Vitrail Shaders
by avpbynf
Vitrail Shaders lets OptiFine-format shader packs run on Minecraft's native Vulkan renderer, without changes to the packs themselves.
What it does
Vitrail reads shader packs in the OptiFine format from the shaderpacks folder and translates their GLSL code once a pack loads, handing the result to a compiler that the game already embeds. Nothing is translated frame by frame. The mod targets the Vulkan backend that ships with the game alongside the OpenGL one, and that backend is marked experimental by the game itself.
Vitrail began with a single question about whether OptiFine-format packs, written against OpenGL across more than ten years, could load on the renderer Minecraft already ships. Vitrail is built in a way that reflects the author's workflow, with AI tools handling much of the typing and debugging while the author decides what gets built and tests it against real packs. Contributors joined along the way, though the project is still early and is one person's side project that has been worked on daily since July.
The mod is client-side only and has Sodium as a required dependency, with (Sodium) Chloride and Fabric API as optional add-ons. It is open source under the GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0 only. Files are published for Fabric and NeoForge for 26.2 – 26.3.
Key features
OptiFine-format packs
Packs in the OptiFine shader format load from the shaderpacks folder without being rewritten.
Load-time GLSL translation
GLSL code is translated once when a pack loads, so drawing a frame carries no extra translation cost.
Native Vulkan renderer
Packs run on the Vulkan backend that Minecraft ships, instead of the OpenGL path they were written for.
Known limits
Some packs still render incorrectly, and the pack table records how close each tried pack draws.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Requirements
Dependencies declared by the latest file for each loader.
Required 1
Optional 2
Use cases
Testing older packs on Vulkan
Players who want to see whether a pack written for OpenGL draws on the native renderer can load it from the shaderpacks folder.
Following the project
Pack authors can check the issue tracker and wiki to report which of their packs break and how.
Who it’s for: Players who want to try OptiFine-format shader packs on the Vulkan backend, and pack authors who want to check how their packs draw on it. The backend is experimental in the game, so results vary by pack.
Questions
Does Vitrail Shaders need Sodium?
Do shader packs need to be changed to work with Vitrail?
Which loaders are supported?
In the catalog
Vitrail Shaders is one of 8,499 Technology mods on ModsFinder, and one of 4,201 Technology mods for Fabric. 8,071 mods support Minecraft 26.3.
Similar mods
What the author says
Minecraft now ships a native Vulkan renderer alongside the OpenGL one. Every shader pack that exists was written for OpenGL, and none of them run on it. Vitrail runs them anyway, unmodified. It reads an OptiFine-format pack out of shaderpacks/, translates its GLSL once when the pack loads, and hands it to the…
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/vitrail-shaders
- Owner
- avpbynf
- Published
- 2026-08-14
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-10-13
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15