¶ Welcome to the ENB Migration Guide
Welcome to the official Community Shaders User Wiki.
This page outlines a guide on migration from an ENB based modlist to one that is based around CS.
This wiki is powered by the Nexus Mods documentation system and maintained by the community.
For more advanced information, see the GitHub Developer Wiki.
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¶ Notice
If you use an ENB preset encrypted or depends on something encrypted with ENB Extender and Helper such as Silent Horizons 2 - Shader Core or Universal Core, CS cannot decrypt these shaders for you nor will the CS team help with decryption. This means that Effects 11 will not load this ENB preset out of the box. If the files were to be decrypted, they can be loaded with Effects 11
¶ Basic conversion
In this section a basic outline will be given on how to get CS up and running with the least amount of work.
¶ Step 1: Removing the ENB binaries.
Skyrim will crash if CS and ENB DLLs are installed at the same time.
The ENB binaries are either located in your game root, where your SkyrimSE.exe is located, or if you're using Rootbuilder in a mod that has a Root folder.
The file names you're looking for are: d3d11.dll and d3dcompiler_46e.dll. Delete only those two files.
You do NOT need to remove
enbseriesfolder and ENB inis. We will need them to load your ENB preset with the Effects 11 Post Processing feature.
¶ Step 2: Removing ENB specific and incompatible mods/files.
CS is incompatible with some ENB-only mods. Some severe cases will prevent CS from initializing. A good practice is to leave these disabled under a different separator, just in case you need to revert your mod list back to ENB.
First, please review the FAQ to see if you need to remove or adjust other incompatible mods. That list is maintained more often. CS will disable itself if it detects certain incompatible mods, so make sure you disable them.
Second, you may have some following mods installed that need to be removed:
Open for list
- Enhanced Volumetric Lighting and Shadows (EVLaS/AELaS) - Replaced by CS Sky Sync
- KiLoader
- ENB Worldspace Weatherlists
- ENB Input Disabler
- ENB Helper Plus
- ENB AO Toggler
- ENB Custom UI Color
- ENB Anti-Aliasing - Replaced by CS Upscaling
- ENB Frame Generation - Replaced by CS Upscaling
- Skyrim Upscaler - Both paywalled and free versions are not supported.
- (optional) ENB Light and all other ENB Light mods such as ENB Lights For Effect Shaders and all the Rudy ENB Light mods. ENB Light has limited support within CS. Some may work, others may not. There is no promise for wider support.
- ENB Light Inventory Fix (ELIF)
- ENB Terrain Blending Fix - CS includes this fix.
- NVIDIA Reflex Support - Causes stuttering when used with CS
- Native Mesh Light Flicker Fix - Replaced by CS LLF
- Native Water Light Stabilizer - Replaced by CS LLF
The list provided here is not exhaustive, as the list of ENB-specific mods is incredibly large. As a first pass, you can search your entire modlist for anything containing the term "ENB". The vast majority of the time, with the exception of the two mods we just mentioned, the mod can be safely disabled if you are switching to CS. But ultimately you should do your due diligence and read the mod page(s) to see if the mod is no longer required with CS. Many mods "for ENB" will still work with CS, but there are many that won't.
This list was last updated on 2026/06/15.
Be aware that Particle Patch is supported by CS and doesn't need to be removed. Just place it early in your load order so other mods overwrite it. Water for ENB despite having ENB in its name is fully compatible with CS, and actually has FOMOD options specifically for CS.
¶ Step 3: Installing the CS requirements.
It is recommended that you first read the Installation Guide to get started with CS, then return here when complete. However, brief instructions are provided here if you know what you are doing.
You must install the required mods for CS:
- Address Library for SKSE Plugins
- SSE Engine Fixes
- Crash Logger SSE AE (optional, but highly recommended)
Specifically for SSE Engine Fixes you will need to install the SKSE64 Preloader into your root folder, where you had your ENB binaries that you removed before.
¶ Step 4: Installing CS with Effects 11.
CS consists of the core mod and the addons, the core mod is always required and should be loaded first, then you can load all the addons after, you can pick and choose which ones you want and like.
First you install the Core mod and the Effects 11 CS feature. Then you can choose to install additional CS features.
