Configure Mesh Collider component cooking options for optimization

Optimize physics calculations by configuring the cooking options for MeshThe main graphics primitive of Unity. Meshes make up a large part of your 3D worlds. Unity supports triangulated or Quadrangulated polygon meshes. Nurbs, Nurms, Subdiv surfaces must be converted to polygons. More info
See in Glossary ColliderAn invisible shape that is used to handle physical collisions for an object. A collider doesn’t need to be exactly the same shape as the object’s mesh - a rough approximation is often more efficient and indistinguishable in gameplay. More info
See in Glossary components.

When you select a GameObjectThe fundamental object in Unity scenes, which can represent characters, props, scenery, cameras, waypoints, and more. A GameObject’s functionality is defined by the Components attached to it. More info
See in Glossary with a Mesh ColliderA free-form collider component which accepts a mesh reference to define its collision surface shape. More info
See in Glossary component in the Editor, you can modify the Cooking Options property in the InspectorA Unity window that displays information about the currently selected GameObject, asset or project settings, allowing you to inspect and edit the values. More info
See in Glossary window. Set this property to define how to process this mesh for physics calculations. Cooking options affect both cooking time and runtime performance. You can select more than one of the available options to combine them.

When you set the Cooking Options property for a component, you define how to cook that particular mesh. To learn more about how to set options for cooking meshes for the whole simulation, refer to Prepare meshes for mesh colliders.

To learn about what properties are available for the Mesh Collider component, refer to Mesh collider component reference.

The cooking options are:

• None: Disables all Cooking Options and provides the standard cooking behavior. None is disabled by default. When cooking occurs at runtime, such as for a procedurally generated mesh that hasn’t been pre-cooked, using None sets the most basic cooking process.
• Everything: Enables all Cooking Options. This is enabled by default.
• Cook For Faster Simulation: Performs additional processing during cooking to optimize the mesh for faster collisionA collision occurs when the physics engine detects that the colliders of two GameObjects make contact or overlap, when at least one has a Rigidbody component and is in motion. More info
  See in Glossary detection at runtime. When cooking occurs at runtime, enabling this can significantly increase the initial cooking time (a CPU spike), but it often leads to better performance during the physics simulation itself, especially for complex meshes that are frequently involved in collisions. This is a trade-off: longer load and setup time for smoother gameplay.
• Enable Mesh Cleaning: Cleans up imperfections in the mesh geometry, such as tiny triangles or nearly co-located vertices. Enabling Enable Mesh Cleaning increases runtime cooking time. However, a cleaner mesh can lead to more stable and robust collision detectionAn automatic process performed by Unity which determines whether a moving GameObject with a Rigidbody and collider component has come into contact with any other colliders. More info
  See in Glossary at runtime, potentially preventing physics glitches or unexpected behavior that would otherwise use more CPU cycles to resolve. This option is useful for meshes that have been generated or imported with flaws.
• Weld Colocated Vertices: Similar to Enable Mesh Cleaning, Weld Colocated Vertices merges vertices that are very close to each other. While enabling Weld Colocated Vertices increases runtime cooking time, it can improve runtime performance by simplifying the mesh and reducing the number of vertices the physics system needs to process for collision checks.
• Use Fast Midphase: Uses a faster, but potentially less precise, mid-phase algorithm for collision detection. Enabling this can improve performance for certain types of meshes by speeding up the collision query process. However, it might slightly reduce the precision of collision detection, which might affect highly sensitive physics interactions.

The recommended best practices to configure Mesh Collider cooking options are:

• Always use relatively low-poly, closed (watertight), and clean meshes with no degenerate triangles or overlapping vertices for Mesh Collider components. This approach reduces cooking time and improves runtime performance.
• Use the Unity Profiler to determine if unexpected mesh cooking occurs at runtime.

The recommended performance tips for using Mesh Collider components in general are:

• Always favor primitive colliders (Sphere, Capsule, Box) for dynamic (moving) or frequently updated objects.
• Use non-convex Mesh Collider components only for static environmental geometry where high-fidelity collision is essential.
• For dynamic objects that require complex shapes, prefer convex Mesh Collider components or compound colliders over non-convex ones.
• Minimize the complexity of meshes used for Mesh Collider components.

To evaluate Mesh Collider performance:

• Profile: Use the Unity Profiler. Focus on narrow phase processing and Physics solve times when the object with the Mesh Collider is actively colliding. High values can indicate a Mesh Collider that is resource-intensive. Also, watch for runtime mesh cooking spikes if meshes aren’t pre-cooked.

• A/B test: Compare performance. Create a test scenario with your GameObject that has the Mesh Collider attached. Then, create a version of the same GameObject that has a compound collider approximation attached. Test both under identical collision conditions, and compare ProfilerA window that helps you to optimize your game. It shows how much time is spent in the various areas of your game. For example, it can report the percentage of time spent rendering, animating, or in your game logic. More info
  See in Glossary data.

• Consider alternatives: If a Mesh Collider is affecting performance, consider alternatives:

• Separate the graphic representation of the mesh from its physics representation to simplify its mesh. You might want to use different GameObjects so the physics system can use a separate, simplified mesh. For more information, refer to Prepare meshes for mesh colliders.

• If you have dynamic objects, consider using a compound collider to achieve collision fidelity.

• Remember that for dynamic RigidbodyA component that allows a GameObject to be affected by simulated gravity and other forces. More info
  See in Glossary and Mesh Collider components, they must be convex. If concave dynamic collision is needed, compound colliders are the standard approach.

Additional resources

• Unity Profiler
• Managing time and frame rate
• Memory Profiler
• Physics Project Settings
• Mesh collider component reference
• Compound colliders