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Shading language

Introduction

Redot uses a shading language similar to GLSL ES 3.0. Most datatypes and functions are supported, and the few remaining ones will likely be added over time.

If you are already familiar with GLSL, the Redot Shader Migration Guide is a resource that will help you transition from regular GLSL to Redot's shading language.

Data types

Most GLSL ES 3.0 datatypes are supported:

Type	Description
void	Void datatype, useful only for functions that return nothing.
bool	Boolean datatype, can only contain true or false.
bvec2	Two-component vector of booleans.
bvec3	Three-component vector of booleans.
bvec4	Four-component vector of booleans.
int	32 bit signed scalar integer.
ivec2	Two-component vector of signed integers.
ivec3	Three-component vector of signed integers.
ivec4	Four-component vector of signed integers.
uint	Unsigned scalar integer; can't contain negative numbers.
uvec2	Two-component vector of unsigned integers.
uvec3	Three-component vector of unsigned integers.
uvec4	Four-component vector of unsigned integers.
float	32 bit floating-point scalar.
vec2	Two-component vector of floating-point values.
vec3	Three-component vector of floating-point values.
vec4	Four-component vector of floating-point values.
mat2	2x2 matrix, in column major order.
mat3	3x3 matrix, in column major order.
mat4	4x4 matrix, in column major order.
sampler2D	Sampler type for binding 2D textures, which are read as float.
isampler2D	Sampler type for binding 2D textures, which are read as signed integer.
usampler2D	Sampler type for binding 2D textures, which are read as unsigned integer.
sampler2DArray	Sampler type for binding 2D texture arrays, which are read as float.
isampler2DArray	Sampler type for binding 2D texture arrays, which are read as signed integer.
usampler2DArray	Sampler type for binding 2D texture arrays, which are read as unsigned integer.
sampler3D	Sampler type for binding 3D textures, which are read as float.
isampler3D	Sampler type for binding 3D textures, which are read as signed integer.
usampler3D	Sampler type for binding 3D textures, which are read as unsigned integer.
samplerCube	Sampler type for binding Cubemaps, which are read as float.
samplerCubeArray	Sampler type for binding Cubemap arrays, which are read as float. Only supported in Forward+ and Mobile, not Compatibility.

Warning

Local variables are not initialized to a default value such as 0.0. If you use a variable without assigning it first, it will contain whatever value was already present at that memory location, and unpredictable visual glitches will appear. However, uniforms and varyings are initialized to a default value.

Comments

The shading language supports the same comment syntax as used in C# and C++:

// Single-line comment.
int a = 2;  // Another single-line comment.

/*
Multi-line comment.
The comment ends when the ending delimiter is found
(here, it's on the line below).
*/
int b = 3;

Additionally, you can use documentation comments that are displayed in the inspector when hovering a shader parameter. Documentation comments are currently only supported when placed immediately above a uniform declaration. These documentation comments only support the multiline comment syntax and must use two leading asterisks (/**) instead of just one (/*):

/**
 * This is a documentation comment.
 * These lines will appear in the inspector when hovering the shader parameter
 * named "Something".
 * You can use [b]BBCode[/b] [i]formatting[/i] in the comment.
 */
uniform int something = 1;

The asterisks on the follow-up lines are not required, but are recommended as per the Shaders style guide. These asterisks are automatically stripped by the inspector, so they won't appear in the tooltip.

Casting

Just like GLSL ES 3.0, implicit casting between scalars and vectors of the same size but different type is not allowed. Casting of types of different size is also not allowed. Conversion must be done explicitly via constructors.

Example:

float a = 2; // invalid
float a = 2.0; // valid
float a = float(2); // valid

Default integer constants are signed, so casting is always needed to convert to unsigned:

int a = 2; // valid
uint a = 2; // invalid
uint a = uint(2); // valid

Members

Individual scalar members of vector types are accessed via the "x", "y", "z" and "w" members. Alternatively, using "r", "g", "b" and "a" also works and is equivalent. Use whatever fits best for your needs.

For matrices, use the m[column][row] indexing syntax to access each scalar, or m[column] to access a vector by column index. For example, for accessing the y-component of the translation from a mat4 transform matrix (4th column, 2nd line) you use m[3][1] or m[3].y.

Constructing

Construction of vector types must always pass:

// The required amount of scalars
vec4 a = vec4(0.0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0);
// Complementary vectors and/or scalars
vec4 a = vec4(vec2(0.0, 1.0), vec2(2.0, 3.0));
vec4 a = vec4(vec3(0.0, 1.0, 2.0), 3.0);
// A single scalar for the whole vector
vec4 a = vec4(0.0);

Construction of matrix types requires vectors of the same dimension as the matrix, interpreted as columns. You can also build a diagonal matrix using matx(float) syntax. Accordingly, mat4(1.0) is an identity matrix.

mat2 m2 = mat2(vec2(1.0, 0.0), vec2(0.0, 1.0));
mat3 m3 = mat3(vec3(1.0, 0.0, 0.0), vec3(0.0, 1.0, 0.0), vec3(0.0, 0.0, 1.0));
mat4 identity = mat4(1.0);

Matrices can also be built from a matrix of another dimension. There are two rules:

1. If a larger matrix is constructed from a smaller matrix, the additional rows and columns are set to the values they would have in an identity matrix. 2. If a smaller matrix is constructed from a larger matrix, the top, left submatrix of the larger matrix is used.

mat3 basis = mat3(MODEL_MATRIX);
mat4 m4 = mat4(basis);
mat2 m2 = mat2(m4);

