¶ Installation & Compatibility
¶ Where can I find the latest CS version?
The latest stable version is always on Nexus. If you want your gameplay experience with CS to be stable, use this version.
If you are interested in trying out the latest development or testing versions, the only place you should get them is from the CS Discord or the official GitHub repository. Builds from other sources are not supported or endorsed by the CS development team. Test builds are often offered as an all-in-one (AIO), so you must remove any previous installation of CS.
Some clarifications about the Jiaye/post processing builds on the Discord server. This is not an official CS product. It has not been reviewed by the CS development team and is not designed to be performant. DO NOT ask for support outside of the channels dedicated to it on the server. You will be timed out or banned if you do so. Please read the Discord server #rules. If it says you cannot post, you need to look inside the thread.
¶ Why are some mods labeled as CS Official?
Because CS is open source, anyone can release their own version so long as they follow the GPL-3.0 License. This is the benefit of open source.
However, only mods marked as CS Official are released by the official CS team, meet our minimum quality guidelines, and will be tested or supported by the official team on the CS Discord.
¶ How to install Community Shaders?
See the installation guide. If you are coming from ENBSeries, see the ENB Migration Guide.
¶ How do I make my game look better?
Follow our Vanilla Setup Guide to get started with getting the most out of CS.
¶ Which features are no longer compatible with new versions of CS?
Very important! If you are using a Community Shaders version newer or equal to what is specified, you must remove the feature. The following features are incompatible with the CS version specified, and anything newer. Leaving them installed will cause issues.
The following mods are still available on the Nexus for backwards compatibility with Collections/Wabbajack lists, and for those who choose to remain on an older version of CS. Do not install them if the CS version you use is equal to or exceeds the version specified below.
- Dynamic Cubemaps - Now part of Community Shaders core (1.0+)
- Complex Parallax Materials - Now part of Community Shaders core (1.0+)
- Water Blending - Now part of Community Shaders core (1.0+)
- Vanilla HDR - Replaced with a built-in tonemapper (1.0+)
- Water Caustics - Now part of Water Effects (1.0+)
- Water Parallax - Now part of Water Effects (1.0+)
- Tree LOD Lighting - Now part of Community Shaders core (1.0+)
- Light Limit Fix - Now part of Community Shaders core (1.4+)
- Frame Generation - Now part of Upscaling (1.4+)
- Extended Translucency - Now part of Community Shaders core (1.4.7+)
- Inverse Square Lighting - Now part of Community Shaders core (1.4.7+)
- Terrain Shadows - Now part of Community Shaders cores (1.4.7+)
- Water Effects - Now part of Community Shaders core (1.4.7+)
In a future update, the following features will be integrated into CS core and will also be considered obsolete. They can remain installed for now.
- Grass Collision
- Grass Lighting
- Screen-Space Shadows
- Subsurface Scattering
The numbers in parentheses indicate which version of Community Shaders the features are incompatible with. If you are using a version older than specified, then the feature is still compatible.
¶ What order should CS mods be in?
CS features should have no conflicting files, so the order should not matter. If there are conflicting files, either you have done something wrong or it would be specified on the mod page(s).
¶ What mods are incompatible with CS?
- EVLaS and AELAS are incompatible with Sky Sync - Community Shaders from CS version 1.3.4 or newer. Sky Sync serves the same function as both of those mods.
- Skyrim Upscaler is incompatible with CS version 1.4 or newer, and the non-Nexus version is not officially supported with any version of CS. The Upscaling - Community Shaders mod should be used instead, if upscaling is desired.
- ENBSeries. Please see the ENB Migration Guide.
- As of version 1.4, CS does not support particle lights or ENB lights. Light Placer, combined with mods using the Light Placer framework to attach lights should be used instead. See the ENB Migration Guide.
- ReShade Helper.
- Trainwreck. CS currently requires Crash Logger due to PDB support.
- SSE Parallax Shader Fix. CS supercedes this mod. Remember to remove
d3dcompiler_47.dllfrom your root Skyrim directory (unless you are on Linux). - Skyrim Platform. Not recommended due to previously reported issues.
