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1Set up zdxc with Unreal Engine

For Windows x86-64, DirectX 12, and Shader Model 6. Tested with UE 5.8.4. No engine rebuild needed.

1. Get zdxc

Pre-release binaries: Download zdxc-windows-x86_64.zip from releases and extract it. Your DLL is bin/dxcompiler.dll.

Or build from source: Install Git and Zig 0.17.0, then run:

git clone https://github.com/peterino2/zdxc.git
cd zdxc
zig build dropin -Dtarget=x86_64-windows-gnu -Doptimize=ReleaseFast

Your DLL is zig-out/bin/dxcompiler.dll.

2. Install it

  1. Close Unreal Editor and its ShaderCompileWorker processes.

  2. Open this folder inside your engine installation:

    Engine/Binaries/ThirdParty/ShaderConductor/Win64

  3. Back up the existing dxcompiler.dll, then replace it with zdxc's DLL. Leave dxil.dll in place.

3. Run Unreal

Open your project with DirectX 12 and Shader Model 6 enabled. Run RecompileShaders all in the editor console to rebuild shaders, then check your map and the Output Log for errors.

To undo: close the editor, restore your original dxcompiler.dll, and rebuild shaders again.