Swizzling

It is possible to obtain any combination of components in any order, as long as the result is another vector type (or scalar). This is easier shown than explained:

vec4 a = vec4(0.0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0);
vec3 b = a.rgb; // Creates a vec3 with vec4 components.
vec3 b = a.ggg; // Also valid; creates a vec3 and fills it with a single vec4 component.
vec3 b = a.bgr; // "b" will be vec3(2.0, 1.0, 0.0).
vec3 b = a.xyz; // Also rgba, xyzw are equivalent.
vec3 b = a.stp; // And stpq (for texture coordinates).
float c = b.w; // Invalid, because "w" is not present in vec3 b.
vec3 c = b.xrt; // Invalid, mixing different styles is forbidden.
b.rrr = a.rgb; // Invalid, assignment with duplication.
b.bgr = a.rgb; // Valid assignment. "b"'s "blue" component will be "a"'s "red" and vice versa.

Precision

It is possible to add precision modifiers to datatypes; use them for uniforms, variables, arguments and varyings:

lowp vec4 a = vec4(0.0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0); // low precision, usually 8 bits per component mapped to 0-1
mediump vec4 a = vec4(0.0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0); // medium precision, usually 16 bits or half float
highp vec4 a = vec4(0.0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0); // high precision, uses full float or integer range (32 bit default)

Using lower precision for some operations can speed up the math involved (at the cost of less precision). This is rarely needed in the vertex processor function (where full precision is needed most of the time), but is often useful in the fragment processor.

Some architectures (mainly mobile) can benefit significantly from this, but there are downsides such as the additional overhead of conversion between precisions. Refer to the documentation of the target architecture for further information. In many cases, mobile drivers cause inconsistent or unexpected behavior and it is best to avoid specifying precision unless necessary.

Arrays

Arrays are containers for multiple variables of a similar type.

Local arrays

Local arrays are declared in functions. They can use all of the allowed datatypes, except samplers. The array declaration follows a C-style syntax: [const] + [precision] + typename + identifier + [array size].

void fragment() {
    float arr[3];
}

They can be initialized at the beginning like:

float float_arr[3] = float[3] (1.0, 0.5, 0.0); // first constructor

int int_arr[3] = int[] (2, 1, 0); // second constructor

vec2 vec2_arr[3] = { vec2(1.0, 1.0), vec2(0.5, 0.5), vec2(0.0, 0.0) }; // third constructor

bool bool_arr[] = { true, true, false }; // fourth constructor - size is defined automatically from the element count

You can declare multiple arrays (even with different sizes) in one expression:

float a[3] = float[3] (1.0, 0.5, 0.0),
b[2] = { 1.0, 0.5 },
c[] = { 0.7 },
d = 0.0,
e[5];

To access an array element, use the indexing syntax:

float arr[3];

arr[0] = 1.0; // setter

COLOR.r = arr[0]; // getter

Arrays also have a built-in function .length() (not to be confused with the built-in length() function). It doesn't accept any parameters and will return the array's size.

float arr[] = { 0.0, 1.0, 0.5, -1.0 };
for (int i = 0; i < arr.length(); i++) {
    // ...
}

Note

If you use an index either below 0 or greater than array size - the shader will crash and break rendering. To prevent this, use length(), if, or clamp() functions to ensure the index is between 0 and the array's length. Always carefully test and check your code. If you pass a constant expression or a number, the editor will check its bounds to prevent this crash.

Global arrays

You can declare arrays in global space as either const or uniform:

shader_type spatial;

const lowp vec3 v[1] = lowp vec3[1] ( vec3(0, 0, 1) );
uniform lowp vec3 w[1];

void fragment() {
  ALBEDO = v[0] + w[0];
}

Note

Global arrays use the same syntax as local arrays, except with a const or uniform added to their declaration. Note that uniform arrays can't have a default value.

Constants

Use the const keyword before the variable declaration to make that variable immutable, which means that it cannot be modified. All basic types, except samplers can be declared as constants. Accessing and using a constant value is slightly faster than using a uniform. Constants must be initialized at their declaration.

const vec2 a = vec2(0.0, 1.0);
vec2 b;

a = b; // invalid
b = a; // valid

Constants cannot be modified and additionally cannot have hints, but multiple of them (if they have the same type) can be declared in a single expression e.g

const vec2 V1 = vec2(1, 1), V2 = vec2(2, 2);

Similar to variables, arrays can also be declared with const.

const float arr[] = { 1.0, 0.5, 0.0 };

arr[0] = 1.0; // invalid

COLOR.r = arr[0]; // valid

Constants can be declared both globally (outside of any function) or locally (inside a function). Global constants are useful when you want to have access to a value throughout your shader that does not need to be modified. Like uniforms, global constants are shared between all shader stages, but they are not accessible outside of the shader.

shader_type spatial;

const float GOLDEN_RATIO = 1.618033988749894;

Constants of the float type must be initialized using . notation after the decimal part or by using the scientific notation. The optional f post-suffix is also supported.

float a = 1.0;
float b = 1.0f; // same, using suffix for clarity
float c = 1e-1; // gives 0.1 by using the scientific notation

Constants of the uint (unsigned int) type must have a u suffix to differentiate them from signed integers. Alternatively, this can be done by using the uint(x) built-in conversion function.

uint a = 1u;
uint b = uint(1);

Structs

Structs are compound types which can be used for better abstraction of shader code. You can declare them at the global scope like:

struct PointLight {
    vec3 position;
    vec3 color;
    float intensity;
};

After declaration, you can instantiate and initialize them like:

void fragment()
{
    PointLight light;
    light.position = vec3(0.0);
    light.color = vec3(1.0, 0.0, 0.0);
    light.intensity = 0.5;
}

Or use struct constructor for same purpose:

PointLight light = PointLight(vec3(0.0), vec3(1.0, 0.0, 0.0), 0.5);

Structs may contain other struct or array, you can also instance them as global constant:

shader_type spatial;

...

struct Scene {
    PointLight lights[2];
};

const Scene scene = Scene(PointLight[2](PointLight(vec3(0.0, 0.0, 0.0), vec3(1.0, 0.0, 0.0), 1.0), PointLight(vec3(0.0, 0.0, 0.0), vec3(1.0, 0.0, 0.0), 1.0)));

void fragment()
{
    ALBEDO = scene.lights[0].color;
}

You can also pass them to functions:

shader_type canvas_item;

...