- Skyrim Crash Guard. This mod will leave your game in an unexpected state, crashes happen to keep your game data safe. Support cannot be offered if this mod is installed.
Mods that need tweaks or have minor incompatibilities:
- Lux. Reinstall without "optimized" meshes and without particle meshes. Add the Lux CS patch.
- Skyrim Souls. Menus are transparent. Possibly only an issue with Upscaling, try without Upscaling.
- Skyrim Together Reborn. Apparently causes many crashes when used together with Upscaling, remove Upscaling if playing STR.
- Alternative Conversation Camera. The black bars are incompatible, disable that feature. The rest of the mod should work fine.
- Display Tweaks. Borderless upscale is incompatible, disable that feature, use Upscaling - Community Shaders instead. Ensure that it is configured to run in borderless windowed mode, exclusive fullscreen is not supported. The rest of the mod should work fine.
- Improved Camera. Moons appear to be darkened. This apparently has been fixed in a test version on their Discord.
- ReShade. Effects that require the depth buffer are not compatible with frame generation. Disable the effects OR disable frame generation. As of version 1.4, CS no longer supports preventing ReShade from applying to the user interface. ReShade Helper is NOT compatible.
- Auto Parallax. True PBR is not compatible with the
experimentalfeature. If you use PBR materials, you should only use PGPatcher, see the Vanilla Setup Guide. - PrivateProfileRedirector. If you use this mod, use the newest version available. Versions older than 0.6.x cause issues.
- Simplicity of Snow or Simplicity of Ash. If you use PBR, it will not look correct due to these mods being multipass. Singlepass snow, like Better Dynamic Snow 3, is compatible with PBR.
¶ What mods are no longer needed with CS?
The following mods will not crash the game if left installed, but their functionality is not needed with CS or its functionality is integrated into CS.
- Capture Warmer and Sky Reflection Fix - Both of these fixes are integrated into CS.
- NVIDIA Reflex Support - General consensus is that it doesn't do anything if used with CS.
- Rim Lighting Removed - CS has its own adjustments to rim lighting. This mod and other similar mods are not needed.
- Splashes of Storms - These effects are already covered by CS Wetness Effects. But they look different so it's a subjective choice. Note that Splashes of Skyrim is an entirely different mod and is not covered by CS.
If you are coming from ENB, please also check the ENB Migration Guide as it lists some ENB specific mods that are no longer needed with CS. The general rule for ENB mod 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.
¶ Do I still need Lux split meshes?
TLDR: No, uncheck them when installing. Otherwise you will get reduced performance.
Lux splits bigger meshes into smaller pieces to workaround the limit of allowing only 4 light sources per mesh/object. With smaller objects, chances are better that not too many light sources shed light on an object. However this increases draw calls, because much more objects must be rendered. CS does not have this limit so it is better to install Lux without the mesh options in the FOMOD.
Answer from author of Lux (03/11/2024): These meshes main purpose is to help with engine limitations indeed so using CS light limit fix makes them optional. I'm fixing a lot of vanilla meshes when optimizing them though so you won't have these fixes anymore if you're not installing them. I'm also reworking most mods texture sets because the new meshes have different trishape structures, thus keep in mind that you'll need to delete my own texture set edits on vanilla meshes or they'll be all over the place if not using my meshes. Split meshes increase drawcalls so it's up to you. I mean if you can survive that you can just keep them. If the performance issue is a priority then you should remove them.
Be careful with injected meshes though, I'm replacing models here and there, so any mesh with non vanilla name should be kept unless you fix that directly in the patch plugin. They're often named Lux_xxx so they can't be missed. If I remember well I'm using these meshes in Blackreach (mountain stuff) and some floor I needed to replace in a player house (Skyfall Estate).
¶ Configuration
¶ How can I open the CS menu to change/activate/deactivate some of the effects?
Press the end key on your keyboard.
