Full IntelliSense for SDSL shaders. Write shaders faster with inheritance-aware completions, real-time diagnostics, and one-click base shader management.
Features
Smart Completions
- Context-aware suggestions — After
: in shader declaration, only base shaders appear. After compose, only interfaces. After base., only inherited methods.
streams. completions — All stream variables from your inheritance chain, sorted by proximity (local first)- Inherited members — Variables and methods from base shaders with origin info
- HLSL intrinsics — 100+ functions with signatures (
lerp, saturate, dot, Sample, etc.)
- Full type library — Vectors, matrices, textures, samplers, buffers
Navigation
- F12 / Ctrl+Click — Go to definition for shaders, variables, methods, and structs
- Ctrl+Click on shader names — Jump to base shader files (even external Stride/vvvv shaders)
- Ctrl+Click on method calls — Jump to method definitions in inheritance chain
Rich Hover Info
Hover over any identifier to see detailed information:
Shaders — Base classes, variable/method count, compositions, file location
Variables — Type, qualifiers (stage, stream, compose), inherited or local
Methods — Full signature with override chain across inheritance hierarchy
Swizzles — Type inference for .xyz, .rg, etc. (e.g., float4.xy → float2)
HLSL types — Component info for vectors and matrices
HLSL intrinsics — Built-in documentation for common functions
Real-time Diagnostics
Errors and warnings as you type:
| Issue |
Severity |
'ColorTarget' is not defined |
Error |
Method 'Compute' is marked as override but no base method found |
Error |
Base shader 'ShaderBase' not found in workspace |
Warning |
Redundant: already inherited via 'MaterialShaderBase' |
Hint (faded) |
Cannot convert float4 to float3 |
Warning |
One-Click Base Shader Management
When you reference an undefined variable or method, hover shows which shaders provide it:
Click to add as base shader:
Defined in: ShaderBaseStream
Also via: MaterialShaderBase, ComputeColorTextureBase
Click any shader name to instantly add it to your inheritance list.
Similarly, redundant base shaders show a Remove link in their hover.
Four panels in the Stride Shaders activity bar:
| Panel |
Shows |
| Inheritance |
Current shader + all base shaders (click to open) |
| Streams |
All stream variables from the inheritance chain |
| Variables |
stage, compose, and regular variables |
| Methods |
All methods including inherited ones |
Each item shows its source shader. Click to jump to definition.
External Shader Browsing
- Workspace shaders — Open normally (editable)
- Stride/vvvv shaders — Open as read-only with visual indicator
Navigate the full Stride shader library without risk of accidental edits.
Shader Discovery
The extension automatically finds shaders from:
- Your workspace — Any
.sdsl files in open folders
- NuGet packages —
Stride.* packages in your global cache
- vvvv gamma — Auto-detects installations in
C:\Program Files\vvvv\
Add custom paths in settings:
{
"strideShaderTools.shaderPaths": [
"C:/MyShaderLibrary",
"D:/Projects/SharedShaders"
]
}
Commands
| Command |
Description |
Stride Shaders: Restart Language Server |
Reload the language server |
Stride Shaders: Show Inheritance Tree |
Focus the inheritance panel |
Stride Shaders: Refresh Panels |
Update all sidebar panels |
Settings
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
strideShaderTools.shaderPaths |
[] |
Additional paths to search for shaders |
strideShaderTools.languageServer.path |
"" |
Custom language server path (leave empty for bundled) |
strideShaderTools.trace.server |
off |
LSP trace level (off, messages, verbose) |
Requirements
Tips
Override methods — Type override and see completable methods from base shaders.
Stream access — Type streams. to see all available stream variables with their source shader.
Base class calls — Inside an override, type base. to call the parent implementation.
Quick inheritance — Can't remember which shader has ColorTarget? Just use it — the error hover shows exactly which shaders to inherit from.
Links
Made for the Stride community.
