macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install glslanglocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install glslangMacPorts ports tree · graphics/glslang/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew
Install glslang with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, scoop, zypper
OpenGL and OpenGL ES reference compiler for shading languages. Version 16.3.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-05-02.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add glslangAlpine Linux edge package indexes · glslang · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install glslang-devDebian stable package indexes · glslang-dev · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install glslangFedora Rawhide package metadata · glslang · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#glslangnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/gl/glslang/package.nix · source: api.github.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S glslangArch Linux sync databases · glslang · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install glslang-developenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · glslang-devel · source: download.opensuse.org
Windows
Scoopverified · 92%
scoop install main/glslangScoop official bucket manifest trees · bucket/glslang.json · source: api.github.com
overview
Package summary
OpenGL and OpenGL ES reference compiler for shading languages
Project links
Commands and aliases
- glslang
- glslangValidator
history
Project history and usage
glslang is Khronos Group's reference front end for GLSL and ESSL, with a SPIR-V back end and a standalone command-line wrapper. In package-manager form it is best known through the `glslangValidator` and `glslang` executables used by graphics developers, engine build systems, and shader toolchains.
Project history
The project descends from the OpenGL and OpenGL ES reference compiler work maintained by Khronos. Its public KhronosGroup GitHub repository was created in 2015, the same period in which SPIR-V and Vulkan-era shader tooling moved into more open, packageable workflows. The README describes the GLSL and ESSL front end as a reference validator whose results carry similar weight to the specifications, and it describes the AST-to-SPIR-V back end as virtually complete.
glslang grew beyond a GLSL syntax checker into a central shader translation and validation component. It added a partial HLSL front end, a reflection API, CMake and GN build support, and release automation that publishes binaries from tested tree states. The project documentation also records migration of `spirv-remap` functionality into SPIRV-Tools as `spirv-opt` functionality, illustrating how Khronos shader tooling was split into focused companion projects.
Adoption history
Adoption followed the rise of Vulkan and SPIR-V: graphics projects needed a standard way to turn human-written shader languages into SPIR-V modules and to validate shaders against Khronos rules. The repository's long-lived presence under the KhronosGroup organization, several thousand stars, and packaging across Homebrew, Debian, Fedora, Arch, Nix, MacPorts, Scoop, and other distributions reflect its role as shared infrastructure rather than a single-application utility.
For package maintainers, glslang became a dependency-sized building block for Vulkan SDKs, rendering engines, CI checks, and shader asset pipelines. Its value is partly cultural: installing it gives a reproducible command-line validator that tracks Khronos reference behavior more closely than ad hoc compiler front ends.
How it is used
Practitioners use glslang by passing shader files to the standalone wrapper. File extensions such as `.vert`, `.frag`, `.comp`, and ray-tracing-stage extensions select stage-specific rules, and the tool prints diagnostics, AST information, or SPIR-V output depending on options. Developers also build it from source through CMake or GN when integrating it into larger graphics SDKs or engine build systems.
Typical use cases include validating shaders before they enter a game or visualization build, compiling GLSL or ESSL to SPIR-V for Vulkan pipelines, checking generated shader code in CI, and inspecting reflection information for engine resource binding code.
Why package nerds care
glslang matters to package users because it is small enough to install as a command-line tool but authoritative enough to sit in serious graphics build graphs. It also demonstrates the Khronos ecosystem pattern: glslang handles language front-end and SPIR-V generation work, while adjacent packages such as SPIRV-Tools handle optimization and lower-level binary manipulation.
Timeline
- 2015: KhronosGroup created the public GitHub repository.
- 2015: Vulkan and SPIR-V-era workflows made reference shader-to-SPIR-V tooling broadly package-relevant.
- 2026: The README announced deprecation of the HLSL front end with migration guidance.
Related projects
- SPIRV-Tools provides SPIR-V optimization, validation, and binary tooling used beside glslang.
- Vulkan SDK distributions and rendering engines commonly pair glslang with shader compilation and asset-pipeline tooling.
- Khronos specifications for OpenGL, OpenGL ES, Vulkan, and SPIR-V define the standards context that gives glslang its reference-tool role.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: green
narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.
Risk classifier
green risk · low confidence · appliance
Why
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals
Signals
- metadata:no-higher-risk-signals
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
- Installs with 2 runtime dependencies.
- Build metadata lists 1 build dependencies.
Recommended review
Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
glslang | cli | global executable | |
glslangValidator | cli | global executable |
freshness
Version and freshness
These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.