If playing in VR, virtual keyboard does not work and the menu is not shown in VR mode. Change to desktop mode and press the key on your physical keyboard.
¶ I'm pressing the End key, but it ends up doing nothing!
Ensure that CS is actually installed. Do you notice any of the effects? Did you see a Compiling Shaders popup when you first played Skyrim with Community Shaders? If not, does a log exist at C:\Users\<user>\Documents\My Games\Skyrim Special Edition\SKSE\CommunityShaders.log? Did you install Engine Fixes correctly (both files, you should've downloaded and installed 2 different files, one manually).
If you can verify that CS is installed correctly and running, the CS settings .jsons will have to be edited directly:
- Open
SKSE/Plugins/CommunityShaders/SettingsUser.jsonin your MO2 overwrite (Skyrim Data folder if using Vortex) and look for the following text:"ToggleKey": 35, NOTEffectToggleKey! Unless that's what you're trying to change. If you do not have aSettingsUser.jsonfile, you can modify theSettingsDefault.jsoninstead, though this is not supported. - Change the
35to a different Windows API keyboard scancode. Here is a website with a scancode table.
If your menu still is not opening, then disable any overlays you are using. Some configurations of RTSS and Fraps are known to cause issues.
¶ Can I edit settings without using the CS menu?
Yes, the first time you change any setting CS generates the settings file SKSE/Plugins/CommunityShaders/SettingsUser.json in your overwrite folder if using MO2 or Skyrim Data folder if using Vortex. You can edit this file.
The default settings are stored in SKSE/Plugins/CommunityShaders/SettingsDefault.json. It is not recommended to change the settings using this file, but technically possible.
¶ The menu is fullscreen! How do I move it?
On the top of the Community Shaders window should be something that looks like a browser tab. You can drag this to move the menu and no longer fullscreen it.
If you do not see the tab bar like in the screenshot, you may have hidden it. Click the top-left corner that is highlighted to reveal the tab bar.
If neither of the above works for some reason, you can fully reset the ImGui positioning by deleting imgui.ini from the root Skyrim folder. Note that this may reset the positioning for other mods that depend on ImGui.
¶ Development
¶ I have a feature request
Post feature requests in the #cs-feature-request channel on Discord. Please stay on topic when within that channel. Do NOT post feature requests to GitHub issues, they will be closed without further review.
¶ Can I join development?
Absolutely. Community Shaders development is done via Github.
We're always looking for talented developers to join the team! Check out our GitHub wiki for contribution guidelines and join our Discord server to connect with the development team. Whether you're interested in shader programming, C++ development, or documentation, there's always something to contribute.
Please keep in mind that the Community Shaders development team is comprised of real humans. Reviewing pull requests takes time, especially for larger changes. Please try to provide as much information as you can about the changes being made and the testing methodology. This will help provide context for a reviewer.
If you are going to use AI, please use it appropriately.
¶ Will new feature X be supported on VR / AE version?
New features are usually explored and fleshed out for one version (mostly 1.5.97) in the initial phase. If the team is happy with it and it can be ported, the feature will often be adapted for other versions, usually the latest versions available of the Steam, VR, and GOG releases. However, there are no guarantees or commitments to extending features to other versions.
Be patient and do not try to push the developers about feature support.
¶ Will feature X be supported on ENB?
No. CS features will not work without CS installed, no exception.
Note that CS is GPL3 licensed so ENB cannot copy CS code without going open source themselves. So features cannot be "ported" over unless ENB decides to go GPL3 licensed (open source) as well or they decide to re-implement the features from scratch.
¶ Will there be DLSS frame generation or multi-frame gen support?
Skyrim Special Edition uses the older DirectX 11 graphics API. The Streamline SDK only allows DLSS Frame Generation usage on DirectX 12 games. While it's not impossible to get it to work, it's incredibly difficult. Due to this technology being hardware locked and the difficulty, it's not planned by the development team. However, CS is open source and new contributors are welcome.
¶ Errors
¶ I get an error on start up! "Required DLL <...> was missing, will disable all hooks and features"
Please read the requirements on the Community Shaders Nexus page.
