# microsoft/ShaderConductor

ShaderConductor is a tool designed for cross-compiling HLSL to other shading languages

Repository: https://github.com/microsoft/ShaderConductor
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/shaderconductor
Language: C++
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: spir-v, hlsl, glsl, shader, compiler, metal, dxil, graphics, vulkan, d3d11, d3d12, d3d10, d3d9, opengl, opengl-es
Archived: true
Last push: 2023-01-13T15:18:42+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 10/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2862, "days_push": 1328, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: archived
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1838, forks 261 (observed 2026-08-28T04:05:42.807366+00:00)

## What it is
ShaderConductor is a C++ tool and library that cross-compiles HLSL shaders to other shading languages such as GLSL, ESSL, and Metal Shading Language. It works by gluing together DirectX Shader Compiler and SPIRV-Cross rather than being a real compiler itself.

## Use cases
- convert hlsl shaders to glsl
- port directx shaders to metal for ios
- cross-compile hlsl to essl for opengl es
- translate shaders between d3d and vulkan pipelines
- generate readable glsl from hlsl source
- support multiple graphics backends from one shader codebase

## When to choose
- you maintain a cross-platform engine needing one HLSL shader source targeting GLSL, ESSL, and Metal
- you want readable, usable output shaders rather than just SPIR-V blobs
- you need all shader stages including hull, domain, geometry, and compute converted

## When to avoid
- you only need HLSL to SPIR-V compilation, where DirectX Shader Compiler or glslang suffice directly
- you need a maintained, actively developed solution - the project is in an early stage with its latest release in early 2023
- you want a real compiler with its own front end rather than a glue layer over existing tools

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: maintenance
- function: compiler, developer-tools, graphics
- domain: graphics, developer-tools, compilers
- platform: windows, cpp, cross-platform
- tags: hlsl, glsl, metal-shading-language, spir-v, shader-cross-compilation, dxil, essl, game-development, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- microsoft/ShaderConductor (main) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:42.807366+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 2026-08-30T03:18:16.970101+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/microsoft/ShaderConductor (fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:42.807366+00:00, sha 15d1e4e0870b)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.