Spatial shaders

Spatial shaders are used for shading 3D objects. They are the most complex type of shader Godot offers. Spatial shaders are highly configurable with different render modes and different rendering options (e.g. Subsurface Scattering, Transmission, Ambient Occlusion, Rim lighting etc). Users can optionally write vertex, fragment, and light processor functions to affect how objects are drawn.

Render modes

Render mode	Description
blend_mix	Mix blend mode (alpha is transparency), default.
blend_add	Additive blend mode.
blend_sub	Subtractive blend mode.
blend_mul	Multiplicative blend mode.
depth_draw_opaque	Only draw depth for opaque geometry (not transparent).
depth_draw_always	Always draw depth (opaque and transparent).
depth_draw_never	Never draw depth.
depth_prepass_alpha	Do opaque depth pre-pass for transparent geometry.
depth_test_disabled	Disable depth testing.
sss_mode_skin	Subsurface Scattering mode for skin.
cull_back	Cull back-faces (default).
cull_front	Cull front-faces.
cull_disabled	Culling disabled (double sided).
unshaded	Result is just albedo. No lighting/shading happens in material.
wireframe	Geometry draws using lines.
diffuse_burley	Burley (Disney PBS) for diffuse (default).
diffuse_lambert	Lambert shading for diffuse.
diffuse_lambert_wrap	Lambert wrapping (roughness dependent) for diffuse.
diffuse_toon	Toon shading for diffuse.
specular_schlick_ggx	Schlick-GGX for specular (default).
specular_toon	Toon for specular.
specular_disabled	Disable specular.
skip_vertex_transform	VERTEX/NORMAL/etc. need to be transformed manually in vertex function.
world_vertex_coords	VERTEX/NORMAL/etc. are modified in world coordinates instead of local.
ensure_correct_normals	Use when non-uniform scale is applied to mesh.
shadows_disabled	Disable computing shadows in shader.
ambient_light_disabled	Disable contribution from ambient light and radiance map.
shadow_to_opacity	Lighting modifies the alpha so shadowed areas are opaque and non-shadowed areas are transparent. Useful for overlaying shadows onto a camera feed in AR.
vertex_lighting	Use vertex-based lighting.
particle_trails	Enables the trails when used on particles geometry.
alpha_to_coverage	Alpha antialiasing mode, see here for more.
alpha_to_coverage_and_one	Alpha antialiasing mode, see here for more.
fog_disabled	Disable receiving depth-based or volumetric fog. Useful for blend_add materials like particles.

Built-ins

Values marked as "in" are read-only. Values marked as "out" are for optional writing and will not necessarily contain sensible values. Values marked as "inout" provide a sensible default value, and can optionally be written to. Samplers are not subjects of writing and they are not marked.

Global built-ins

Global built-ins are available everywhere, including custom functions.

Built-in	Description
in float TIME	Global time, in seconds.
in float PI	A PI constant (3.141592). A ration of circle's circumference to its diameter and amount of radians in half turn.
in float TAU	A TAU constant (6.283185). An equivalent of PI * 2 and amount of radians in full turn.
in float E	An E constant (2.718281). Euler's number and a base of the natural logarithm.

Vertex built-ins

Vertex data (VERTEX, NORMAL, TANGENT, BITANGENT) are presented in local model space. If not written to, these values will not be modified and be passed through as they came.

They can optionally be presented in world space by using the world_vertex_coords render mode.

Users can disable the built-in modelview transform (projection will still happen later) and do it manually with the following code:

shader_type spatial;
render_mode skip_vertex_transform;

void vertex() {
    VERTEX = (MODELVIEW_MATRIX * vec4(VERTEX, 1.0)).xyz;
    NORMAL = normalize((MODELVIEW_MATRIX * vec4(NORMAL, 0.0)).xyz);
    BINORMAL = normalize((MODELVIEW_MATRIX * vec4(BINORMAL, 0.0)).xyz);
    TANGENT = normalize((MODELVIEW_MATRIX * vec4(TANGENT, 0.0)).xyz);
}

Other built-ins, such as UV, UV2 and COLOR, are also passed through to the fragment function if not modified.