¶ I'm missing features? It says "Not installed"
This can be 1 of 2 issues.
- The feature isn't installed correctly. Ensure that it is active in your mod manager. Also ensure that your CS is updated to the latest version. If you didn't add the feature to your mod list, then it's obviously "not installed".
- The feature is not released. If you are unable to find the feature on Nexus Mods, then it likely has not released yet. Read Community Shaders Nexus page to see which features are released with a Nexus page.
Also ensure that you did not disable the feature at boot. There is a toggle button on the top right.
¶ Shaders failed to compile! Red colored errors!
You most likely combined incompatible versions of CS and CS features, or the shader cache did not regenerate after an update. Either use the newest Nexus releases, or a single test build from Discord; never combine them.
If you notice that files from CS and/or its addons are overwriting each other or are being overwritten by another mod, you are likely doing something wrong (unless otherwise specified on the mod page). This is the most frequent cause for shader compilation errors.
It is also important to note that the CS version and feature versions are tightly coupled. A feature or feature version released for a newer version of CS will not work on an older version, and features marked as "OBSOLETE" should be removed on newer CS versions.
As mentioned already, ensure that no deprecated features are installed.
Delete CS, its features, and the ShaderCache folder (found in either the overwrite folder in MO2, or in Skyrim's Data folder), and install CS again without combining versions. Alternatively, open the CS in-game menu by pressing the end key and choose Clear Shader Cache (it's the icon on the top left with the X, hover when in doubt) and restart the game.
Ensure that no incompatible mods are installed, including ENB or Shader Tools mods (e.g., d3d11.dll, d3dcompiler_46e.dll, and if you are on Windows d3dcompiler_47.dll). Please review the above.
Lastly, if you are using Linux, check out NaK. Join the CS Discord and link your account for further Linux or macOS support.
¶ There are strange/broken effects with CS!
-
Firstly, did CS warn you that shaders failed to compile when you started your game? If yes, read the question above.
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Secondly, do you meet the requirements as listed in the installation guide? If you are using an Intel iGPU, it is not supported by the dev team. New contributors are welcome to attempt to fix the remaining issues.
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Thirdly, if you are using Linux, check out NaK. For further support with Linux (or macOS), read the question above.
Otherwise, follow the following steps to identify whether or not you are encountering an installation issue or genuine bug.
- Check that the error is really coming from CS. Disable CS and check if the issue is gone. If the issue remains, then CS is not the issue.
- Wipe all overwrite files generated by CS. This includes the
ShaderCache,UnifiedWaterCache, andSKSE/Plugins/CommunityShadersfolder if they exist in the MO2 overwrite (or Skyrim Data folder with Vortex). Do not delete theShadersfolder. Launch the game and you should be recompiling shaders, there should be no errors when complete. - You need to identify if this is a mod incompatibility. Create a minimal setup to determine if CS is causing the issue. If the issue is gone, use the binary search method to determine which mod is causing issues with CS.
- Check the CS menu to see if there are any features are outdated or if a new version is required. Read Community Shaders Nexus page to see which Community Shaders features are currently supported. A feature or feature version released for a newer version of CS will not work on an older version. Obsolete features will not work on newer CS versions. Also see the above.
- Read the rest of this FAQ to see if it solves your issue.
If nothing in this FAQ solves your issue and you meet the requirements for CS, please post in the CS Discord. Using the minimal setup, please provide screenshots of the issue (a real screenshot, not a picture with your phone), your hardware, and any relevant logs.
If the Discord community considers it a legitimate bug, you may be asked to create a Github Issue.
¶ Black screen when starting the game, but audio is still playing?
As of 1.2.0, CS has issues with exclusive fullscreen configurations, or configurations where the render resolution does not match the monitor resolution.
To prevent any issues with CS, you should run Skyrim in borderless windowed mode with the resolution set to match your monitor. With the Windows 10 Creator Update, borderless windowed mode should no longer causes performance loss and should not be a concern.
