Syntax
Here is the syntax for calling FXC.exe, the effect-compiler tool. For an example, see Offline Compiling.
Usage
fxc SwitchOptions Filenames
Arguments
Separate each switch option with a space or a colon.
SwitchOptions
[in] Compile options. There is just one required option, and many more that are optional. Separate each with a space or colon.
Required option
/T <profile>
Shader model (see Profiles).
Optional options
/?, /help
Print help for FXC.exe.
@<command.option.file>
File that contains additional compile options. This option can be mixed with other command line compile options. The command.option.file must contain only one option per line. The command.option.file cannot contain any blank lines. Options specified in the file must not contain any leading or trailing spaces.
/all_resources_bound
Enable aggressive flattening in SM5.1+. New for Direct3D 12.
/Cc
Output color-coded assembly.
/compress
Compress DX10 shader bytecode from files.
/D <id>=<text>
Define macro.
/decompress
Decompress DX10 shader bytecode from first file. Output files should be listed in the order they were in during compression.
/dumpbin
Loads a binary file rather than compiling a shader.
/E <name>
Shader entry point. If no entry point is given, main is considered to be the shader entry name.
/enable_unbounded_descriptor_tables
Enables unbounded descriptor tables. New for Direct3D 12.
/extractrootsignature <file>
Extract root signature from shader bytecode. New for Direct3D 12.
/Fc <file>
Output assembly code listing file.
/Fd <file>
Extract shader program database (PDB) info and write to the given file.When you compile the shader, use /Fd to generate a PDB file with shader debugging info.
/Fe <file>
Output warnings and errors to the given file.
/Fh <file>
Output header file containing object code.
/Fl <file
Output a library. Requires the D3dcompiler_47.dll or a later version of the DLL.
/Fo <file>
Output object file. Often given the extension ".fxc", though other extensions are used, such as ".o", ".obj" or ".dxbc".
/Fx <file>
Output assembly code and hex listing file.
/Gch
Compile as a child effect for fx_4_x profiles.
Note
Support for legacy Effects profiles is deprecated.
/Gdp
Disable effect performance mode.
/Gec
Enable backward compatibility mode.
/Ges
Enable strict mode.
/getprivate <file>
Save private data from the shader blob (compiled shader binary) to the given file. Extracts private data, previously embedded by /setprivate, from the shader blob.
You must specify the /dumpbin option with /getprivate. For example:
fxc /getprivate ps01.private.data
/dumpbin ps01.with.private.obj
/Gfa
Avoid flow control constructs.
/Gfp
Prefer flow control constructs.
/Gis
Force IEEE strictness.
/Gpp
Force partial precision.
/I <include>
Additional include path.
/Lx
Output hexadecimal literals. Requires the D3dcompiler_47.dll or a later version of the DLL.
/matchUAVs
Match template shader UAV slot allocations in the current shader. For more info, see Remarks.
/mergeUAVs
Merge UAV slot allocations of template shader and the current shader. For more info, see Remarks.
/Ni
Output instruction numbers in assembly listings.
/No
Output instruction byte offset in assembly listings. When you produce assembly, use /No to annotate it with the byte offset for each instruction.
/nologo
Suppress copyright message.
/Od
Disable optimizations. /Od implies /Gfp, though output may not be identical to /Od /Gfp.
/Op
Disable preshaders (deprecated).
/O0 /O1, /O2, /O3
Optimization levels. O1 is the default setting.
- O0 - Disables instruction reordering. This helps reduce register load and enables faster loop simulation.
- O1 - Disables instruction reordering for ps_3_0 and up.
- O2 - Same as O1. Reserved for future use.
- O3 - Same as O1. Reserved for future use.
/P <file>
Preprocess to file (must be used alone).
/Qstrip_debug
Strip debug data from shader bytecode for 4_0+ profiles.
/Qstrip_priv
Strip the private data from 4_0+ shader bytecode. Removes private data (arbitrary sequence of bytes) from the shader blob (compiled shader binary) that you previously embedded with the /setprivate <file> option.
You must specify the /dumpbin option with /Qstrip_priv. For example:
fxc /Qstrip_priv /dumpbin /Fo ps01.no.private.obj
ps01.with.private.obj
/Qstrip_reflect
Strip reflection data from shader bytecode for 4_0+ profiles.
/Qstrip_rootsignature
Strip root signature from shader bytecode. New for Direct3D 12.
/res_may_alias
Assume that UAVs/SRVs may alias for cs_5_0+. Requires the D3dcompiler_47.dll or a later version of the DLL.
