build issues, see URP Shader Build. For Render Graph passes, see Render Graph Pass.

Depth Texture on. SSAO feature added. Camera post-process on. AO renders.