Scene construct_scene(PointLight light1, PointLight light2) {
    return Scene({light1, light2});
}

void fragment()
{
    COLOR.rgb = construct_scene(PointLight(vec3(0.0, 0.0, 0.0), vec3(1.0, 0.0, 0.0), 1.0), PointLight(vec3(0.0, 0.0, 0.0), vec3(1.0, 0.0, 1.0), 1.0)).lights[0].color;
}

Operators

Redot shading language supports the same set of operators as GLSL ES 3.0. Below is the list of them in precedence order:

Precedence	Class	Operator
1 (highest)	parenthetical grouping	()
2	unary	+, -, !, ~
3	multiplicative	/, *, %
4	additive	+, -
5	bit-wise shift	<<, >>
6	relational	<, >, <=, >=
7	equality	==, !=
8	bit-wise AND	&
9	bit-wise exclusive OR	^
10	bit-wise inclusive OR	|
11	logical AND	&&
12 (lowest)	logical inclusive OR	||

Flow control

Redot Shading language supports the most common types of flow control:

// `if` and `else`.
if (cond) {

} else {

}

// Ternary operator.
// This is an expression that behaves like `if`/`else` and returns the value.
// If `cond` evaluates to `true`, `result` will be `9`.
// Otherwise, `result` will be `5`.
int result = cond ? 9 : 5;

// `switch`.
switch (i) { // `i` should be a signed integer expression.
    case -1:
        break;
    case 0:
        return; // `break` or `return` to avoid running the next `case`.
    case 1: // Fallthrough (no `break` or `return`): will run the next `case`.
    case 2:
        break;
    //...
    default: // Only run if no `case` above matches. Optional.
        break;
}

// `for` loop. Best used when the number of elements to iterate on
// is known in advance.
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {

}

// `while` loop. Best used when the number of elements to iterate on
// is not known in advance.
while (cond) {

}

// `do while`. Like `while`, but always runs at least once even if `cond`
// never evaluates to `true`.
do {

} while (cond);

Keep in mind that in modern GPUs, an infinite loop can exist and can freeze your application (including editor). Redot can't protect you from this, so be careful not to make this mistake!

Also, when comparing floating-point values against a number, make sure to compare them against a range instead of an exact number.

A comparison like if (value == 0.3) may not evaluate to true. Floating-point math is often approximate and can defy expectations. It can also behave differently depending on the hardware.

Don't do this.

float value = 0.1 + 0.2;

// May not evaluate to `true`!
if (value == 0.3) {
    // ...
}

Instead, always perform a range comparison with an epsilon value. The larger the floating-point number (and the less precise the floating-point number), the larger the epsilon value should be.

const float EPSILON = 0.0001;
if (value >= 0.3 - EPSILON && value <= 0.3 + EPSILON) {
    // ...
}

See floating-point-gui.de for more information.

Discarding

Fragment, light, and custom functions (called from fragment or light) can use the discard keyword. If used, the fragment is discarded and nothing is written.

Beware that discard has a performance cost when used, as it will prevent the depth prepass from being effective on any surfaces using the shader. Also, a discarded pixel still needs to be rendered in the vertex shader, which means a shader that uses discard on all of its pixels is still more expensive to render compared to not rendering any object in the first place.

Functions

It is possible to define functions in a Redot shader. They use the following syntax:

ret_type func_name(args) {
    return ret_type; // if returning a value
}

// a more specific example:

int sum2(int a, int b) {
    return a + b;
}

You can only use functions that have been defined above (higher in the editor) the function from which you are calling them. Redefining a function that has already been defined above (or is a built-in function name) will cause an error.

Function arguments can have special qualifiers:

• in: Means the argument is only for reading (default).

• out: Means the argument is only for writing.

• inout: Means the argument is fully passed via reference.

• const: Means the argument is a constant and cannot be changed, may be combined with in qualifier.

Example below:

void sum2(int a, int b, inout int result) {
    result = a + b;
}

Function overloading is supported. You can define multiple functions with the same name, but different arguments. Note that implicit casting in overloaded function calls is not allowed, such as from int to float (1 to 1.0).

vec3 get_color(int t) {
    return vec3(1, 0, 0); // Red color.
}
vec3 get_color(float t) {
    return vec3(0, 1, 0); // Green color.
}
void fragment() {
    vec3 red = get_color(1);
    vec3 green = get_color(1.0);
}

Varyings

To send data from the vertex to the fragment (or light) processor function, varyings are used. They are set for every primitive vertex in the vertex processor, and the value is interpolated for every pixel in the fragment processor.

shader_type spatial;

varying vec3 some_color;

void vertex() {
    some_color = NORMAL; // Make the normal the color.
}

void fragment() {
    ALBEDO = some_color;
}

void light() {
    DIFFUSE_LIGHT = some_color * 100; // optionally
}

Varying can also be an array:

shader_type spatial;

varying float var_arr[3];

void vertex() {
    var_arr[0] = 1.0;
    var_arr[1] = 0.0;
}

void fragment() {
    ALBEDO = vec3(var_arr[0], var_arr[1], var_arr[2]); // red color
}