/setprivate <file>
Add private data in the given file to the compiled shader blob. Embeds the given file, which is treated as a raw buffer, to the shader blob. Use /setprivate to add private data when you compile a shader. Or, use the /dumpbin option with /setprivate to load an existing shader object, and then after the object is in memory, to add the private data blob. For example, use either a single command with /setprivate to add private data to a compiled shader blob:
fxc /T ps_4_0 /Fo ps01.with.private.obj ps01.fx
/setprivate ps01.private.data
Or, use two commands where the second command loads a shader object and then adds private data:
fxc /T ps_4_0 /Fo ps01.no.private.obj ps01.fx
fxc /dumpbin /Fo ps01.with.private.obj ps01.no.private.obj
/setprivate ps01.private.data
/setrootsignature <file>
Attach root signature to shader bytecode. New for Direct3D 12.
/shtemplate <file>
Use given template shader file for merging (/mergeUAVs) and matching (/matchUAVs) resources. For more info, see Remarks.
/Vd
Disable validation.
/verifyrootsignature <file>
Verify shader bytecode against root signature. New for Direct3D 12.
/Vi
Display details about the include process.
/Vn <name>
Use name as variable name in header file.
/WX
Treat warnings as errors.
/Zi
Enable debugging information.
/Zpc
Pack matrices in column-major order.
/Zpr
Pack matrices in row-major order.
Filenames
[in] The files that contains the shader(s) and/or the effect(s).
Remarks
Use the /mergeUAVs, /matchUAVs, and /shtemplate options to align the UAV binding slots for a chain of shaders.
Suppose you have shaders A.fx, B.fx, and C.fx. To align the UAV binding slots for this chain of shaders, you need two passes of compilation:
To align the UAV binding slots for a chain of shaders
- Use /mergeUAVs to compile shaders, and specify a previously-compiled shader blob with /shtemplate. For example:
fxc.exe /T cs_5_0 C.fx /Fo C.o /mergeUAVs /shtemplate Btmp.o - Use /matchUAVs to compile shaders, and specify the last shader blob from the first pass with /shtemplate. You can compile in any order. For example:
fxc.exe /T cs_5_0 A.fx /Fo A.o /matchUAVs /shtemplate C.o
You don't have to recompile C.fx in the second pass.
After you perform the preceding two compilation passes, you can use A.o, B.o, and C.o as final shader blobs with aligned UAV slots.
Profiles
Each shader model is labeled with an HLSL profile. To compile a shader against a particular shader model, choose the appropriate shader profile from the following table.
| Shader Type | Profiles |
|---|---|
| Compute Shader |
cs_4_1 cs_5_0 cs_5_1 |
| Domain Shader |
ds_5_1 |
| Geometry Shader |
gs_4_1 gs_5_0 gs_5_1 |
| HLSL shader linking |
lib_4_1 lib_4_0_level_9_1 lib_4_0_level_9_1_vs_only lib_4_0_level_9_1_ps_only lib_4_0_level_9_3 lib_4_0_level_9_3_vs_only lib_4_0_level_9_3_ps_only lib_5_0 |
| Hull Shader |
hs_5_1 |
| Pixel Shader |
ps_2_a ps_2_b ps_2_sw ps_3_0 ps_3_sw ps_4_0 ps_4_0_level_9_0 ps_4_0_level_9_1 ps_4_0_level_9_3 ps_4_1 ps_5_0 ps_5_1 |
| Root Signature |
|
| Texture Shader |
|
| Vertex Shader |
vs_2_0 vs_2_a vs_2_sw vs_3_0 vs_3_sw vs_4_0 vs_4_0_level_9_0 vs_4_0_level_9_1 vs_4_0_level_9_3 vs_4_1 vs_5_0 vs_5_1 |
Version notes
For Direct3D 12 refer to Specifying Root Signatures in HLSL, Resource Binding in HLSL and Dynamic Indexing using HLSL 5.1.
In Direct3D 10 use the API to get the vertex, geometry, and pixel-shader profile best suited to a given device by calling these functions: D3D10GetVertexShaderProfile, D3D10GetPixelShaderProfile, and D3D10GetGeometryShaderProfile.
In Direct3D 9 use the GetDeviceCaps or GetDeviceCaps methods to retrieve the vertex and pixel-shader profiles supported by a device. The D3DCAPS9 structure returned by those methods indicates the vertex and pixel-shader profiles supported by a device in its VertexShaderVersion and PixelShaderVersion members.
For examples, see Compiling with the Current Compiler.