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MonoGame Effects Compiler (MGFXC)

Learn about the MonoGame Effects Compiler (MGFXC), the tool used to compile shaders for usage in MonoGame.

The MGFXC tool is used to compile DirectX Effect files (shaders) for usage with MonoGame. It will compile shaders into mgfxo files ready to be consumed by the Effect class.

The MGCB Editor uses MGFXC to compile effects and wrap them into an xnb file, so they can be loaded using the ContentManager.

If you compile effects directly with MGFXC you can load effects using the Microsoft.Framework.Xna.Graphics.Effect constructor that takes a byte array with the effect code.

Effects compiled directly are not content files and can not be loaded by the ContentManager.

Installation

MGFXC can be installed as a .NET tool. Make sure you have the .NET SDK installed. You can download it here.

In a terminal run dotnet tool install -g dotnet-mgfxc to install MGFXC.

Command Line

The command line options are:

mgfxc <SourceFile> <OutputFile> [/Debug] [/Profile:<DirectX_11,OpenGL,PlayStation4>]

Source File

The input effect file in typical FX format with samplers, techniques, and passes defined. This parameter is required.

Output File

The path to write the compiled effect to. This parameter is required.

NOTE: The generated file is not an XNB file for use with the ContentManager.

If the /Debug flag is passed the resulting compiled effect file will contain extra debug information and the fewest possible optimizations.

Platform Profile

The /Profile option defines the platform we're targeting with this effect file. It can be one of the following:

  • DirectX_11
  • OpenGL
  • PlayStation4
  • XboxOne
  • Switch

NOTE: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch support is only available to licensed console developers.

Help

If you use /?, /help, or simply pass no parameters to MGFXC you will get information about these command-line options.

Runtime Use

The resulting compiled effect file can be used from your game code like so:

byte[] bytecode = File.ReadAllBytes("mycompiled.mgfx");
var effect = new Effect(bytecode);

This is how the stock effects (BasicEffect, DualTextureEffect, etc) are compiled and loaded.

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