It's also possible to send data from fragment to light processors using varying keyword. To do so you can assign it in the fragment and later use it in the light function.

shader_type spatial;

varying vec3 some_light;

void fragment() {
    some_light = ALBEDO * 100.0; // Make a shining light.
}

void light() {
    DIFFUSE_LIGHT = some_light;
}

Note that varying may not be assigned in custom functions or a light processor function like:

shader_type spatial;

varying float test;

void foo() {
    test = 0.0; // Error.
}

void vertex() {
    test = 0.0;
}

void light() {
    test = 0.0; // Error too.
}

This limitation was introduced to prevent incorrect usage before initialization.

Interpolation qualifiers

Certain values are interpolated during the shading pipeline. You can modify how these interpolations are done by using interpolation qualifiers.

shader_type spatial;

varying flat vec3 our_color;

void vertex() {
    our_color = COLOR.rgb;
}

void fragment() {
    ALBEDO = our_color;
}

There are two possible interpolation qualifiers:

Qualifier	Description
flat	The value is not interpolated.
smooth	The value is interpolated in a perspective-correct fashion. This is the default.

Uniforms

Passing values to shaders is possible. These are global to the whole shader and are called uniforms. When a shader is later assigned to a material, the uniforms will appear as editable parameters in it. Uniforms can't be written from within the shader. Any GLSL type except for void can be a uniform.

shader_type spatial;

uniform float some_value;

uniform vec3 colors[3];

You can set uniforms in the editor in the material. Or you can set them through GDScript:

material.set_shader_parameter("some_value", some_value)

material.set_shader_parameter("colors", [Vector3(1, 0, 0), Vector3(0, 1, 0), Vector3(0, 0, 1)])

Note

The first argument to set_shader_parameter is the name of the uniform in the shader. It must match exactly to the name of the uniform in the shader or else it will not be recognized.

Note

There is a limit to the total size of shader uniforms that you can use in a single shader. On most desktop platforms, this limit is 65536 bytes, or 4096 vec4 uniforms. On mobile platforms, the limit is typically 16384 bytes, or 1024 vec4 uniforms. Vector uniforms smaller than a vec4, such as vec2 or vec3, are padded to the size of a vec4. Scalar uniforms such as int or float are not padded, and bool is padded to the size of an int.

Arrays count as the total size of their contents. If you need a uniform array that is larger than this limit, consider packing the data into a texture instead, since the contents of a texture do not count towards this limit, only the size of the sampler uniform.

Uniform hints

Redot provides optional uniform hints to make the compiler understand what the uniform is used for, and how the editor should allow users to modify it.

shader_type spatial;

uniform vec4 color : source_color;
uniform float amount : hint_range(0, 1);
uniform vec4 other_color : source_color = vec4(1.0); // Default values go after the hint.
uniform sampler2D image : source_color;

Source Color

Any texture which contains sRGB color data requires a source_color hint in order to be correctly sampled. This is because Redot renders in linear color space, but some textures contain sRGB color data. If this hint is not used, the texture will appear washed out.

Albedo and color textures should typically have a source_color hint. Normal, roughness, metallic, and height textures typically do not need a source_color hint.

Using source_color hint is required in the Forward+ and Mobile renderers, and in canvas_item shaders when HDR 2D is enabled. The source_color hint is optional for the Compatibility renderer, and for canvas_item shaders if HDR 2D is disabled. However, it is recommended to always use the source_color hint, because it works even if you change renderers or disable HDR 2D.

Full list of uniform hints below:

Type	Hint	Description
vec3, vec4	source_color	Used as color.
int, float	hint_range(min, max[, step])	Restricted to values in a range (with min/max/step).
sampler2D	source_color	Used as albedo color.
sampler2D	hint_normal	Used as normalmap.
sampler2D	hint_default_white	As value or albedo color, default to opaque white.
sampler2D	hint_default_black	As value or albedo color, default to opaque black.
sampler2D	hint_default_transparent	As value or albedo color, default to transparent black.
sampler2D	hint_anisotropy	As flowmap, default to right.
sampler2D	hint_roughness[_r, _g, _b, _a, _normal, _gray]	Used for roughness limiter on import (attempts reducing specular aliasing). _normal is a normal map that guides the roughness limiter, with roughness increasing in areas that have high-frequency detail.
sampler2D	filter[_nearest, _linear][_mipmap][_anisotropic]	Enabled specified texture filtering.
sampler2D	repeat[_enable, _disable]	Enabled texture repeating.
sampler2D	hint_screen_texture	Texture is the screen texture.
sampler2D	hint_depth_texture	Texture is the depth texture.
sampler2D	hint_normal_roughness_texture	Texture is the normal roughness texture (only supported in Forward+).

