Make a shader compatible with the Deferred rendering path in URP

Use a shader in the Deferred rendering path

To use a shaderA program that runs on the GPU. More info
See in Glossary in the Deferred rendering pathThe technique that a render pipeline uses to render graphics. Choosing a different rendering path affects how lighting and shading are calculated. Some rendering paths are more suited to different platforms and hardware than others. More info
See in Glossary, add the UniversalGBuffer tag to the Pass in your ShaderLabUnity’s language for defining the structure of Shader objects. More info
See in Glossary code. Unity executes the shader during the G-buffer render pass.

For example:

Shader "Examples/ExamplePassFlag"
{
    SubShader
    {
        Pass
        {    
              Tags
              { 
                "RenderPipeline" = "UniversalPipeline"
                "LightMode" = "UniversalGBuffer"
              }
            
              // The rest of the code that defines the Pass goes here.
        }
    }
}

Use a shader in the forward pass of the Deferred rendering path

To use a shader in the Deferred rendering path, add the UniversalForwardOnly and DepthNormalsOnly tags to the Pass in your ShaderLab code. Unity executes the shader during the G-buffer render pass.

For example:

Shader "Examples/ExamplePassFlag"
{
    SubShader
    {
        Pass
        {    
              Tags { 
                "RenderPipeline" = "UniversalPipeline"
                "LightMode" = "UniversalForwardOnly"
                "LightMode" = "DepthNormalsOnly"
              }
            
              // The rest of the code that defines the Pass goes here.
        }
    }
}

Specify the shader lighting model

To specify the shader lighting model as Lit or Simple Lit, use the UniversalMaterialType tag. For example:

Shader "Examples/ExamplePassFlag"
{
    SubShader
    {
        Pass
        {    
              Tags
              { 
                "RenderPipeline" = "UniversalPipeline"
                "LightMode" = "UniversalGBuffer"
                "UniversalMaterialType" = "Lit" 
              }
            
              // The rest of the code that defines the Pass goes here.
        }
    }
}

Additional resources

Enable accurate G-buffer normals in the Deferred rendering path in URP

Troubleshooting the Forward+ rendering path in URP