# KhronosGroup/glslang

Khronos-reference front end for GLSL/ESSL, partial front end for HLSL, and a SPIR-V generator.

Repository: https://github.com/KhronosGroup/glslang
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/glslang
Language: C++
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: glsl, hlsl, compiler, spir-v, glslang, glslangvalidator, shader, essl, validator
Last push: 2026-08-24T23:20:47+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 94/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 84, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4087, "days_push": 9, "days_rel": 30, "gap_med": 70.0, "n_releases_24m": 11}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3568, forks 982 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:09.996807+00:00)

## What it is
Khronos's reference front end for GLSL and ESSL shaders, with a deprecated partial HLSL front end, that validates shader code and generates SPIR-V intermediate representation. It includes a command-line tool (glslangValidator/glslang) and a C++ library with reflection APIs.

## Use cases
- validate GLSL and ESSL shaders against Khronos specifications
- compile GLSL shaders to SPIR-V for Vulkan
- get reflection information from shader source
- integrate shader compilation into a graphics engine build pipeline
- check shader syntax and semantics offline without a GPU driver

## When to avoid
- you need HLSL front-end support, which is deprecated and slated for removal
- you need a full optimizing SPIR-V toolchain (use SPIRV-Tools/DXC instead)
- you need runtime shader compilation with a driver-backed compiler

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: compiler, parser, developer-tools
- domain: graphics, compilers, developer-tools
- platform: cpp, cross-platform, cli
- tags: glsl, hlsl, spir-v, shader-compiler, validator, essl, khronos, game-development

## Member repositories
- KhronosGroup/glslang (main) score 94

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:09.996807+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:34:08.898871+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/KhronosGroup/glslang (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:09.996807+00:00, sha 9b71411ec610)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.