GDScript uses different variable types than GLSL does, so when passing variables from GDScript to shaders, Redot converts the type automatically. Below is a table of the corresponding types:

GLSL type	GDScript type	Notes
bool	bool
bvec2	int	Bitwise packed int where bit 0 (LSB) corresponds to x. For example, a bvec2 of (bx, by) could be created in the following way: bvec2_input: int = (int(bx)) | (int(by) << 1)
bvec3	int	Bitwise packed int where bit 0 (LSB) corresponds to x.
bvec4	int	Bitwise packed int where bit 0 (LSB) corresponds to x.
int	int
ivec2	Vector2i
ivec3	Vector3i
ivec4	Vector4i
uint	int
uvec2	Vector2i
uvec3	Vector3i
uvec4	Vector4i
float	float
vec2	Vector2
vec3	Vector3, Color	When Color is used, it will be interpreted as (r, g, b).
vec4	Vector4, Color, Rect2, Plane, Quaternion	When Color is used, it will be interpreted as (r, g, b, a). When Rect2 is used, it will be interpreted as (position.x, position.y, size.x, size.y). When Plane is used it will be interpreted as (normal.x, normal.y, normal.z, d).
mat2	Transform2D
mat3	Basis
mat4	Projection, Transform3D	When a Transform3D is used, the w Vector is set to the identity.
sampler2D	Texture2D
isampler2D	Texture2D
usampler2D	Texture2D
sampler2DArray	Texture2DArray
isampler2DArray	Texture2DArray
usampler2DArray	Texture2DArray
sampler3D	Texture3D
isampler3D	Texture3D
usampler3D	Texture3D
samplerCube	Cubemap	See Changing import type for instructions on importing cubemaps for use in Redot.
samplerCubeArray	CubemapArray	Only supported in Forward+ and Mobile, not Compatibility.

Note

Be careful when setting shader uniforms from GDScript, no error will be thrown if the type does not match. Your shader will just exhibit undefined behavior.

Warning

As with the last note, no error will be thrown if the typing does not match while setting a shader uniform, this unintuitively includes setting a (GDscript) 64 bit int/float into a Redot shader language int/float (32 bit). This may lead to unintentional consequences in cases where high precision is required.

Uniforms can also be assigned default values:

shader_type spatial;

uniform vec4 some_vector = vec4(0.0);
uniform vec4 some_color : source_color = vec4(1.0);

Note that when adding a default value and a hint, the default value goes after the hint.

If you need to make multiple uniforms to be grouped in the specific category of an inspector, you can use a group_uniform keyword like:

group_uniforms MyGroup;
uniform sampler2D test;

You can close the group by using:

group_uniforms;

The syntax also supports subgroups (it's not mandatory to declare the base group before this):

group_uniforms MyGroup.MySubgroup;

Global uniforms

Sometimes, you want to modify a parameter in many different shaders at once. With a regular uniform, this takes a lot of work as all these shaders need to be tracked and the uniform needs to be set for each of them. Global uniforms allow you to create and update uniforms that will be available in all shaders, in every shader type (canvas_item, spatial, particles, sky and fog).

Global uniforms are especially useful for environmental effects that affect many objects in a scene, like having foliage bend when the player is nearby, or having objects move with the wind.

To create a global uniform, open the Project Settings then go to the Shader Globals tab. Specify a name for the uniform (case-sensitive) and a type, then click Add in the top-right corner of the dialog. You can then edit the value assigned to the uniform by clicking the value in the list of uniforms:

Adding a global uniform in the Shader Globals tab of the Project Settings

After creating a global uniform, you can use it in a shader as follows:

shader_type canvas_item;

global uniform vec4 my_color;

void fragment() {
    COLOR = my_color.rgb;
}

Note that the global uniform must exist in the Project Settings at the time the shader is saved, or compilation will fail. While you can assign a default value using global uniform vec4 my_color = ... in the shader code, it will be ignored as the global uniform must always be defined in the Project Settings anyway.

To change the value of a global uniform at runtime, use the RenderingServer.global_shader_parameter_set method in a script:

RenderingServer.global_shader_parameter_set("my_color", Color(0.3, 0.6, 1.0))

Assigning global uniform values can be done as many times as desired without impacting performance, as setting data doesn't require synchronization between the CPU and GPU.

You can also add or remove global uniforms at runtime:

RenderingServer.global_shader_parameter_add("my_color", RenderingServer.GLOBAL_VAR_TYPE_COLOR, Color(0.3, 0.6, 1.0))
RenderingServer.global_shader_parameter_remove("my_color")

Adding or removing global uniforms at runtime has a performance cost, although it's not as pronounced compared to getting global uniform values from a script (see the warning below).

Warning

While you can query the value of a global uniform at runtime in a script using RenderingServer.global_shader_parameter_get("uniform_name"), this has a large performance penalty as the rendering thread needs to synchronize with the calling thread.

Therefore, it's not recommended to read global shader uniform values continuously in a script. If you need to read values in a script after setting them, consider creating an autoload where you store the values you need to query at the same time you're setting them as global uniforms.

Per-instance uniforms

Note

Per-instance uniforms are only available in spatial (3D) shaders.

Sometimes, you want to modify a parameter on each node using the material. As an example, in a forest full of trees, when you want each tree to have a slightly different color that is editable by hand. Without per-instance uniforms, this requires creating a unique material for each tree (each with a slightly different hue). This makes material management more complex, and also has a performance overhead due to the scene requiring more unique material instances. Vertex colors could also be used here, but they'd require creating unique copies of the mesh for each different color, which also has a performance overhead.

Per-instance uniforms are set on each GeometryInstance3D, rather than on each Material instance. Take this into account when working with meshes that have multiple materials assigned to them, or MultiMesh setups.

shader_type spatial;

// Provide a hint to edit as a color. Optionally, a default value can be provided.
// If no default value is provided, the type's default is used (e.g. opaque black for colors).
instance uniform vec4 my_color : source_color = vec4(1.0, 0.5, 0.0, 1.0);

void fragment() {
    ALBEDO = my_color.rgb;
}

After saving the shader, you can change the per-instance uniform's value using the inspector:

Setting a per-instance uniform's value in the GeometryInstance3D section of the inspector

Per-instance uniform values can also be set at runtime using set_instance_shader_parameter method on a node that inherits from GeometryInstance3D:

$MeshInstance3D.set_instance_shader_parameter("my_color", Color(0.3, 0.6, 1.0))

When using per-instance uniforms, there are some restrictions you should be aware of:

• Per-instance uniforms do not support textures, only regular scalar and vector types. As a workaround, you can pass a texture array as a regular uniform, then pass the index of the texture to be drawn using a per-instance uniform.

