The present theoretical study focuses on enhancing the performance and efficiency of casting and extrusion processes. Thus, this work examines the flow characteristics and heat transfer of unsteady tri-hybrid nanofluid flow in porous media while also considering the heat source/sink effect. The governing boundary layer equations are solved via a built-in collocation method available in MATLAB software. Three distinct numerical solutions which convey the fluid flow characteristics have been identified. Notably, nanofluid composition influences boundary layer separation, with tri-hybrid nanofluid showing enhanced heat transfer when the stretching/shrinking parameter exceeds –10.53. When the sheet shrunk at –10.8, ternary and hybrid nanofluids improved thermal efficiency by 15.22% and 20.38%, respectively, compared to mono nanofluids.