No more shader compilation stutter. Exo Shaders compiles your games' shaders into your graphics driver's cache before you play, so a game doesn't stop to compile one the first time it meets a new effect.
Exo Shaders is the shader precompiler in Exo Launcher's System > Shaders. It ships with Exo and runs as its add-on; download Exo Launcher to use it.
Note
Exo Shaders is an unofficial fork of SCSKiller, based on SCSKiller and not affiliated with or endorsed by it. SCSKiller's own app and downloads are on its repository.
- Finds your games in every launcher Exo Launcher reads, and shows which are compiled, which need it, and why.
- Compiles ahead of time, in its own process with the game closed: it reads the shaders a game ships with, works out the pipelines the game will build and compiles them into the driver's cache.
- Keeps a queue, and compiles again by itself when a driver update clears the cache, while your PC is idle.
- Stays out of your way: a compile pauses while you play, gives its memory back when paused, and holds its memory use down so the rest of your PC stays quick.
- Records when it has to: for a game whose files don't give its pipelines, an optional recorder learns them while you play a few minutes, then they compile.
- Leaves anti-cheat games alone beyond reading their files: no launching, no injecting and no recorder, unless you allow it for that game at your own risk.
Exo Shaders fixes shader compilation stutter only, not traversal or streaming stutter, and a shader it couldn't find or record can still compile in game.
| App | Exo Launcher on Windows 11 x64 |
| GPU | NVIDIA or AMD |
| Games | DirectX 12, and DirectX 11 (on AMD after a recording) |
Exo Shaders is a headless service and a page that Exo shows in its System room; Exo talks to it only through messages (engine/CONTRACT.md). Its changes from SCSKiller are in engine/CHANGELOG.md; SCSKiller's own are in CHANGELOG.md.
The .NET SDK in global.json and Node.js:
pwsh engine\build\publish-service.ps1
cd ui
npm ci
npm run build
The service lands in engine\out\service and the page in ui\dist; Exo Launcher's release build takes both from
there. The native helpers come prebuilt from SCSKiller's release (engine/prebuilt); their source is
proxy. Design: ARCHITECTURE.md.
GPL-3.0-or-later (LICENSE), with an additional permission for Oodle, the Windows App SDK and graphics driver libraries (LICENSE-EXCEPTION.txt). Copyright the SCSKiller authors and Exo Shaders' contributors. Third-party components: THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md.
Not affiliated with SCSKiller, any GPU maker, engine maker or game publisher. All product names are trademarks of their owners.