diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 2534c64a..e69b44bf 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -258,6 +258,7 @@ set(SOURCES
 "gl/fence.cpp"
 "gl/pbo.cpp"
 "gl/query.cpp"
+"gl/ssbo.cpp"
 
 "imgui/imgui.cpp"
 "imgui/imgui_demo.cpp"
diff --git a/gl/query.cpp b/gl/query.cpp
index 99825fa4..3ee4347c 100644
--- a/gl/query.cpp
+++ b/gl/query.cpp
@@ -61,3 +61,64 @@ GLenum gl::query::glenum_target(targets Target) const
 }
 
 thread_local gl::query* gl::query::active_queries[6];
+
+gl::gpu_timer::~gpu_timer()
+{
+	if (m_queries[0] != 0)
+		glDeleteQueries(static_cast<GLsizei>(m_queries.size()), m_queries.data());
+}
+
+void gl::gpu_timer::begin()
+{
+	if (m_queries[0] == 0)
+		glCreateQueries(GL_TIMESTAMP, static_cast<GLsizei>(m_queries.size()), m_queries.data());
+
+	collect();
+	m_active = !m_pending[m_slot];
+	if (m_active)
+		glQueryCounter(m_queries[m_slot * 2], GL_TIMESTAMP);
+}
+
+void gl::gpu_timer::end()
+{
+	if (!m_active)
+		return;
+
+	glQueryCounter(m_queries[m_slot * 2 + 1], GL_TIMESTAMP);
+	m_pending[m_slot] = true;
+	m_slot = (m_slot + 1) % SLOTS;
+	m_active = false;
+}
+
+std::optional<uint64_t> gl::gpu_timer::result()
+{
+	if (m_queries[0] != 0)
+		collect();
+
+	return m_last;
+}
+
+void gl::gpu_timer::collect()
+{
+	// slots finish in the order they were issued, oldest first
+	for (size_t i = 0; i < SLOTS; ++i)
+	{
+		size_t const slot = (m_slot + i) % SLOTS;
+		if (!m_pending[slot])
+			continue;
+
+		GLint startready = GL_FALSE;
+		GLint endready = GL_FALSE;
+		glGetQueryObjectiv(m_queries[slot * 2], GL_QUERY_RESULT_AVAILABLE, &startready);
+		glGetQueryObjectiv(m_queries[slot * 2 + 1], GL_QUERY_RESULT_AVAILABLE, &endready);
+		if (!startready || !endready)
+			break;
+
+		GLuint64 start = 0;
+		GLuint64 end = 0;
+		glGetQueryObjectui64v(m_queries[slot * 2], GL_QUERY_RESULT, &start);
+		glGetQueryObjectui64v(m_queries[slot * 2 + 1], GL_QUERY_RESULT, &end);
+		m_last = end >= start ? end - start : 0;
+		m_pending[slot] = false;
+	}
+}
diff --git a/gl/query.h b/gl/query.h
index 12445790..4960c272 100644
--- a/gl/query.h
+++ b/gl/query.h
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 #pragma once
 
+#include <array>
+#include <optional>
+
 #include "object.h"
 
 namespace gl
@@ -33,4 +36,33 @@ public:
 
 	std::optional<int64_t> result();
 };
+
+// gpu time of a section of commands, from a pair of GL_TIMESTAMP queries. unlike GL_TIME_ELAPSED, timestamps
+// can be taken while another time query runs (e.g. the whole-frame query of the renderer). results are read
+// a few frames later without stalling; if the gpu falls further behind, the measurement is skipped
+class gpu_timer
+{
+  public:
+	gpu_timer() = default;
+	~gpu_timer();
+	gpu_timer(const gpu_timer &) = delete;
+	gpu_timer &operator=(const gpu_timer &) = delete;
+
+	void begin();
+	void end();
+	// duration of the most recent finished measurement, in nanoseconds
+	std::optional<uint64_t> result();
+
+  private:
+	void collect();
+
+	static constexpr size_t SLOTS = 4;
+	// start and end timestamp per slot, created on first use
+	std::array<GLuint, SLOTS * 2> m_queries{};
+	std::array<bool, SLOTS> m_pending{};
+	// slot written by the next begin(), also the oldest one still pending
+	size_t m_slot = 0;
+	bool m_active = false;
+	std::optional<uint64_t> m_last;
+};
 }
diff --git a/gl/shader.cpp b/gl/shader.cpp
index c40c79dc..ca073433 100644
--- a/gl/shader.cpp
+++ b/gl/shader.cpp
@@ -336,3 +336,9 @@ void gl::program::bind(GLuint i)
 {
     glUseProgram(i);
 }
+
+void gl::program::dispatch(GLuint groups_x, GLuint groups_y, GLuint groups_z)
+{
+    bind();
+    glDispatchCompute(groups_x, groups_y, groups_z);
+}
diff --git a/gl/shader.h b/gl/shader.h
index f1735a0e..c92f7b28 100644
--- a/gl/shader.h
+++ b/gl/shader.h
@@ -94,6 +94,9 @@ namespace gl
         void attach(const shader &);
         void link();
 