• There is a practical maximum limit of 16 instance uniforms per shader.

• If your mesh uses multiple materials, the parameters for the first mesh material found will "win" over the subsequent ones, unless they have the same name, index and type. In this case, all parameters are affected correctly.

• If you run into the above situation, you can avoid clashes by manually specifying the index (0-15) of the instance uniform by using the instance_index hint:

instance uniform vec4 my_color : source_color, instance_index(5);

Built-in variables

A large number of built-in variables are available, like UV, COLOR and VERTEX. What variables are available depends on the type of shader (spatial, canvas_item or particle) and the function used (vertex, fragment or light). For a list of the built-in variables that are available, please see the corresponding pages:

• Spatial shaders

• Canvas item shaders

• Particle shaders

• Sky shaders

• Fog shaders

Built-in functions

A large number of built-in functions are supported, conforming to GLSL ES 3.0. When vec_type (float), vec_int_type, vec_uint_type, vec_bool_type nomenclature is used, it can be scalar or vector.

Function	Description / Return value
vec_type radians (vec_type degrees)	Convert degrees to radians.
vec_type degrees (vec_type radians)	Convert radians to degrees.
vec_type sin (vec_type x)	Sine.
vec_type cos (vec_type x)	Cosine.
vec_type tan (vec_type x)	Tangent.
vec_type asin (vec_type x)	Arcsine.
vec_type acos (vec_type x)	Arccosine.
vec_type atan (vec_type y_over_x)	Arctangent.
vec_type atan (vec_type y, vec_type x)	Arctangent.
vec_type sinh (vec_type x)	Hyperbolic sine.
vec_type cosh (vec_type x)	Hyperbolic cosine.
vec_type tanh (vec_type x)	Hyperbolic tangent.
vec_type asinh (vec_type x)	Inverse hyperbolic sine.
vec_type acosh (vec_type x)	Inverse hyperbolic cosine.
vec_type atanh (vec_type x)	Inverse hyperbolic tangent.
vec_type pow (vec_type x, vec_type y)	Power (undefined if x < 0 or if x == 0 and y <= 0).
vec_type exp (vec_type x)	Base-e exponential.
vec_type exp2 (vec_type x)	Base-2 exponential.
vec_type log (vec_type x)	Natural logarithm.
vec_type log2 (vec_type x)	Base-2 logarithm.
vec_type sqrt (vec_type x)	Square root.
vec_type inversesqrt (vec_type x)	Inverse square root.
vec_type abs (vec_type x) ivec_type abs (ivec_type x)	Absolute value (returns positive value if negative).
vec_type sign (vec_type x) ivec_type sign (ivec_type x)	Sign (returns 1.0 if positive, -1.0 if negative, 0.0 if zero).
vec_type floor (vec_type x)	Round to the integer below.
vec_type round (vec_type x)	Round to the nearest integer.
vec_type roundEven (vec_type x)	Round to the nearest even integer.
vec_type trunc (vec_type x)	Truncation.
vec_type ceil (vec_type x)	Round to the integer above.
vec_type fract (vec_type x)	Fractional (returns x - floor(x)).
vec_type mod (vec_type x, vec_type y) vec_type mod (vec_type x, float y)	Modulo (division remainder).
vec_type modf (vec_type x, out vec_type i)	Fractional of x, with i as integer part.
vec_type min (vec_type a, vec_type b)	Lowest value between a and b.
vec_type max (vec_type a, vec_type b)	Highest value between a and b.
vec_type clamp (vec_type x, vec_type min, vec_type max)	Clamp x between min and max (inclusive).
float mix (float a, float b, float c) vec_type mix (vec_type a, vec_type b, float c) vec_type mix (vec_type a, vec_type b, bvec_type c)	Linear interpolate between a and b by c.
vec_type fma (vec_type a, vec_type b, vec_type c)	Performs a fused multiply-add operation: (a * b + c) (faster than doing it manually).
vec_type step (vec_type a, vec_type b)	b[i] < a[i] ? 0.0 : 1.0.
vec_type step (float a, vec_type b)	b[i] < a ? 0.0 : 1.0.
vec_type smoothstep (vec_type a, vec_type b, vec_type c) vec_type smoothstep (float a, float b, vec_type c)	Hermite interpolate between a and b by c.
bvec_type isnan (vec_type x)	Returns true if scalar or vector component is NaN.
bvec_type isinf (vec_type x)	Returns true if scalar or vector component is INF.
ivec_type floatBitsToInt (vec_type x)	Float->Int bit copying, no conversion.
uvec_type floatBitsToUint (vec_type x)	Float->UInt bit copying, no conversion.
vec_type intBitsToFloat (ivec_type x)	Int->Float bit copying, no conversion.
vec_type uintBitsToFloat (uvec_type x)	UInt->Float bit copying, no conversion.
float length (vec_type x)	Vector length.
float distance (vec_type a, vec_type b)	Distance between vectors i.e length(a - b).
float dot (vec_type a, vec_type b)	Dot product.
vec3 cross (vec3 a, vec3 b)	Cross product.
vec_type normalize (vec_type x)	Normalize to unit length.
vec3 reflect (vec3 I, vec3 N)	Reflect.
vec3 refract (vec3 I, vec3 N, float eta)	Refract.
vec_type faceforward (vec_type N, vec_type I, vec_type Nref)	If dot(Nref, I) < 0, return N, otherwise -N.
mat_type matrixCompMult (mat_type x, mat_type y)	Matrix component multiplication.
mat_type outerProduct (vec_type column, vec_type row)	Matrix outer product.
