ShaderLab Kit adds real IntelliSense to Unity's .shader, .hlsl, .cginc, and .compute files — on top of VS Code's built-in syntax highlighting, not instead of it.

Features

• 🎨 Syntax highlighting for Unity/URP macros and functions (UNITY_MATRIX_*, TEXTURE2D/SAMPLE_TEXTURE2D, GetMainLight(), and more) that VS Code's default HLSL/ShaderLab grammars don't recognize.
• 🧹 Formatting — consistent bracing, indentation, Tags {} collapsing, and preprocessor-aware indentation.
• ⚡ Smart completion — HLSL intrinsics with full argument snippets (lerp(${a}, ${b}, ${w})), HLSL semantics (POSITION, TEXCOORD0, SV_Target), Unity/URP globals (_Time, _MainTex_ST, GetMainLight()), Blend/ZWrite/ZTest/Cull values, ShaderLab property types, and #include path completion.
• 📖 Hover documentation — real explanations for HLSL semantics and Unity/URP globals, not just a type label.
• 🔗 Go-to-definition — jump straight to an #included file or a Fallback shader.
• 📁 Unity-aware #include resolution — understands Unity project layout and Package Manager paths (Packages/..., Library/PackageCache/...), with Unity Editor auto-detection.
• ⚠️ Diagnostics — unbalanced brackets, misspelled Unity/URP macros ("did you mean GetMainLight?"), and wrong argument counts for HLSL intrinsics.
• ✂️ Snippets — a full URP shader template, Pass blocks, structs, vertex-transform boilerplate, and ShaderLab property declarations.

Not supported: Unity's legacy Cg pipeline (CGPROGRAM/UnityCG.cginc/surface shaders). ShaderLab Kit targets HLSLPROGRAM and the Universal Render Pipeline (URP).

Requirements

• VS Code 1.140.0 or later.
• No Unity installation required — but #include resolution and Unity Editor path detection work best inside an actual Unity project.

Installation

Install from the VS Code Extensions view — search for ShaderLab Kit — or via the command line:

code --install-extension rgx-studio.shaderlab-kit

Or get it directly from the Marketplace.

Configuration

All settings live under ShaderLab Kit in VS Code's Settings UI (shaderlabKit.*):

Roadmap

• Semantic shader-variant analysis (multi_compile/shader_feature combination counting).
• A symbol cache for faster, indexed go-to-definition on large projects.
• Selection-aware range formatting (today, formatting a selection reformats the whole file).

For Developers

Development Setup

git clone https://github.com/RichardCG75/shaderlab-kit
cd shaderlab-kit
npm install

In VS Code:

1. Install the esbuild Problem Matchers extension (connor4312.esbuild-problem-matchers) — required for the build task's problem matcher.
2. Press F5 (or Run and Debug → "Run Extension") to build and launch an Extension Development Host window. Open a .shader/.hlsl file in that new window.
3. Confirm the file's language mode (bottom-right corner) is ShaderLab or HLSL — VS Code occasionally mis-detects .shader as C++.

ShaderLab Kit runs entirely in-process (no language server) and layers its grammar on top of VS Code's built-in shaderlab/hlsl languages rather than replacing them, so it stays compatible with other extensions and themes targeting the same scopes.

Contributing

1. Fork the repo and create a branch for your change.
2. Before opening a PR, run:

   npm run check-types
   npm run lint
   

3. Open a pull request describing what changed and why. Small, focused PRs are easiest to review.
4. For a new feature, a scope change, or anything architectural, open an Issue or Discussion first so we can align on direction.

Contact:

• GitHub Issues — bugs, concrete feature requests.
• GitHub Discussions — open-ended ideas and questions.
• Email: ricardo.chacon@rgxstudio.dev

License

MIT — see LICENSE.