The Display Tweaks borderless upscale is explicitly unsupported as a result, as it changes the render resolution to be different from the output resolution, which causes issues with CS. Ensure that both your Skyrim INIs and your Display Tweaks configurations is rendering at our monitor resolution. If you need additional performance, please use Upscaling - Community Shaders instead.
The installation guide briefly covers how to run your Skyrim in borderless windowed mode.
¶ Shaders compilation leads to CTD
Firstly, update or install the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable, select the X64 version:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/windows/latest-supported-vc-redist?view=msvc-170#latest-supported-redistributable-version.
The shader compiler comes from Microsoft and cannot be changed by the CS team. There are known issues on weaker CPUs if you max out the CPU during compiling. You can try reducing the shader compiler threads (Background Compiler Threads and Compiler Threads) as a workaround. Search for the file SettingsUser.json and edit those config values. If you have not yet successfully run CS and do not have a user config file, edit SettingsDefault.json instead. Both files are located in SKSE/Plugins/CommunityShaders in MO2's overwrite or Skyrim's Data folder. This is not best practice, and you have to change those values again after your next CS update, but it may bring you past the compilation.
Please ensure that you're running a supported version of Skyrim Special Edition or Skyrim VR. See the installation guide. Using another version of Skyrim (such as a non-latest AE version) will not be supported by the CS team.
Also, try running the game in borderless windowed mode.
Otherwise, please post the crash log to the relevant support channels on the CS Discord.
¶ Why are my eyes bright?
Your eye meshes were probably improperly made, which is unfortunately a common issue. This issue is more apparent on CS.
To fix glowing/bright eyes for your character, you should install a better eye mesh, such as the ones from Improved Eye. Please read the mod page in case it won't work for your mod setup.
This will not fix the issue for NPCs. You will need to manually patch NPCs with better eye meshes yourself, or use NPC replacers that do not have this issue (most COTR replacers).
¶ Terrain does not look parallaxed / terrain is spiky!
- Make sure you're using terrain textures with parallax support, like Atlantean Landscapes and Terrain Blending Fix. The terrain parallax textures must have full coverage, otherwise you will have spiky terrain.
- Under the
Extended Materialstab in the CS menu, make sureEnable Legacy Terrainis checked. This is assuming you have terrain parallax textures installed, you will encounter issues otherwise. This is not required for PBR terrain textures. - If on Skyrim VR, make sure that
bLandSpecularis set to 1 in theSkyrimVR.inifile.
¶ Wetness effects look broken, have edgy areas and are just completely wrong
Make sure that you have disabled Dynamic resolution in your Skyrim.ini [Display] section. The setting should be bEnableAutoDynamicResolution=0.
For NVIDIA users: also make sure that in NVIDIA Control Panel the option 'Antialiasing - Transparency' is set to off.
¶ General troubleshooting advice
¶ Minimal setup
If the FAQ's instructions do not solve your issue(s), isolate CS to rule out mod conflicts; this is so the issue can be narrowed down to CS, CS features, or an .ini file problem.
Test with only the following mods enabled:
- Community Shaders itself
- Mods currently listed on the Community Shaders mod page under "Additional Features:"
- Any mods listed under "Nexus requirements" and "Off-site requirements" on the Community Shaders mod page, as well as any mods or programs listed as required by these mods
Note that the above is just Community Shaders and its requirements. In case requirements have changed and this FAQ has not been updated, please refer to the Community Shaders Nexus page and check the requirements there.
You can create a minimal setup by creating a new profile in MO2, pressing ctrl+a and selecting Disable, followed by enabling the listed mods.
If you're on Vortex, you can similarly create a new profile with the Profile tab on the left hand side. Then select Add "Skyrim Special Edition" Profile. This will disable all of your mods and create a clean profile. Rest assured, your mods are not disabled in the other profile, they are disabled only in the new one. You can then re-enable the relevant mods above in the new profile, then deploy.
