# Shadertoy

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/shadertoy/

11 people recommended Shadertoy in Hacker News comments, 2 had mixed feelings and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 9 of 12 months, in 11 threads. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Free browser site for writing and sharing GLSL fragment shaders, praised as a goldmine for learning graphics. Critics call it a confusing abuse of what shaders were meant for.

Summary written by Claude from 15 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 14 of those comments still count.

## Why people recommend it

- Good for learning graphics (2 comments in the sample): "Your Youtube videos (not to mention shadertoy) sparked an interest in graphics I never knew I had." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46414807)) "is a goldmine for learning shaders" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46199415))
- Easy to get started with (2 comments in the sample): "ShaderToy makes it easy by taking care of everything except the GLSL" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50259547)) "the most popular and easiest to get started with" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46024189))
- Inspiring demos to tinker with (2 comments in the sample): "The code was really interesting to read and tinker with!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48157321)) "You can do some pretty impressive things" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46023705))

## What people warn about

- Confusing misuse of shader purpose (1 comment in the sample): "ShaderToy is fun and awesome, but it’s fundamentally a confusing abuse of what shaders were intended for" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46025997))
- Not what most people use (1 comment in the sample): "ShaderToy and TouchDesigner and Comfy are neat toys, but they're not what the majority of people will use." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45948285))
- Procedural audio underused (1 comment in the sample): "Shadertoy even has procedural audio but it doesn't get used enough." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46141932))

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://www.shadertoy.com/)

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Shadertoy", https://hackerapproved.com/p/shadertoy/ (11 recommend, 2 mixed, 1 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.