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The xe-gpu-shader-compiler is a standalone shader compiler that enables quick shader translation testing. It accepts binary microcode shaders and outputs either disassembled microcode or translated shader source code.

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Overview

This tool is designed for testing shader translation without running the full emulator. It’s particularly useful when used in conjunction with the Shader Playground for interactive development.

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Usage

The shader compiler accepts binary microcode files and can produce various output formats: 
xe-gpu-shader-compiler \
    --shader_input=input_file.bin.vs \
    --shader_output=output_file.txt \
    --shader_output_type=ucode

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Parameters

  • --shader_input: Path to the input binary shader file
    • Use .bin.vs extension for vertex shaders
    • Use .bin.fs extension for fragment shaders
  • --shader_output: Path where the translated output will be written
  • --shader_output_type: Output format type
    • ucode - Disassembled microcode
    • spirvtext - SPIR-V text representation

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Input Files

The compiler expects binary microcode shader files as input. These can be obtained through:
  1. Shader dumps from the emulator - Use the --dump_shaders=path/ flag when running Xenia to export shaders
  2. Manual shader compilation - Create your own microcode files
  3. Extracted game shaders - From Xbox 360 game files

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Shader Dumps

When you run Xenia with shader dumping enabled: 
xenia_canary.exe --dump_shaders=path/to/output/ game.xex
Xenia will write all translated shaders to the specified path with names based on input hash. Binary files containing the original microcode are placed alongside the dumped output, making them easy to pipe to xe-gpu-shader-compiler.

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Output Formats

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Microcode Disassembly

Using --shader_output_type=ucode produces human-readable disassembled shader microcode: 
xe-gpu-shader-compiler \
    --shader_input=shader_a3f2b1c5.bin.vs \
    --shader_output=shader_disasm.txt \
    --shader_output_type=ucode

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SPIR-V Text

Using --shader_output_type=spirvtext generates SPIR-V assembly: 
xe-gpu-shader-compiler \
    --shader_input=shader_a3f2b1c5.bin.fs \
    --shader_output=shader_spirv.txt \
    --shader_output_type=spirvtext

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Workflow

A typical shader debugging workflow:
1

Enable shader dumping

Run Xenia with --dump_shaders=path/ to export shaders from your game.
2

Identify problematic shader

Locate the shader file that corresponds to the visual issue you’re investigating.
3

Disassemble the shader

Use xe-gpu-shader-compiler with --shader_output_type=ucode to examine the microcode.
4

Analyze and debug

Review the disassembled output to understand the shader’s operations and identify issues.
5

Test translations

Use different output types to verify the shader translation is correct.

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Technical Details

The shader compiler processes Xbox 360 GPU microcode, which is based on AMD’s R5xx architecture (the Xenos chip). The translation must account for:
  • Xbox 360-specific instruction sets
  • Register allocation differences
  • Texture sampling conventions
  • Vertex/fragment shader variations
For more information on shader formats and the Xenos architecture, see the GPU architecture documentation.

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