Recommended features to pair with Effects 11:
- Screen Space Global Illumination (SSGI) - Adds more realistic lighting through the occlusion and bouncing of light, significantly higher quality than ENB SSAO/IL (Very heavy).
- Skylighting - Adds shading under covered areas such as overhangs, trees and in structures. Significantly higher quality than the ENB version.
¶ Step 5: Effects 11 Post Processing
This feature adds support for most ENB presets (with some compatibility caveats noted below). Download on Nexus Mods. Please read the mod page carefully.
Due to the complex nature of ENB and differing implementations of certain effects compared to CS, presets may not look identical to how they look with ENBSeries.
¶ Installing a Preset
Presets are installed exactly the same way as with ENBSeries. The enbseries folder alongside the enbseries.ini file go into your Skyrim's root folder.
Alternatively, they can be installed into your Data folder, though it is not recommended unless you know what you're doing. Some ENBs support mod manager install. Some work properly and others don't, so it's not recommended to do so unless you know what you're doing.
Some suggestions that work well with CS Effects 11:
- Rudy ENB for NAT 3, Rudy ENB for Obsidian Weathers, or Rudy ENB for Cathedral Weathers
- NAT Effect 11 or the original NAT.ENB III
¶ Compatibility
Some ENBs have some compatibility caveats. Please review the FAQ.
TLDR: ENB presets that take advantage of unsupported features noted below are not supported. Encrypted ENB presets cannot be loaded unless decrypted. (e.g., Cabbage, Kauz, Dawnfire, Silent Horizons 2, Picta)
¶ Not Supported
- Depth of Field
- Sky Scattering
- Prepass Shaders
CS replaces the functionality of various ENB features and should be modified directly in CS instead. These include:
- SSAO/IL - Replaced by SSGI
- Skylighting - Replaced by Skylighting
- Antialiasing - Replaced by Upscaling
- Reflection/Water/Underwater - Replaced by Water Effects (core CS)
- Subsurface Scattering - Replaced by Subsurface Scattering (core CS)
- Shadow/Detailed Shadow - Replaced by Screen Space Shadows (core CS)
¶ Step 6: Reinstall certain mods.
If you use any of the following mods, you should reinstall them as per the note:
- Lux: Reinstall but deselect all particle and optimized meshes
- Embers XD: Reinstall but select CS options
- Water for ENB: Reinstall but select CS options (only if you use a style that requires it)
¶ Step 7: Wrapping up.
Your chosen ENB preset may look slightly different compared to how it was with ENBSeries. You can adjust your preset via the in-game CS menu under the Effects 11 tab.
If you have any questions you can always join the CS Discord for more thorough support, The Nexus page isn't monitored a lot.
Image taken with NAT Effect 11
¶ Full conversion
In this section, we will continue from the basic conversion to convert your whole modlist to take full advantage of all the features CS has to offer.
¶ Step 1: Complete the Basic Conversion
First go through the Basic Conversion Guide in it's entirety before beginning the full conversion.
At this point, your game be running without any graphical issues.
¶ Step 2: Removing Additional ENB-Specific Mods
In the basic conversion guide, you removed many ENB-specific mods that were directly incompatible with CS or causes issues when left installed with CS.
Again, please review the FAQ to see if you need to remove or adjust other incompatible mods. That list is maintained more often.
You may also have the following mods installed that don't break the game, but are no longer needed:
Open for list
- Sky Reflection Fix for ENB - CS includes this fix.
- Capture Warmer for ENB - CS includes this fix.
- Bright Waterfall Fix for ENB
- Footprints - ENB - ENB patch not needed. The original mod works normally.
- ENB Light Detection Fix
- Word Wall Transparency Fix for ENB
This list was last updated on 2026/01/31. There may be other mods that are no longer required with CS since CS may already include the fixes, as those mods are discovered, they will be added to the above list.
The general rule for compatibility is to do your due diligence and read the mod page(s) to see if the mod is no longer required with CS. Many mods "for ENB" will still work with CS, but there are many that won't.
¶ Step 3: The Weather Mod
If you are using Effects 11 post processing with an ENB preset, it may be designed for the original weather mod. To avoid issues, you should respect the weather requirements for your ENB preset and skip this step. Otherwise, use a different weather mod at your own risk.