+        // for a program linked from a compute shader only: binds it and runs the given number of work groups
+        void dispatch(GLuint groups_x, GLuint groups_y = 1, GLuint groups_z = 1);
+
         std::unordered_map<std::string, shader::texture_entry> texture_conf;
         std::unordered_map<std::string, shader::param_entry> param_conf;
 
diff --git a/gl/ssbo.cpp b/gl/ssbo.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..387fddc6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gl/ssbo.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+#include "stdafx.h"
+#include "ssbo.h"
+
+gl::ssbo::ssbo(GLsizeiptr size, GLuint index) : m_index(index)
+{
+	create(size);
+}
+
+gl::ssbo::~ssbo()
+{
+	glDeleteBuffers(1, *this);
+}
+
+void gl::ssbo::create(GLsizeiptr size)
+{
+	glCreateBuffers(1, *this);
+	// written only through glNamedBufferSubData and by shaders
+	glNamedBufferStorage(*this, size, nullptr, GL_DYNAMIC_STORAGE_BIT);
+	m_size = size;
+}
+
+void gl::ssbo::bind_base() const
+{
+	glBindBuffersBase(GL_SHADER_STORAGE_BUFFER, m_index, 1, *this);
+}
+
+void gl::ssbo::resize(GLsizeiptr size)
+{
+	if (size == m_size)
+		return;
+
+	glDeleteBuffers(1, *this);
+	create(size);
+}
+
+void gl::ssbo::update(const void *data, GLintptr offset, GLsizeiptr size)
+{
+	glNamedBufferSubData(*this, offset, size, data);
+}
+
+void gl::ssbo::download(void *data, GLintptr offset, GLsizeiptr size) const
+{
+	glGetNamedBufferSubData(*this, offset, size, data);
+}
+
+void gl::memory_barrier(GLbitfield barriers)
+{
+	glMemoryBarrier(barriers);
+}
diff --git a/gl/ssbo.h b/gl/ssbo.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f8e5f964
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gl/ssbo.h
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#include <type_traits>
+
+#include "object.h"
+
+namespace gl
+{
+	// shader storage buffer (std430 data, compute shader input and output), on 4.6 core direct state access.
+	// the storage is immutable: resize() to a different size replaces the buffer object, drops its contents and
+	// leaves it unbound (call bind_base() again).
+	// binding goes through glBindBuffersBase, which leaves the general GL_SHADER_STORAGE_BUFFER binding point
+	// alone, so the binding tracker of gl::buffer stays valid
+	class ssbo : public object
+	{
+	  public:
+		// size in bytes, > 0. index is the binding point used by the shaders: layout(std430, binding = index)
+		ssbo(GLsizeiptr size, GLuint index);
+		~ssbo();
+
+		void bind_base() const;
+		void resize(GLsizeiptr size);
+		GLsizeiptr size() const
+		{
+			return m_size;
+		}
+
+		void update(const void *data, GLintptr offset, GLsizeiptr size);
+		template <typename T> void update(const T &data, GLintptr offset = 0)
+		{
+			static_assert(std::is_trivially_copyable_v<T>, "ssbo data must be trivially copyable");
+			update(&data, offset, sizeof(data));
+		}
+		// synchronous read back, waits for the gpu; for debug data, not for per-frame use
+		void download(void *data, GLintptr offset, GLsizeiptr size) const;
+
+	  private:
+		void create(GLsizeiptr size);
+
+		GLuint m_index;
+		GLsizeiptr m_size = 0;
+	};
+
+	// makes writes done by shaders (compute dispatches, storage buffer stores) visible to the operations named
+	// by barriers, e.g. GL_SHADER_STORAGE_BARRIER_BIT before a draw that reads what a dispatch wrote
+	void memory_barrier(GLbitfield barriers);
+} // namespace gl
diff --git a/rendering/opengl46/opengl46renderer.cpp b/rendering/opengl46/opengl46renderer.cpp
index dceb9e28..d73f33af 100644
--- a/rendering/opengl46/opengl46renderer.cpp
+++ b/rendering/opengl46/opengl46renderer.cpp
@@ -651,6 +651,8 @@ void opengl46_renderer::SwapBuffers()
     m_debugtimestext += " swap: " + to_string( Timer::subsystem.gfx_swap.average(), 2 ) + " ms\n";
     if (m_gllasttime)
         m_debugtimestext += "gpu frame total: " + to_string((double)(m_gllasttime / 1000ULL) / 1000.0, 3) + " ms\n";
+    if (auto const clusterstime = m_clusterstimer.result())
+        m_debugtimestext += " clusters: " + to_string(static_cast<double>(*clusterstime) / 1000000.0, 3) + " ms\n";
     m_debugtimestext += "uilayer: " + to_string( Timer::subsystem.gfx_gui.average(), 2 ) + " ms\n";
     if( DebugModeFlag )
         m_debugtimestext += m_textures.info();
diff --git a/rendering/opengl46/opengl46renderer.h b/rendering/opengl46/opengl46renderer.h
index 97f0ab0b..f8c37f39 100644
--- a/rendering/opengl46/opengl46renderer.h
+++ b/rendering/opengl46/opengl46renderer.h
@@ -432,6 +432,8 @@ class opengl46_renderer : public gfx_renderer {
 
 	std::optional<gl::query> m_timequery;
 	GLuint64 m_gllasttime = 0;
+	// gpu time of the light cluster compute passes; the debug panel shows it once a pass measures it
+	gl::gpu_timer m_clusterstimer;
 
     double m_precipitationrotation;