mat_type transpose (mat_type m)	Transpose matrix.
float determinant (mat_type m)	Matrix determinant.
mat_type inverse (mat_type m)	Inverse matrix.
bvec_type lessThan (vec_type x, vec_type y)	Bool vector comparison on < int/uint/float vectors.
bvec_type greaterThan (vec_type x, vec_type y)	Bool vector comparison on > int/uint/float vectors.
bvec_type lessThanEqual (vec_type x, vec_type y)	Bool vector comparison on <= int/uint/float vectors.
bvec_type greaterThanEqual (vec_type x, vec_type y)	Bool vector comparison on >= int/uint/float vectors.
bvec_type equal (vec_type x, vec_type y)	Bool vector comparison on == int/uint/float vectors.
bvec_type notEqual (vec_type x, vec_type y)	Bool vector comparison on != int/uint/float vectors.
bool any (bvec_type x)	true if any component is true, false otherwise.
bool all (bvec_type x)	true if all components are true, false otherwise.
bvec_type not (bvec_type x)	Invert boolean vector.
ivec2 textureSize (gsampler2D s, int lod) ivec3 textureSize (gsampler2DArray s, int lod) ivec3 textureSize (gsampler3D s, int lod) ivec2 textureSize (samplerCube s, int lod) ivec2 textureSize (samplerCubeArray s, int lod)	Get the size of a texture. The LOD defines which mipmap level is used. An LOD value of 0 will use the full resolution texture.
vec2 textureQueryLod (gsampler2D s, vec2 p) vec3 textureQueryLod (gsampler2DArray s, vec2 p) vec2 textureQueryLod (gsampler3D s, vec3 p) vec2 textureQueryLod (samplerCube s, vec3 p)	Compute the level-of-detail that would be used to sample from a texture. The x component of the resulted value is the mipmap array that would be accessed. The y component is computed level-of-detail relative to the base level (regardless of the mipmap levels of the texture).
int textureQueryLevels (gsampler2D s) int textureQueryLevels (gsampler2DArray s) int textureQueryLevels (gsampler3D s) int textureQueryLevels (samplerCube s)	Get the number of accessible mipmap levels of a texture. If the texture is unassigned to a sampler, 1 is returned (Redot always internally assigns a texture even to an empty sampler).
gvec4_type texture (gsampler2D s, vec2 p [, float bias]) gvec4_type texture (gsampler2DArray s, vec3 p [, float bias]) gvec4_type texture (gsampler3D s, vec3 p [, float bias]) vec4 texture (samplerCube s, vec3 p [, float bias]) vec4 texture (samplerCubeArray s, vec4 p [, float bias])	Perform a texture read.
gvec4_type textureProj (gsampler2D s, vec3 p [, float bias]) gvec4_type textureProj (gsampler2D s, vec4 p [, float bias]) gvec4_type textureProj (gsampler3D s, vec4 p [, float bias])	Perform a texture read with projection.
gvec4_type textureLod (gsampler2D s, vec2 p, float lod) gvec4_type textureLod (gsampler2DArray s, vec3 p, float lod) gvec4_type textureLod (gsampler3D s, vec3 p, float lod) vec4 textureLod (samplerCube s, vec3 p, float lod) vec4 textureLod (samplerCubeArray s, vec4 p, float lod)	Perform a texture read at custom mipmap. The LOD defines which mipmap level is used. An LOD value of 0.0 will use the full resolution texture. If the texture lacks mipmaps, all LOD values will act like 0.0.
gvec4_type textureProjLod (gsampler2D s, vec3 p, float lod) gvec4_type textureProjLod (gsampler2D s, vec4 p, float lod) gvec4_type textureProjLod (gsampler3D s, vec4 p, float lod)	Performs a texture read with projection/LOD. The LOD defines which mipmap level is used. An LOD value of 0.0 will use the full resolution texture. If the texture lacks mipmaps, all LOD values will act like 0.0.
gvec4_type textureGrad (gsampler2D s, vec2 p, vec2 dPdx, vec2 dPdy) gvec4_type textureGrad (gsampler2DArray s, vec3 p, vec2 dPdx, vec2 dPdy) gvec4_type textureGrad (gsampler3D s, vec3 p, vec2 dPdx, vec2 dPdy) vec4 textureGrad (samplerCube s, vec3 p, vec3 dPdx, vec3 dPdy) vec4 textureGrad (samplerCubeArray s, vec3 p, vec3 dPdx, vec3 dPdy)	Performs a texture read with explicit gradients.
gvec4_type textureProjGrad (gsampler2D s, vec3 p, vec2 dPdx, vec2 dPdy) gvec4_type textureProjGrad (gsampler2D s, vec4 p, vec2 dPdx, vec2 dPdy) gvec4_type textureProjGrad (gsampler3D s, vec4 p, vec3 dPdx, vec3 dPdy)	Performs a texture read with projection/LOD and with explicit gradients.
gvec4_type texelFetch (gsampler2D s, ivec2 p, int lod) gvec4_type texelFetch (gsampler2DArray s, ivec3 p, int lod) gvec4_type texelFetch (gsampler3D s, ivec3 p, int lod)	Fetches a single texel using integer coordinates. The LOD defines which mipmap level is used. An LOD value of 0 will use the full resolution texture.
gvec4_type textureGather (gsampler2D s, vec2 p [, int comps]) gvec4_type textureGather (gsampler2DArray s, vec3 p [, int comps]) vec4 textureGather (samplerCube s, vec3 p [, int comps])	Gathers four texels from a texture. Use comps within range of 0..3 to define which component (x, y, z, w) is returned. If comps is not provided: 0 (or x-component) is used.
