Bug Errors with the URP Debug Manager

Has anyone seen these errors?
They go away if I restart Unity but it's getting tedious. I'm on URP 7.1.3 Unity 2019.4

Code (CSharp):

1. NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
2. UnityEngine.Rendering.DebugManager.UpdateActions () (at Library/PackageCache/com.unity.render-pipelines.core@7.4.3/Runtime/Debugging/DebugManager.Actions.cs:176)
3. UnityEngine.Rendering.DebugUpdater.Update () (at Library/PackageCache/com.unity.render-pipelines.core@7.4.3/Runtime/Debugging/DebugUpdater.cs:18)

Is there a way I can fix that?

Thanks,
Pete

 

yep, even in 8.2
did you just duplicate URP asset?

 

No, it seems to happen after I build to Xcode and return to Unity... Seems a little strange.

 

File a bug report or it'll stain

 

also seeing this quite frequently...

 

I got it too, super annoying. For me it only appears after disabling domain reload. With that enabled I don't get it. I.e. there is likely some static stuff in the URP code that is not being properly reset.

 

+1, also happens to me several times a day with Domain Reload disabled. With Domain Reload enabled, it never happens. I have no idea what causes it to occur, as the previous commenter said it's surely related to URP code not handling the no-domain-reload workflow.

Has anyone been able to create a minimal repro project and submit a bug? My project is too big to submit a bug...

 

Can also confirm that this error started occurring after disabling Domain Reload and doesn't occur with Domain Reload enabled.

 

Having the same problem (2020.2.5f1, but also before) after builindg for iOS or android with Enter Play Mode Options enabled. Sadly it does not always happen for me... Quite annoying but hard to send a bug report.
I tried debugging it and might have an idea. The Debug Manager instance looks like this:


When looking through the code, the debug actions are set in the constructor

Code (CSharp):

1. DebugManager()
2. {
3.     if (!Debug.isDebugBuild)
4.         return;
5.  
6.     RegisterInputs();
7.     RegisterActions();
8. }

When entering playmode with domain reload RegisterInputs gets called. It should be called from the constructor, but debugging the decompiled library is a bit strange sometimes with Rider. I couldn't find any other point from which RegisterInputs gets called, so it should be the constructor. From the documentation "In the editor isDebugBuild always returns true."

Well, as it turns out this statement is not always true. E.g. when building a non debug build (which is a good thing to be able to test that I guess).

Code (CSharp):

1. public class IsDebugBuildLogger : IPostprocessBuildWithReport
2. {
3.     public int callbackOrder => -10000;
4.  
5.     public void OnPostprocessBuild(BuildReport report)
6.     {
7.         var isDebugBuild = Debug.isDebugBuild;
8.         if (!isDebugBuild)
9.         {
10.             // This will be triggered when building a non-debug build.
11.            Debug.LogError("isDebugBuild is false, even though we're in the editor!");
12.         }
13.  
14.         Debug.Log($"Is debug build: {isDebugBuild}");
15.     }
16. }

So my guess is, the DebugManager constructor might sometimes get called while or after building the project and then skips RegisterInputs and RegisterActions. A quick fix would be:

Code (CSharp):

1. DebugManager()
2. {
3.     #if !UNITY_EDITOR
4.     if (!Debug.isDebugBuild)
5.         return;
6.     #endif
7.  
8.     RegisterInputs();
9.     RegisterActions();
10. }

Okay, I'll post this as a bug report now

 

Good news, issue has been replicated and approved: https://issuetracker.unity3d.com/is...ditor-when-its-value-is-checked-after-a-build

From my understanding, this issue should fix this annoying bug with the debugmanager

 

Hello,

How is it possible I am still having this issue if it's fixed already? I am on Unity 2021.1.16f.

Edit: It's not fixed yet????

Thanks,
jrDev

 

The status on that bug is still ‘Active’, so they’ll probably fix it, just might take a while.
It’s great that Johannski was able to repro it .
I found if I click on the error in Unity console and even just put a space or something in the script file, it seems to work fine again.
Not sure what’s going on there, but it’s better than restarting.

 

This is possible, since the instance will be lost and the constructor will be called again (with registering everything it should).
@jrDev Yes, sadly still not fixed. I'm a bit disappointed, since I made a very detailed analysis. A hotfix would be very easy, but I guess they might want to tackle the underlying problem, which is a lot more work.

