The superconducting diode effect refers to a situation where the critical current of a pairing state differs in the forward and reverse directions. In that case, there is a window of current magnitude with resistive behavior in one direction and dissipationless transport in the opposite direction, hence realizing a superconducting analog of a conventional diode. While the diode effect is of fundamental scientific interest, it can also serve as a symmetry-sensitive probe and has potential for quantum technological applications. After an introduction to and overview of the different mechanisms contributing to the superconducting diode effect, I will discuss some of our recent activities on non-reciprocal pairing. Specifically, we will start with spontaneous time-reversal symmetry breaking and how it can induce a superconducting diode effect in the absence of a magnetic field. We will see that the coupling of the supercurrent to the underlying magnetic order parameter can lead to complex behavior, including enhanced non-reciprocity, particularly when dissipative effects are taken into account. Finally, we will discuss under which conditions a diode effect can be stabilized not only in the absence of an external magnetic field but also without net magnetization. While our focus will be on theory, I will also illustrate the findings using concrete systems and discuss relevant experiments.