Slang is a shading language that makes it easier to build and maintain large shader codebases in a modular and extensible fashion, while also maintaining the highest possible performance on modern GPUs and graphics APIs. Slang is based on years of collaboration between researchers at NVIDIA, Carnegie Mellon University, Stanford, MIT, UCSD and the University of Washington.
Publisher’s description
What is Slang?
Slang by The Slang Shading Language is open-source Windows software. It is written in C++.
Installation and requirements
The publisher provides Portable installers for 64-bit and ARM64 Windows. It runs without installation (portable).
Updates and version history
The current version is 2026.14.1, released on July 30, 2026. The version history goes back to October 2, 2025: 2 releases, all linked to the official files.
Popularity and file types
The source code on GitHub (shader-slang/slang) has 5,755 stars.
Project description on GitHub: “Making it easier to work with shaders”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- Native ARM64 build for Windows on Arm
- Portable: runs without installation
- Large user base
In short: Slang is an open-source Windows tool for 64-bit and ARM64 PCs.
Is Slang safe to download?
- The file is served by github.com, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
5ED0A59D650A0AF0ACA45D5DB4E083B3D8FB5CEA05748747DD95DFBE9C580658· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link has not been checked yet
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Security practices (OpenSSF Scorecard)
Automated checks of the shader-slang/slang repository on GitHub by the Open Source Security Foundation, last run on October 19, 2026.
- Actively maintained10
- No dangerous workflows10
- Published packages10
- No binaries in the repository10
- Licence declared9
- Pinned dependencies8
- Code review5
- Branch protection3
- OpenSSF Best Practices badge0
- Restricted token permissions0
- Fuzzing0
- Security policy0
- Signed releases0
- Static code analysis0
The score rates how the project is developed and released, not whether the program is safe to install. scorecard.dev
Recent versions
All 2 versions ›| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026.14.1Latest | July 30, 2026 | — | 64-bit ZIPARM64 ZIP |
| 2025.18.1 | October 2, 2025 | — | 64-bit ZIPARM64 ZIP |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id shader-slang.slang -eRelated guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Information
- Publisher
- The Slang Shading Language
- Licence
- Apache-2.0 WITH LLVM-exception
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- github.com/shader-slang/slang
- Written in
- C++
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit, ARM64
- Installer
- Portable
- Version
- 2026.14.1
- Released
- July 30, 2026
- Added to the catalogue
- October 13, 2025
- Versions listed
- 2
- GitHub stars
- 5,755
- GitHub forks
- 516
- Website
- github.com
- winget ID
- shader-slang.slang
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
Frequently asked questions
Is Slang free?
Yes. Slang is open-source software under the Apache-2.0 WITH LLVM-exception licence.
Is Slang safe to download?
The download comes from github.com, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install Slang with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Does Slang run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
Yes, there is a native ARM64 installer.
Where can I download an older version of Slang?
The versions page lists all 2 versions with links to their official installer files, back to October 2, 2025.
Can I use Slang without administrator rights?
Yes, it is portable: unpack and run it.