ShaderToy

ShaderToy is an online platform and community for creating, sharing, and exploring GLSL fragment shaders. It runs directly in a web browser using WebGL, allowing users to write small programs that render full-screen visuals in real time. The site emphasizes interactive, procedural, and generative graphics used for experimentation, art, and education.

Shaders on ShaderToy are written in GLSL and follow a fixed entry style that is invoked by the rendering engine. The common entry point is a function such as void mainImage(out vec4 fragColor, in vec2 fragCoord); users access a set of uniform variables that convey time, resolution, and input. Typical uniforms include iTime, iTimeDelta, iFrame, iResolution, iMouse, iDate, and iChannel0 through iChannel3 for textures or external data. The rendering target is a full-screen quad, with the shader determining the color for each pixel based on the fragment coordinates and the supplied inputs.

The platform provides a built-in editor with live preview, a gallery of user-submitted shaders, and a social system for discovery. Shaders can be browsed by tags, rated, commented on, and remixed, encouraging collaboration and iterative refinement. iChannel inputs allow users to sample textures, videos, or other shaders, enabling complex compositions and interactive effects.

ShaderToy has influenced learning and practice in GPU programming by offering accessible examples, a persistent archive of shader techniques, and a community-driven space for sharing visual experiments. It remains a widely used resource for artists, developers, and researchers exploring real-time graphics and shader-based art.