Users can override the modelview and projection transforms using the POSITION built-in. If POSITION is written to anywhere in the shader, it will always be used, so the user becomes responsible for ensuring that it always has an acceptable value. When POSITION is used, the value from VERTEX is ignored and projection does not happen. However, the value passed to the fragment shader still comes from VERTEX.

For instancing, the INSTANCE_CUSTOM variable contains the instance custom data. When using particles, this information is usually:

• x: Rotation angle in radians.

• y: Phase during lifetime (0 to 1).

• z: Animation frame.

This allows you to easily adjust the shader to a particle system using default particles material. When writing a custom particle shader, this value can be used as desired.

Built-in	Description
in vec2 VIEWPORT_SIZE	Size of viewport (in pixels).
in mat4 VIEW_MATRIX	World space to view space transform.
in mat4 INV_VIEW_MATRIX	View space to world space transform.
in mat4 MAIN_CAM_INV_VIEW_MATRIX	View space to world space transform of camera used to draw the current viewport.
in mat4 INV_PROJECTION_MATRIX	Clip space to view space transform.
in vec3 NODE_POSITION_WORLD	Node world space position.
in vec3 NODE_POSITION_VIEW	Node view space position.
in vec3 CAMERA_POSITION_WORLD	Camera world space position.
in vec3 CAMERA_DIRECTION_WORLD	Camera world space direction.
in uint CAMERA_VISIBLE_LAYERS	Cull layers of the camera rendering the current pass.
in bool OUTPUT_IS_SRGB	true when output is in sRGB color space (this is true in the Compatibility renderer, false in Forward+ and Forward Mobile).
in int INSTANCE_ID	Instance ID for instancing.
in vec4 INSTANCE_CUSTOM	Instance custom data (for particles, mostly).
in int VIEW_INDEX	The view that we are rendering. VIEW_MONO_LEFT (0) for Mono (not multiview) or left eye, VIEW_RIGHT (1) for right eye.
in int VIEW_MONO_LEFT	Constant for Mono or left eye, always 0.
in int VIEW_RIGHT	Constant for right eye, always 1.
in vec3 EYE_OFFSET	Position offset for the eye being rendered. Only applicable for multiview rendering.
inout vec3 VERTEX	Vertex in local coordinates.
in int VERTEX_ID	The index of the current vertex in the vertex buffer.
inout vec3 NORMAL	Normal in local coordinates.
inout vec3 TANGENT	Tangent in local coordinates.
inout vec3 BINORMAL	Binormal in local coordinates.
out vec4 POSITION	If written to, overrides final vertex position.
inout vec2 UV	UV main channel.
inout vec2 UV2	UV secondary channel.
inout vec4 COLOR	Color from vertices.
out float ROUGHNESS	Roughness for vertex lighting.
inout float POINT_SIZE	Point size for point rendering.
inout mat4 MODELVIEW_MATRIX	Model space to view space transform (use if possible).
inout mat3 MODELVIEW_NORMAL_MATRIX
in mat4 MODEL_MATRIX	Model space to world space transform.
in mat3 MODEL_NORMAL_MATRIX
inout mat4 PROJECTION_MATRIX	View space to clip space transform.
in uvec4 BONE_INDICES
in vec4 BONE_WEIGHTS
in vec4 CUSTOM0
in vec4 CUSTOM1
in vec4 CUSTOM2
in vec4 CUSTOM3

INFO

MODELVIEW_MATRIX combines both the MODEL_MATRIX and VIEW_MATRIX and is better suited when floating point issues may arise. For example, if the object is very far away from the world origin, you may run into floating point issues when using the separated MODEL_MATRIX and VIEW_MATRIX.

INFO

INV_VIEW_MATRIX is the matrix used for rendering the object in that pass, not like MAIN_CAM_INV_VIEW_MATRIX, which is the matrix of the camera in the scene. In the shadow pass, INV_VIEW_MATRIX's view is based on the camera that is located at the position of the light.

Fragment built-ins

The default use of a Godot fragment processor function is to set up the material properties of your object and to let the built-in renderer handle the final shading. However, you are not required to use all these properties, and if you don't write to them, Godot will optimize away the corresponding functionality.

