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Custom shaders · Live editor
Write a shader.
Hit render.
VKO Shader carries a runtime GLSL compiler. Drop a .glsl in your VKO Shaders folder (or click Import) and it shows up in the browser — recompiled on every save, routed through the same GPU pipeline as the built-ins. No build, no app reload.
No code needed · Free web tool
Don't want to write GLSL?
Build shaders visually, in your browser.
The VKO1 Graph Editor is a node-based shader builder — patch generators, stack modifiers, drag the jog dial, feed it live audio, and watch it react in real time. Hit Export, pick the After Effects target, and it bakes the whole chain into a single
.glsl with the same vko_main(uv) contract used below — ready to drop straight into VKO Shader. Nothing to install, nothing to sign up for.
p0 · Speed1.00
p1 · Reactivity0.80
p2 · Complexity0.50
p3 · Jog0.00
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2D snippet.
Write
vec4 vko_main(vec2 uv) — that's the whole contract. uv spans 0..1. (The mobile apps add 3D and full-shader modes; the AE effect runs the 2D snippet.)02
Use the U block.
Every live signal lives on
U.* — U.time, U.beat, U.bass, U.energy, plus four knobs U.p0–U.p3 wired to the sliders.03
Respect the knobs.
Multiply time by
U.p0. Scale audio by U.p1. Drive detail with U.p2. Add U.p3 * 0.4 as a jogwheel phase offset (range −3..3).04
Compute-safe.
AE runs each shader as a GPU compute kernel (Metal / D3D11) — fragment derivatives (
dfdx, fwidth) aren't available. Compute widths analytically and the same .glsl runs on Android too.U. Block · Uniforms reference
U.timefloat
Seconds on the comp clock.
U.beatfloat
0..1 — pulses on the beat.
U.beatPhasefloat
0..1 sawtooth inside the current beat.
U.beatStrengthfloat
0..1 confidence of beat detection.
U.energyfloat
0..1 overall audio level.
U.bassfloat
0..1 low-frequency level.
U.midfloat
0..1 mid-frequency level.
U.treblefloat
0..1 high-frequency level.
U.resolutionvec2
Layer size in pixels.
U.paletteint
0..32 active palette index.
U.p0 · Speedfloat
Time multiplier. 0=frozen, 1=normal.
U.p1 · Reactfloat
Audio influence. 0=none, 1=full.
U.p2 · Complexfloat
Detail / density knob.
U.p3 · Jogfloat
Jogwheel scrub, −3..3 (0 idle).
One GLSL file · two engines
One file, two platforms
Android & After Effects.
A 2D
vko_main snippet that avoids fragment derivatives drops straight into both — identical GLSL, same U.* uniforms, same palette helpers (get_vko_palette_color), same knobs. iOS runs the same engine, knobs and palettes, but its shaders are written in Metal (MSL) — porting GLSL ↔ MSL is mechanical.
Recipes · copy & remix
// sharp flash on beat, decays quickly
float flash = U.beat * U.p1 * 0.8 * exp(-U.beatPhase * 4.0);
col += vec3(flash);float kick = U.bass * U.p1;
vec2 warped = p + p * kick * 0.15;
float d = length(warped);// no dfdx/fwidth in a compute kernel
float aspect = U.resolution.x / max(U.resolution.y, 1.0);
vec2 p = (uv * 2.0 - 1.0) * vec2(aspect, 1.0);float scanLine = uv.y + U.time * 0.05
+ U.p3 * 0.3;
vec3 col = get_vko_palette_color(
fract(scanLine), U.palette);