compiling-with-metal-shaderconverter
Installation
SKILL.md
Metal shader converter — CLI & Library
Overview
Two modes: CLI (metal-shaderconverter) for offline/build-time compilation, library (libmetalirconverter C API) for runtime compilation. Both produce metallibs consumed by the Metal framework. Use the CLI for build pipelines and asset cooking; use the library when DXIL must be compiled at runtime (e.g., an engine that ships DXIL and compiles to metallib on first load).
For binding compiled shaders to Metal encoders at draw/dispatch time, see integrating-metal-shaderconverter-shaders.
Decision Guide
| Scenario | Use |
|---|---|
| Build pipeline, asset cooking, offline shader cache | CLI |
| Compile DXIL to metallib at runtime | Library |
| Dynamic root signatures not known until runtime | Library |
| Generate reflection JSON for binding code | CLI (--output-reflection-file) |
| Runtime reflection after compilation | Library (IRShaderReflection) |