Built-in	Description
in vec2 VIEWPORT_SIZE	Size of viewport (in pixels).
in vec4 FRAGCOORD	Coordinate of pixel center in screen space. xy specifies position in window, z specifies fragment depth if DEPTH is not used. Origin is lower-left.
in bool FRONT_FACING	true if current face is front facing.
in vec3 VIEW	Normalized vector from fragment position to camera (in view space). This is the same for both perspective and orthogonal cameras.
in vec2 UV	UV that comes from vertex function.
in vec2 UV2	UV2 that comes from vertex function.
in vec4 COLOR	COLOR that comes from vertex function.
in vec2 POINT_COORD	Point Coordinate for drawing points with POINT_SIZE.
in bool OUTPUT_IS_SRGB	true when output is in sRGB color space (this is true in the Compatibility renderer, false in Forward+ and Forward Mobile).
in mat4 MODEL_MATRIX	Model space to world space transform.
in mat3 MODEL_NORMAL_MATRIX
in mat4 VIEW_MATRIX	World space to view space transform.
in mat4 INV_VIEW_MATRIX	View space to world space transform.
in mat4 PROJECTION_MATRIX	View space to clip space transform.
in mat4 INV_PROJECTION_MATRIX	Clip space to view space transform.
in vec3 NODE_POSITION_WORLD	Node position, in world space.
in vec3 NODE_POSITION_VIEW	Node position, in view space.
in vec3 CAMERA_POSITION_WORLD	Camera position, in world space.
in vec3 CAMERA_DIRECTION_WORLD	Camera direction, in world space.
in uint CAMERA_VISIBLE_LAYERS	Cull layers of the camera rendering the current pass.
in vec3 VERTEX	Vertex that comes from vertex function (default, in view space).
inout vec3 LIGHT_VERTEX	A writable version of VERTEX that can be used to alter light and shadows. Writing to this will not change the position of the fragment.
in int VIEW_INDEX	The view that we are rendering. VIEW_MONO_LEFT (0) for Mono (not multiview) or left eye, VIEW_RIGHT (1) for right eye.
in int VIEW_MONO_LEFT	Constant for Mono or left eye, always 0.
in int VIEW_RIGHT	Constant for right eye, always 1.
in vec3 EYE_OFFSET	Position offset for the eye being rendered. Only applicable for multiview rendering.
sampler2D SCREEN_TEXTURE	Removed in Godot 4. Use a sampler2D with hint_screen_texture instead.
in vec2 SCREEN_UV	Screen UV coordinate for current pixel.
sampler2D DEPTH_TEXTURE	Removed in Godot 4. Use a sampler2D with hint_depth_texture instead.
out float DEPTH	Custom depth value (0..1). If DEPTH is being written to in any shader branch, then you are responsible for setting the DEPTH for all other branches. Otherwise, the graphics API will leave them uninitialized.
inout vec3 NORMAL	Normal that comes from vertex function (default, in view space).
inout vec3 TANGENT	Tangent that comes from vertex function.
inout vec3 BINORMAL	Binormal that comes from vertex function.
out vec3 NORMAL_MAP	Set normal here if reading normal from a texture instead of NORMAL.
out float NORMAL_MAP_DEPTH	Depth from variable above. Defaults to 1.0.
out vec3 ALBEDO	Albedo (default white).
out float ALPHA	Alpha (0..1); if read from or written to, the material will go to the transparent pipeline.
out float ALPHA_SCISSOR_THRESHOLD	If written to, values below a certain amount of alpha are discarded.
out float ALPHA_HASH_SCALE
out float ALPHA_ANTIALIASING_EDGE
out vec2 ALPHA_TEXTURE_COORDINATE
out float METALLIC	Metallic (0..1).
out float SPECULAR	Specular. Defaults to 0.5, best not to modify unless you want to change IOR.
out float ROUGHNESS	Roughness (0..1).
out float RIM	Rim (0..1). If used, Godot calculates rim lighting.
out float RIM_TINT	Rim Tint, goes from 0 (white) to 1 (albedo). If used, Godot calculates rim lighting.
out float CLEARCOAT	Small added specular blob. If used, Godot calculates Clearcoat.
out float CLEARCOAT_GLOSS	Gloss of Clearcoat. If used, Godot calculates Clearcoat.
out float ANISOTROPY	For distorting the specular blob according to tangent space.
out vec2 ANISOTROPY_FLOW	Distortion direction, use with flowmaps.
out float SSS_STRENGTH	Strength of Subsurface Scattering. If used, Subsurface Scattering will be applied to object.
out vec4 SSS_TRANSMITTANCE_COLOR
out float SSS_TRANSMITTANCE_DEPTH
out float SSS_TRANSMITTANCE_BOOST
inout vec3 BACKLIGHT
out float AO	Strength of Ambient Occlusion. For use with pre-baked AO.
out float AO_LIGHT_AFFECT	How much AO affects lights (0..1; default 0).
out vec3 EMISSION	Emission color (can go over 1,1,1 for HDR).
out vec4 FOG	If written to, blends final pixel color with FOG.rgb based on FOG.a.
out vec4 RADIANCE	If written to, blends environment map radiance with RADIANCE.rgb based on RADIANCE.a.
out vec4 IRRADIANCE	If written to, blends environment map IRRADIANCE with IRRADIANCE.rgb based on IRRADIANCE.a.