page generated2026-07-08
manager version16.3.0
manager updated2026-05-02
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detected16.3.0
https://github.com/KhronosGroup/glslang
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:glslang |
|---|---|
| Version | 16.3.0 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/glslang |
| Homepage | https://www.khronos.org/opengles/sdk/Reference-Compiler/ |
| Repository | https://github.com/KhronosGroup/glslang |
| Upstream docs | https://github.com/KhronosGroup/glslang#readme |
| License | BSD-3-Clause AND GPL-3.0-or-later AND MIT AND Apache-2.0 |
| Source archive | https://github.com/KhronosGroup/glslang/archive/refs/tags/16.3.0.tar.gz |
| Last updated | 2026-05-02T04:18:33Z |
| Pulse | updated |
| Dependencies | spirv-headers, spirv-tools |
| Build dependencies | cmake |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux) |
| Homebrew post-install | not defined |
| Service | none declared |
registry facts
Source database details
| Source Database | Homebrew formula API |
|---|---|
| Tap | homebrew/core |
| Full Name | glslang |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| Head Version | HEAD |
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
Debian apt95%
glslang-dev 15.1.0+1.4.309.0-1
OpenGL and OpenGL ES shader front end and validator -- development files
https://github.com/KhronosGroup/glslang
sudo apt install glslang-dev- Section: libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: glslang
- 1 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Glslang
Debian apt95%
glslang-tools 15.1.0+1.4.309.0-1
OpenGL and OpenGL ES shader front end and validator -- tools
https://github.com/KhronosGroup/glslang
sudo apt install glslang-tools- Section: libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: glslang
- 3 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Glslang
Nix95%
glslang
nix profile install nixpkgs#glslang- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Glslang
Ubuntu apt95%
glslang-dev 14.0.0-2
OpenGL and OpenGL ES shader front end and validator -- development files
https://github.com/KhronosGroup/glslang
sudo apt install glslang-dev- Section: universe/libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: glslang
- 1 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Glslang
Ubuntu apt95%
glslang-tools 14.0.0-2
OpenGL and OpenGL ES shader front end and validator -- tools
https://github.com/KhronosGroup/glslang
sudo apt install glslang-tools- Section: universe/libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: glslang
- 3 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Glslang
apk95%
glslang 1.4.341.0-r0
Khronos reference front-end for GLSL, ESSL, and sample SPIR-V generator
https://github.com/KhronosGroup/glslang
sudo apk add glslang- License: BSD-3-Clause AND BSD-2-Clause AND MIT AND Apache-2.0 AND GPL-3.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: glslang
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Glslang
apk95%
glslang-dev 1.4.341.0-r0
Khronos reference front-end for GLSL, ESSL, and sample SPIR-V generator (development files)
https://github.com/KhronosGroup/glslang
sudo apk add glslang-dev- License: BSD-3-Clause AND BSD-2-Clause AND MIT AND Apache-2.0 AND GPL-3.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: glslang
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Glslang
apk95%
glslang-libs 1.4.341.0-r0
Khronos reference front-end for GLSL, ESSL, and sample SPIR-V generator (libraries)
https://github.com/KhronosGroup/glslang
sudo apk add glslang-libs- License: BSD-3-Clause AND BSD-2-Clause AND MIT AND Apache-2.0 AND GPL-3.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: glslang
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Glslang
apk95%
glslang-static 1.4.341.0-r0
Khronos reference front-end for GLSL, ESSL, and sample SPIR-V generator (static library)
https://github.com/KhronosGroup/glslang
sudo apk add glslang-static- License: BSD-3-Clause AND BSD-2-Clause AND MIT AND Apache-2.0 AND GPL-3.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: glslang
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Glslang
dnf95%
glslang 16.2.0-1.fc45
OpenGL and OpenGL ES shader front end and validator
https://github.com/KhronosGroup/glslang
sudo dnf install glslang- License: BSD-2-Clause AND BSD-3-Clause AND GPL-3.0-or-later AND Apache-2.0
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: glslang
- 7 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Glslang
dnf95%
glslang-devel 16.2.0-1.fc45
Development files for glslang
https://github.com/KhronosGroup/glslang
sudo dnf install glslang-devel- License: BSD-2-Clause AND BSD-3-Clause AND GPL-3.0-or-later AND Apache-2.0
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: glslang
- 3 dependencies
- 3 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Glslang
pacman95%
glslang 1:1.4.350.0-1
OpenGL and OpenGL ES shader front end and validator
https://github.com/KhronosGroup/glslang
sudo pacman -S glslang- License: BSD-3-Clause
- Architecture: x86_64
- 3 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Glslang
zypper95%
glslang-devel 16.3.0-1.3
OpenGL and OpenGL ES shader front end and validator
https://www.khronos.org/opengles/sdk/tools/Reference-Compiler/
sudo zypper install glslang-devel- License: BSD-3-Clause
- Category: Development/Libraries/C and C++
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: glslang
- 6 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Glslang
zypper95%
glslang-nonstd-devel 16.3.0-1.3
Secondary set of header files for glslang
https://www.khronos.org/opengles/sdk/tools/Reference-Compiler/
sudo zypper install glslang-nonstd-devel- License: BSD-3-Clause
- Category: Development/Libraries/C and C++
- Architecture: noarch
- Source Package: glslang
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Glslang
zypper95%
libglslang16 16.3.0-1.3
OpenGL and OpenGL ES shader front end implementation
https://www.khronos.org/opengles/sdk/tools/Reference-Compiler/
sudo zypper install libglslang16- License: BSD-3-Clause
- Category: System/Libraries
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: glslang
- 7 dependencies
- 4 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Glslang
zypper95%
libglslang16-32bit 16.3.0-1.3
OpenGL and OpenGL ES shader front end implementation
https://www.khronos.org/opengles/sdk/tools/Reference-Compiler/
sudo zypper install libglslang16-32bit- License: BSD-3-Clause
- Category: System/Libraries
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: glslang
- 8 dependencies
- 4 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Glslang
source trail
Generated from repository data
This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- Nucleus package database
- av.db category and tag curation
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment