Citra Shader May 2026

A "Citra shader" refers to a custom user-created or pre-installed graphical filter used within Citra, an open-source emulator for the Nintendo 3DS.

// Helper: Vibrance filter (boosts less-saturated colors more) vec3 vibrance(vec3 color, float amount) float luma = luminance(color); float maxChannel = max(color.r, max(color.g, color.b)); float minChannel = min(color.r, min(color.g, color.b)); float saturation = maxChannel - minChannel;

Location (user folder):
%appdata%/Citra/shaders/ (Windows)
~/.local/share/citra-emu/shaders/ (Linux)
~/Library/Application Support/Citra/shaders/ (macOS) citra shader

Part 1: What Exactly is a Citra Shader?

Before the shutdown of the original Citra project (and its subsequent continuation via forks like PabloMK7 and Lime3DS), the emulator adopted a post-processing shader system similar to RetroArch. A "Citra shader" refers to a custom user-created

Asynchronous Shader Building: Supported in many modern forks (like Citra MMJ and Azahar), this allows shaders to compile in the background. While it eliminates stutter, it may cause temporary "flickering" or missing objects until the shader is ready. 2. Post-Processing Shaders (Visual Filters) Asynchronous Shader Building: Supported in many modern forks