shaderit

Shaderit is a cross-platform shader development toolkit that aims to simplify authoring, testing, and deployment of GPU shaders across graphics APIs. It combines a shader editor, a transpiler, and a runtime preview environment to support GLSL, HLSL, SPIR-V, and Metal Shading Language workflows.

It originated as a community project in the early 2020s, with initial public releases focusing on rapid prototyping of small shader effects. It evolved into a broader toolkit through contributions from individual developers and small studios, with ongoing updates to support new APIs and formats.

The core components include a text editor with language support and syntax highlighting, a visual shader graph, and a multi-target transpiler that converts shaders between shading languages. It offers live preview in a configurable viewport, error reporting, and basic debugging tools such as variable inspection and step execution. A built-in shader library and example scenes assist learning and reuse. The project emphasizes portability and a permissive license to facilitate integration into engines and pipelines.

Shaderit is used by artists and engineers to prototype effects, optimize shader code, and generate shader assets for engines and WebGL applications. It can operate as a standalone application or be integrated as a plugin or build step in engine pipelines.

The toolkit has been praised for its cross-platform approach and approachable workflow, while critics note that its ecosystem and performance profiling capabilities are still maturing compared with established tools.

See also: Shaders, GLSL, HLSL, SPIR-V, Metal Shading Language, Shader Toy, Shader Graph.