You may also want to make sure your Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable is on the latest version. Sometimes, when you install software, older versions of the VC Redist can get installed and overwrite the system one or something obnoxious like that.
To update or install the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable, select the X64 version:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/windows/latest-supported-vc-redist?view=msvc-170#latest-supported-redistributable-version
¶ I'm getting high "Utility" and/or "Other" usage in the CS performance overlay!
You can get a brief explanation of each by opening the CS menu to unlock the cursor, then hover over the relevant Shader Types in the performance overlay.
For some basic performance debugging and improvements:
- Adjust your Skyrim ini settings (reducing shadow quality/distance and draw distance is a good start)
- Avoid using mods that significantly increase draw calls (such as some location overhauls or Lux split meshes)
- Check if your game is CPU or GPU bottlenecked. CPU bottlenecks in Skyrim happen on one core, so do not look at your overall CPU usage to determine this, check core usages. Monitor your VRAM usage, if it is hitting the limit, it will cause stutters.
- Check if you are hitting an FPS limit.
Othertime will be naturally high if your game hits an FPS limit, since the game needs to wait until it's able to show the next frame. - Reduce the quality or remove some CS features. CS features do not come at no performance cost. Certain ones like Screen Space GI are quite heavy, you can go through the settings to reduce its quality or remove the feature altogether for better performance.
- Use a lower upscaling preset. This is useful if you are GPU bottlenecked.
One easy way to identify if CS is the cause of your poor performance is to monitor performance with CS on and off, with the exact same in-game conditions. If your performance is significantly worse with CS, try creating a minimal setup to see if it improves your performance.
¶ Load Time Profiler says that Community Shaders is slow to start!
If you are compiling shaders or generating water cache, it will misrepresent CS as a slow loader. Please check in a different game session after those caches are done generating.
Otherwise, the development team is open to further improvements.
¶ RenderDoc
When you report an issue on either GitHub or via the Discord support channels, a developer may ask you to provide a RenderDoc capture. You do not need to install the software separately, captures are possible from within CS itself from version 1.4.6 onward.
Please do not waste developer time. Ensure that you are using either
- The latest CS version available on official CS Nexus page. Older versions or versions not downloaded from the official page will not be supported by the official dev team.
- A test build that is being actively tested and the developer has explicitly asked for a RenderDoc capture within the context of that test build. Please ensure that the developer is on the same page as you and knows which exact test build you are using. If you are replying in a test build thread, it is implied that the build you are using is the one attached to the thread.
RenderDoc captures are large (hundreds of MBs). Please keep that in mind when creating captures.
In the CS menu, you should see a RenderDoc feature alongside the other features on the left sidebar. If you do not see that feature, you are either looking at the wrong place or you did not read the above. Go through the following steps:
- Select
Enable RenderDoc Capture. Save Settingsin the CS menu. If you do not, it won't be enabled when you restart.- Close and restart Skyrim.
- Upon launching Skyrim again, you should see a
WARNINGon the top-left of your screen. If you do not, please check if you enabled RenderDoc capturing and saved the CS settings. Your performance will be severely impacted while running with RenderDoc enabled. This is normal. - Reproduce the bug you are reporting. Once you can reproduce it, ensure that it is within view.
- Open the CS menu and navigate to the
RenderDocfeature. HitCreate Capture. Once complete, you should be able to hitOpen Capture Directoryto navigate directly to the file. - Upload the capture to a file hosting service. Discord will not support large file uploads. You will need to use a third-party file hosting service, such as Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, etc.
- Reply to the developer with a public link for the file download. Ensure that the file is publically accessible.
Since RenderDoc captures are large, CS provides a simple UI to help manage the storage usage associated with these captures. Enable RenderDoc Capture needs to be enabled in order to see this UI. Alternatively you can manage these files yourself via your file manager. Feel free to remove these captures once they have already been uploaded to a file host and the developer has acknowledged the files.
To disable RenderDoc captures after you are done, simply:
- Deselect
Enable RenderDoc Capturefrom the CS menu. Save Settingsin the CS menu.- Close Skyrim.