3 file types use the .shader file extension.

What is an SHADER file?

A SHADER file contains shader properties used by Godot Engine, a free and open-source game engine used to create 2D and 3D games. It stores various data types and functions in the Godot shading language, which is based on the OpenGL ES (GLSL ES) 3.0 shading language. SHADER files are referenced by shader programs in the game for 2D and 3D rendering and particles in the game.

More Information

Category: Game Files

Quake 3 Engine Shader File

Shader properties file used by games developed with id Tech 3, the Quake III engine; contains definitions for map textures, such as image files, scale, motion, and lighting settings; referenced by other game components, such as map loaders, to set appearance properties within the game.

SHADER files are stored in a plain-text format and can be viewed with a text editor. They often are located in the /​scripts directory of a .PK3 game package file.

Programs that open or reference SHADER files

Updated: May 24, 2010

Unity Shader Asset

A SHADER file is a shader asset created in Unity, a video game development application. It contains source code used to render in-game pixels. SHADER files are created by selecting Assets → Create → Shader from Unity's menu bar.

Unity is a cross-platform 3D video game development application. As a developer creates a game in Unity, they can add shaders to that game. Shaders are programs that tell a game how to render pixels in different conditions, to produce shadows, lighting, and texture effects.

Shaders created for use in Unity are saved as SHADER files. These files are plain text files that contain source code written in both the High-level Shader Language (HLSL) and ShaderLab programming languages. HLSL is a C-like language created and maintained by Microsoft, while ShaderLab is Unity's proprietary shader programming language. The HLSL sections of a SHADER file are prefaced by the HLSL or CG prefixes.

SHADER files are meant to be opened in Unity Technologies Unity (cross-platform) as part of a Unity project. To import a SHADER file into a Unity project, open the project, right-click in the Project window, and select Import New Asset... . Then, select and import your SHADER file. After you import your SHADER file into Unity, you can double-click your new shader asset to view the asset's code in a script editor.

Because SHADER files are plain text files, you can also open and edit them in any text or source code editor, such as Microsoft Visual Studio Code (cross-platform) or GitHub Atom (cross-platform).

Programs that open or reference SHADER files

Updated: October 22, 2021