 

Just hit this, URP 12.1.4. Fix not expected I guess by now...

 

Mind-blowing to me that this hasn't been fixed in over a year. This is an incredibly common workflow: domain reload disabled, using URP. Both headline features from Unity in the past few years. I still get this issue on a regular basis, on the latest versions of both the 2020 LTS release and 2021.2.

 

They can’t fix crashes in new versions ... And you write about a year here

https://forum.unity.com/threads/native-crash-reporting-when-importing-urp-or-hdrp.1232112/

 

I don't understand, what does that issue have to do this the issue this thread is discussing?

 

Because the error occurs because of this package...

 

This entire forum is dedicated to that package. Let’s keep this one focused on this specific issue.

 

Creating a new URP project
No manipulations with files and stuff...
Version: 2022.1.0b5 (It's the same with version 2021.2)
I cut out long moments...

 

Please stop posting about that issue in this thread. It isn’t related to the bug this thread was started to discuss. I’m sorry you’re having that issue, but I think we’ll only make things more confusing by mixing it up with this thread.

 

Getting this in HDRP too, on 2021.2.11.

 

This is so annoying.
Still happens in 2021.2.14f1

 

Same happend on my side too

 

+1 on this, although I don't run into it on MacOS, only windows

 

This bug happens on all OSes, so I'm not sure why that would be the case for you. Happens to me on macOS at least once a day. The root cause was explained above and isn't affected by OS.

 

Happening for me too on 2021.2.17f1

 

Yeah can confirm, I've just seen it on Mac, though a lot rarer.

Just now it occurred after syncing to a new git commit for the project, with Unity open in the background - switching back and hitting these errors in play mode.

That the bug has been active since March 2021 is not very encouraging, suspect it's very low down on Unity's prioritisation backlog.

 

Just encountered it, googled it, ended up here
Windows, Unity 2020.3.27f1

Code (CSharp):

1. [Exception] NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
2. DebugManager.UpdateActions() at Library/PackageCache/com.unity.render-pipelines.core@10.8.1/Runtime/Debugging/DebugManager.Actions.cs:241
3. 239:   internal void UpdateActions()
4. 240:   {
5. -->241:       for (int actionIndex = 0; actionIndex < m_DebugActions.Length; ++actionIndex)
6. 242:       {
7. 243:           UpdateAction(actionIndex);
8.  
9. DebugUpdater.Update() at Library/PackageCache/com.unity.render-pipelines.core@10.8.1/Runtime/Debugging/DebugUpdater.cs:18
10. 16:   void Update()
11. 17:   {
12. -->18:       DebugManager.instance.UpdateActions();
13. 20:       if (DebugManager.instance.GetAction(DebugAction.EnableDebugMenu) != 0.0f)
14.  

 

Come on Unity URP Team, what is wrong with you guys ?
It's an easy fix as said before and it's been here for two years now. Some days it happens at each domain reload. Why aren't you doing something about it ?

What the hell.

 

I am having this issue too in Linux using Unity 2021.2.19f1

 

Same unity version as you and I got it too just now. os is windows.

 

Notes:
- Restarting the Editor resets isDebugBuild to True

Does anyone know how to restart the editor? Does restarting mean closing my project and re-opening it? That did not fix the problem for me.

Anyone know? My build is getting bombarded by the null ref error making the dev. console in build unusable for anything.

 

I guess a temporary hack would be to have a script in the scene access at runtime through reflection the s_Instance static variable of the DebugUpdater class, and disable it ? That would remove the null errors

 

I usually work with Domain Reload disabled, and then I bumped into this error today.
Just now, I tried disabling "Enter Play Mode Options" before making a build, then the development build worked correctly!

Before making a build, disabling "Enter Play Mode Options" may help avoid the URP Debug Manager errors.
It's not ideal, but it works as a quick workaround.

 

this error comes out thousands of times even playing a build for one minute. It's sad when these disruptive issues stay open for so long with no acknowledgment especially when someone went through so much trouble to do detailed research of the cause. I voted and commented on the issue. Mentioned workarounds don't help for me.