vec_type dFdx (vec_type p)	Derivative in x using local differencing. Internally, can use either dFdxCoarse or dFdxFine, but the decision for which to use is made by the GPU driver.
vec_type dFdxCoarse (vec_type p)	Calculates derivative with respect to x window coordinate using local differencing based on the value of p for the current fragment neighbour(s), and will possibly, but not necessarily, include the value for the current fragment. This function is not available on gl_compatibility profile.
vec_type dFdxFine (vec_type p)	Calculates derivative with respect to x window coordinate using local differencing based on the value of p for the current fragment and its immediate neighbour(s). This function is not available on gl_compatibility profile.
vec_type dFdy (vec_type p)	Derivative in y using local differencing. Internally, can use either dFdyCoarse or dFdyFine, but the decision for which to use is made by the GPU driver.
vec_type dFdyCoarse (vec_type p)	Calculates derivative with respect to y window coordinate using local differencing based on the value of p for the current fragment neighbour(s), and will possibly, but not necessarily, include the value for the current fragment. This function is not available on gl_compatibility profile.
vec_type dFdyFine (vec_type p)	Calculates derivative with respect to y window coordinate using local differencing based on the value of p for the current fragment and its immediate neighbour(s). This function is not available on gl_compatibility profile.
vec_type fwidth (vec_type p)	Sum of absolute derivative in x and y. This is the equivalent of using abs(dFdx(p)) + abs(dFdy(p)).
vec_type fwidthCoarse (vec_type p)	Sum of absolute derivative in x and y. This is the equivalent of using abs(dFdxCoarse(p)) + abs(dFdyCoarse(p)). This function is not available on gl_compatibility profile.
vec_type fwidthFine (vec_type p)	Sum of absolute derivative in x and y. This is the equivalent of using abs(dFdxFine(p)) + abs(dFdyFine(p)). This function is not available on gl_compatibility profile.
uint packHalf2x16 (vec2 v) vec2 unpackHalf2x16 (uint v)	Convert two 32-bit floating-point numbers into 16-bit and pack them into a 32-bit unsigned integer and vice-versa.
uint packUnorm2x16 (vec2 v) vec2 unpackUnorm2x16 (uint v)	Convert two 32-bit floating-point numbers (clamped within 0..1 range) into 16-bit and pack them into a 32-bit unsigned integer and vice-versa.
uint packSnorm2x16 (vec2 v) vec2 unpackSnorm2x16 (uint v)	Convert two 32-bit floating-point numbers (clamped within -1..1 range) into 16-bit and pack them into a 32-bit unsigned integer and vice-versa.
uint packUnorm4x8 (vec4 v) vec4 unpackUnorm4x8 (uint v)	Convert four 32-bit floating-point numbers (clamped within 0..1 range) into 8-bit and pack them into a 32-bit unsigned integer and vice-versa.
uint packSnorm4x8 (vec4 v) vec4 unpackSnorm4x8 (uint v)	Convert four 32-bit floating-point numbers (clamped within -1..1 range) into 8-bit and pack them into a 32-bit unsigned integer and vice-versa.
ivec_type bitfieldExtract (ivec_type value, int offset, int bits) uvec_type bitfieldExtract (uvec_type value, int offset, int bits)	Extracts a range of bits from an integer.
ivec_type bitfieldInsert (ivec_type base, ivec_type insert, int offset, int bits) uvec_type bitfieldInsert (uvec_type base, uvec_type insert, int offset, int bits)	Insert a range of bits into an integer.
ivec_type bitfieldReverse (ivec_type value) uvec_type bitfieldReverse (uvec_type value)	Reverse the order of bits in an integer.
ivec_type bitCount (ivec_type value) uvec_type bitCount (uvec_type value)	Counts the number of 1 bits in an integer.
ivec_type findLSB (ivec_type value) uvec_type findLSB (uvec_type value)	Find the index of the least significant bit set to 1 in an integer.
ivec_type findMSB (ivec_type value) uvec_type findMSB (uvec_type value)	Find the index of the most significant bit set to 1 in an integer.
void imulExtended (ivec_type x, ivec_type y, out ivec_type msb, out ivec_type lsb) void umulExtended (uvec_type x, uvec_type y, out uvec_type msb, out uvec_type lsb)	Multiplies two 32-bit numbers and produce a 64-bit result. x - the first number. y - the second number. msb - will contain the most significant bits. lsb - will contain the least significant bits.
uvec_type uaddCarry (uvec_type x, uvec_type y, out uvec_type carry)	Adds two unsigned integers and generates carry.
uvec_type usubBorrow (uvec_type x, uvec_type y, out uvec_type borrow)	Subtracts two unsigned integers and generates borrow.
vec_type ldexp (vec_type x, out ivec_type exp)	Assemble a floating-point number from a value and exponent. If this product is too large to be represented in the floating-point type the result is undefined.
vec_type frexp (vec_type x, out ivec_type exp)	Splits a floating-point number(x) into significand (in the range of [0.5, 1.0]) and an integral exponent. For x equals zero the significand and exponent are both zero. For x of infinity or NaN, the results are undefined.