Godot Shader for VS Code

The best Godot Shader development extension — 20 providers, 160+ built-ins, 74 functions, 65 snippets, fully bilingual (zh/en).

Install

Method 1: VS Code Marketplace (Recommended)

1. Visit VS Code Marketplace and search for Godot Shader for VS Code or open directly: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=fairyan.godot-shader-for-vscode
2. Or open VS Code, click the Extensions icon in the Activity Bar (or press Ctrl+Shift+X), then search for Godot Shader for VS Code
3. Click Install

Method 2: Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/yanhuifair/GodotShaderForVScode.git
cd GodotShaderForVScode
npm install
npx vsce package

Then in VS Code: Ctrl+Shift+P → Extensions: Install from VSIX... → select the generated .vsix file.

After installation, .gdshader and .gdshaderinc files are automatically activated — no extra configuration needed.

Features

Code Intelligence

Context-aware Completion — shader_type, render_mode, stencil_mode, uniform types, void functions, hints, #include paths — all filtered by current shader type.

shader_type spatial;                    // ← spatial / canvas_item / sky / fog / particles
render_mode blend_mix, cull_disabled;   // ← auto-completes valid modes for spatial
uniform float strength : hint_range(    // ← hint completions (source_color, filter_linear, …)
#                                       // ← preprocessor: #ifdef, #include, #define, …
#include "                              // ← workspace .gdshaderinc path completions

Hover Documentation

Type, description, available shader types, return value ranges, and usage examples.

sin(                                  // hover → Signature: sin(float x)
dot(normal, light_dir)                // hover → Returns: scalar | Example: dot(normal, light_dir)
COLOR                                 // hover → Type: vec4 | Available in: canvas_item, spatial

Signature Help

Parameter hints for all built-in functions.

mix(█                                 // mix(vecX a, vecX b, float|vecX t)
clamp(█                               // clamp(vecX x, vecX|float min, vecX|float max)

Inlay Hints

Parameter names inline, including user-defined functions. Configurable on/off.

mix(x: color1, y: color2, t: 0.5)    // built-in functions
my_func(n: 10, flag: true)            // user-defined functions

CodeLens

Reference counts.

uniform float strength;               // 3 references
void fragment() { … }                 // 1 reference

Diagnostics

17 Rules — Smart filtering skips comments and strings.

shader_type spatial;                  // ✅ valid
shader_type unknown;                  // ❌ Invalid shader_type: unknown

render_mode invalid_mode;             // ❌ 'invalid_mode' is invalid for spatial

uniform int value;                    // ❌ Invalid type 'int' (uniforms can't be int)

// { " }                               // ✅ braces in comments/strings ignored

Formatting

Full document & range formatting with switch/case, operator spacing, block-comment protection.

// Before
void fragment(){COLOR=vec3(1.0,0.5,0.2);}

// After (Shift+Alt+F)
void fragment() {
    COLOR = vec3(1.0, 0.5, 0.2);
}

Configurable brace style — same-line (default) or new-line.

// "godot-shader.formatting.braceNewLine": false (default)
void fragment() {
    // …
}

// "godot-shader.formatting.braceNewLine": true
void fragment()
{
    // …
}

Preprocessor directives always at column 0:

// Always stays at column 0 regardless of nesting
#ifdef DEBUG
#define MAX_ITER 32
#endif

Navigation

Visual

Semantic Highlighting — each token type gets a distinct color:

uniform float strength;     // keyword  | type  | variable-name
COLOR = vec3(1.0, 0.5, 0.2); // built-in | type | number | number | number
void fragment() { … }       // keyword  | function-name

#if 0 Block Dimming — disabled code visually faded:

#if 0
// Everything here appears dimmed
vec3 disabled_color = vec3(1.0, 0.0, 0.0);
float disabled_value = 1.0;
#endif

Color Picker — click color values:

vec3 sky = vec3(0.3, 0.5, 1.0);     // click the vec3 → color picker
vec4 col = vec4(1.0, 0.5, 0.2, 1.0); // click the vec4 → color picker
#define BG_COLOR #478cbf             // click the hex → color picker

Status Bar — shows current shader type at bottom right.

Quick Fixes (Ctrl+.)

// Before: missing semicolon
vec3 col = vec3(1.0)
// Quick Fix: Add ;

// Before: no shader_type
render_mode unshaded;
// Quick Fix: Add shader_type canvas_item;

// Before: missing closing brace
void fragment() {
    COLOR = vec3(1.0);
// Quick Fix: Add }

Usage

Configuration

Project Structure

src/
  extension.ts              # Entry point — registers all providers
  shader-data.ts             # 160+ built-ins, 74 functions, types, keywords, render modes
  i18n.ts                    # Bilingual translation (zh/en)
  en-descriptions.ts         # 380+ English descriptions
  utils.ts                   # Shared utilities
  features/
    completion.ts            # Context-aware completion + #include paths + preprocessor
    hover.ts                 # Hover docs + examples + return values
    diagnostics.ts           # 17 diagnostic rules
    formatting.ts            # Document & range formatting + brace style
    signature-help.ts        # Function parameter hints
    code-actions.ts          # Quick fixes
    folding.ts               # Code folding (brace + function detection)
    semantic-tokens.ts       # Semantic highlighting + #if 0 dimming
    definition.ts            # Go-to-definition + #include jump
    references.ts            # Find all references
    rename.ts                # Symbol rename
    highlight.ts             # Document highlights
    color-picker.ts          # vec3/vec4/hex color picker
    workspace-symbols.ts     # Cross-file symbol search (cached)
    symbol-provider.ts       # Outline & breadcrumbs
    inlay-hints.ts           # Parameter name hints (built-in + user functions)
    code-lens.ts             # Reference count code lens
    document-links.ts        # #include clickable links
    selection-range.ts       # Smart selection expansion
syntaxes/
  godot-shader.tmLanguage.json   # TextMate grammar
snippets/
  godot-shader.json              # 65 code snippets

License

MIT © Fair Yan

Appreciate

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