 

Thank you very much for the tip!
I tried a simpler variation of this idea:

I wrote this simple script to disable URP DebugManager's runtime UI (no idea what this is) and attached it to a GameObject in the very first scene of my game. After the scene loads, the URP runtime debugger (?) is immediately disabled.

This doesn't affect the standard runtime console, it'll still show errors/exceptions as usual (only if you have them in your code, of course), but now it won't spam those URP Debug Manager exceptions anymore.

IMPORTANT: If you use assembly definitions (.asmdef files), you need to add an assembly reference to

Unity.RenderPipelines.Core.Runtime

on the assembly where this script will be located.

Code (CSharp):

1. using UnityEngine;
2. using UnityEngine.Rendering;
3.  
4. public class DisableURPDebugUpdater : MonoBehaviour
5. {
6.     private void Awake()
7.     {
8.         DebugManager.instance.enableRuntimeUI = false;
9.     }
10. }

In my recent tests, after I make a Development Build, the URP Debug Manager errors don't appear in the build anymore (thanks to the above script), but may start appearing in the Unity Editor instead (possibly because I disabled Domain Reload).

In this case, disabling Enter Play Mode Options, then entering Play Mode (doing a full domain reload) makes the errors stop appearing in the Editor.
After that, I can enable Enter Play Mode Options again and the errors won't appear, at least until I make the next development build.

 

Awesome! This worked for me too. I attached the script to my custom splash screen scene and I'm not getting the error spam anymore. Great workaround until Unity fixes the real issue.

 

Still happening in 2021.3.0f1 LTS

 

Oh yeah that's better! Thanks a lot !

 

Did you try the workaround I posted here? I also use 2021.3.0f1 LTS.
If your issue is in the Editor and not in development builds, temporarily disabling "Enter Play Mode Options" may help (in case you're using them); see the end of my workaround post.

https://forum.unity.com/threads/errors-with-the-urp-debug-manager.987795/#post-8055599

 

This happened in 2021.3.1f1 LTS (HDRP) also. However @andreiagmu script fixed for now. Thank you!

 

I can confirm it happens in 2021.3.1f0 LTS with URP on Windows. Unchecking "Enter Play Mode Options" works, but it also makes entering playmode unusably slow in our project.

The posted workaround seems to work the second time I press play. If I make a build and then run the game I get the errors, but if I stop the game and play again I won't get the errors after that.

 

About these errors you said happened after you made the build: when you say "If I make a build and then run the game I get the errors, but if I stop the game and play again," did you mean running/stopping the build or running/stopping Play Mode in the Editor?

My script should work the first time in the build (if you had errors there). But it doesn't avoid the errors in the Editor after the build. So you may have to stop/enter Play Mode again as you described, or even temporarily disable "Enter Play Mode Options" and then run Play Mode (only once, after the build; then you can re-enable it) to clear Unity's internal references.

 

Weirdly for me I have never once seen these errors in the Editor. Only in builds

 

2021.2.13f1c1, error in build if check "Development Build"

NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object

  at UnityEngine.Rendering.DebugManager.UpdateActions () [0x0001b] in D:\Deployment\unity\PapiuAll\Library\PackageCache\com.unity.render-pipelines.core@12.1.4\Runtime\Debugging\DebugManager.Actions.cs:244 

  at UnityEngine.Rendering.DebugUpdater.Update () [0x0002a] in D:\Deployment\unity\PapiuAll\Library\PackageCache\com.unity.render-pipelines.core@12.1.4\Runtime\Debugging\DebugUpdater.cs:180 

 

I have the same issue with "Development Build" build player consistently throws the same error.

NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object UnityEngine.Rendering.DebugManager.UpdateActions () (at C:/Project/SubterrainMT_PC/UnityProject/Library/PackageCache/com.unity.render-pipelines.core@12.1.6/Runtime/Debugging/DebugManager.Actions.cs:244)
UnityEngine.Rendering.DebugUpdater.Update () (at C:/Project/SubterrainMT_PC/UnityProject/Library/PackageCache/com.unity.render-pipelines.core@12.1.6/Runtime/Debugging/DebugUpdater.cs:180)

 

I still have this issue in Unity 2021.3.3f1

 

How many years does Unity usually take to fix simple bugs?

 

Hmm, need to take @andreiagmu his fix ...

hope they fix it soon