INFO

Shaders going through the transparent pipeline when ALPHA is written to may exhibit transparency sorting issues. Read the Transparency sorting for more information and ways to avoid issues.

Light built-ins

Writing light processor functions is completely optional. You can skip the light function by setting render_mode to unshaded. If no light function is written, Godot will use the material properties written to in the fragment function to calculate the lighting for you (subject to the render_mode).

The light function is called for every light in every pixel. It is called within a loop for each light type.

Below is an example of a custom light function using a Lambertian lighting model:

void light() {
    DIFFUSE_LIGHT += clamp(dot(NORMAL, LIGHT), 0.0, 1.0) * ATTENUATION * LIGHT_COLOR;
}

If you want the lights to add together, add the light contribution to DIFFUSE_LIGHT using +=, rather than overwriting it.

WARNING

The light() function won't be run if the vertex_lighting render mode is enabled, or if Rendering > Quality > Shading > Force Vertex Shading is enabled in the Project Settings. (It's enabled by default on mobile platforms.)

Built-in	Description
in vec2 VIEWPORT_SIZE	Size of viewport (in pixels).
in vec4 FRAGCOORD	Coordinate of pixel center in screen space. xy specifies position in window, z specifies fragment depth if DEPTH is not used. Origin is lower-left.
in mat4 MODEL_MATRIX	Model space to world space transform.
in mat4 INV_VIEW_MATRIX	View space to world space transform.
in mat4 VIEW_MATRIX	World space to view space transform.
in mat4 PROJECTION_MATRIX	View space to clip space transform.
in mat4 INV_PROJECTION_MATRIX	Clip space to view space transform.
in vec3 NORMAL	Normal vector, in view space.
in vec2 UV	UV that comes from vertex function.
in vec2 UV2	UV2 that comes from vertex function.
in vec3 VIEW	View vector, in view space.
in vec3 LIGHT	Light Vector, in view space.
in vec3 LIGHT_COLOR	Color of light multiplied by energy * PI. The PI multiplication is present because physically-based lighting models include a division by PI.
in float SPECULAR_AMOUNT	2.0 * light_specular property for OmniLight3D and SpotLight3D. 1.0 for DirectionalLight3D.
in bool LIGHT_IS_DIRECTIONAL	true if this pass is a DirectionalLight3D.
in float ATTENUATION	Attenuation based on distance or shadow.
in vec3 ALBEDO	Base albedo.
in vec3 BACKLIGHT
in float METALLIC	Metallic.
in float ROUGHNESS	Roughness.
in bool OUTPUT_IS_SRGB	true when output is in sRGB color space (this is true in the Compatibility renderer, false in Forward+ and Forward Mobile).
out vec3 DIFFUSE_LIGHT	Diffuse light result.
out vec3 SPECULAR_LIGHT	Specular light result.
out float ALPHA	Alpha (0..1); if written to, the material will go to the transparent pipeline.

INFO

Shaders going through the transparent pipeline when ALPHA is written to may exhibit transparency sorting issues. Read the Transparency sorting for more information and ways to avoid issues.

Transparent materials also cannot cast shadows or appear in hint_screen_texture and hint_depth_texture uniforms. This in turn prevents those materials from appearing in screen-space reflections or refraction. Signed distance field global illumination (SDFGI) sharp reflections are not visible on transparent materials (only rough reflections are visible on transparent materials).