If you are not using Effects 11 or if you're feeling adventurous, you may want to install an optimized weather mod. CS without Effects 11 heavily depends on the weather mod for exterior visuals.
There are some CS patches for some popular weather mods, do NOT uninstall the original weather mod:
- NAT.ENB III:
If you're using NAT.III based ENB, you can install NAT.CS. This will adjust NAT.III to look correct with CS. Do not uninstall the NAT.ENB weather plugin despite having ENB in its name, NAT.CS requires it. - Obsidian Weathers:
If you're using an Obsidian based ENB, you can install Obsidian CS. This mod will adjust Obsidian to work well with CS. If you were previously using Rudy ENB, you MUST remove the Rudy ENB Obsidian Weathers patch. - Azurite Weathers:
If you're using Azurite 3, there are multiple mods you can use to adjust it to work with CS. Some of these are: Azurite III - HDR, Azurite III CS and Azurite Weathers III - Enhanced.
There are also plenty of weather mods specifically designed for CS such as: Astralite, Nirn Whispers and Real Weathers. Check out the Vanilla Setup Guide for more.
Only one base weather mod can be installed at once. Do not mix different weather mods together unless specified. However, CS weather patches are designed to be applied on top of the base weather mod, such as NAT.ENB III and NAT.CS.
¶ Step 4: The Lighting Mod
Similarly to weather mods, you should respect your ENB preset's lighting mod requirements if you are using Effects 11. Use a different lighting mod at your own discretion.
Review the vanilla setup guide for several lighting mod recommendations.
Only one interior lighting mod can be installed at once. Do not mix different interior lighting mods together, such as Lux (main) and True Light. CS Light is an exception as it attaches lights to meshes as opposed to being an actual lighting overhaul. Just make sure you read requirements.
Image from True Light
¶ Step 5: Replacing ENB Light with Light Placer
ENB Lights have limited support within CS. It is recommended to have them replaced with an alternative, such as Light Placer. But this is completely optional depending on your mod list.
It is not mandatory to migrate off of ENB Lights since many ENB Lights mods will still work within CS. It will just work without NPC detection support and other niceties of alternatives such as Light Placer. ENB Light is supported only for backwards compatibility, and there are no promises that all ENB Light mods will work.
Unfortunately, it may be a difficult task to remove ENB Lights from your modlist since it's such a widely adopted feature, so some modlists can have dozens of ENB Light patches or ENB Light dependent mods. At best, you can identify a large portion of them, and disable them.
Search your modlist for any mods containing the term "ENB Light", these all need to be disabled.
Unfortunately, mod naming is not enforced and there are mods that require ENB Light that are not clearly mentioned in the mod name. This includes MLO2.
If you ended up removing some ENB Light mods, you will need to replace them with an alternative if you would like them to continue emitting light. The community accepted replacement for ENB Light is Light Placer. Light Placer is a powerful tool that allows mod authors to attach real light bulbs to various meshes and references through a .json file. Since these bulbs are real they also affect stealth. It's a framework so it does not do anything on its own. When installing Light Placer, please follow the instructions and requirements.
The most popular Light Placer addon is CS Light, aptly named. CS Light attaches bulbs to many vanilla meshes that would've been lit with ENB Light. It also includes mod patches for some popular ENB Light mods.
Light Placer is much newer than ENB Light, so some niche mod patches may not exist yet. However, these patches are much easier to create compared to ENB Light patches.
¶ Step 6: PBR materials
PBR materials is arguably one of CS's staple features, and it has a huge visual impact. Please review the section in the vanilla setup guide for PBR recommendations. If you need help with PGPatcher, review our PGPatcher guide
Image from Faultier's PBR Skyrim
¶ Step 7: WIP
This wiki is a work in progress. In the meantime, if you want to look into fully converting your modlist over to CS, check out the Vanilla Setup Guide.
TLDR:
- (When released) You may want to try out CS Post Processing instead of Effects 11. CS Post Processing takes full advantage of CS's features, such as Linear Lighting and true HDR display support. CS Post Processing also supports features that are not supported with Effects 11, such as depth of field
¶ Contributing
Get involved via the GitHub Repository and Discord Server.