Unity Profiler capture - module reference

Supporting detail for game-perf-profiling Step 1 (capture) and Step 2 (compare). Cited once here rather than repeated in the spine.

The Unity Profiler collects CPU, GPU, and memory data in the Editor or from a connected target device (docs.unity3d.com/Manual/Profiler.html). Open it via Window > Analysis > Profiler (Ctrl+7).

Key modules to enable for a frame-time pass:

• CPU Usage - game thread, render thread, and job-system costs per frame.
• GPU Usage - available on Windows DirectX 11/12 and Linux OpenGL; breaks time into Opaque, Transparent, Shadows/Depth, Deferred, and PostProcess passes with DrawCalls counts and GPU ms per entry (docs.unity3d.com/Manual/ProfilerGPU.html). GPU profiling is unavailable when Graphics Jobs are enabled in Player Settings; disable them before a profiling session.
• Memory - tracks managed heap, GC allocations per frame in bytes, and reserved vs. in-use breakdowns for textures, meshes, materials, and animation clips (docs.unity3d.com/Manual/ProfilerMemory.html).

For standalone builds, use Deep Profiling or custom ProfilerMarker instrumentation to capture application-specific events without the full overhead of deep profiling.

Save the capture as a .data file (Profiler toolbar > Save). Retain it alongside any Profile Analyzer .pdata export: the .pdata file does not embed the original profile frames (docs.unity3d.com/Packages/com.unity.performance.profile-analyzer@1.2/manual/index.html).

Profile Analyzer (package com.unity.performance.profile-analyzer, Unity 2020.3+, install via Package Manager) aggregates and visualizes frame and marker data from a set of Profiler frames, enabling side-by-side comparison of two captures that the standard Profiler does not support. Open it via Window > Analysis > Profile Analyzer. The Analyzer navigates to matching markers in the Profiler when you click a marker entry; make a selection in the Profiler beforehand for navigation to work.