How to install ReShade step by step takes about five minutes: download the setup tool from reshade.me, point it at your game’s executable, pick the rendering API the game actually uses, install the shaders, then launch the game and press Home. Almost every failure comes from choosing the wrong API or the wrong .exe file, so the two decisions in the middle of that sequence matter more than anything else on this page.
ReShade is a generic post-processing injector for games developed by crosire. It sits between the game and your graphics card and applies visual effects — ambient occlusion, depth of field, anti-aliasing, colour grading — after the game has finished drawing a frame. It does not touch your save files, your game scripts or your DLC. Last checked against the current ReShade release in 2026, and every path and menu name below matches what the official setup tool shows on Windows.
Table of Contents
What You Need
You need four things, and two of them are decisions rather than downloads. Gather them first and the install itself takes minutes.
- The game installed and running normally. Confirm it launches without ReShade before you change anything, so you know any later problem came from the injector.
- The official setup tool from reshade.me. The installer is an executable, and Windows will warn you about it. That warning is expected and covered further down.
- Administrator rights. Games under Program Files and older Direct3D 9 titles will not load the proxy DLL without elevation. Right-click the installer and choose Run as administrator.
- The DirectX 9 Runtimes, if the game is old. Plenty of Direct3D 9 titles ship their own copy of the libraries they need, but plenty do not, and the missing DLL error is the usual reason a DX9 install silently fails.
- A folder backup or a restore point. Copy the game folder once before installing. It takes thirty seconds and it is your clean rollback.
One more thing worth settling now: which rendering API your game uses. ReShade supports Direct3D 9, 10, 11 and 12, OpenGL and Vulkan, and each one takes a different install path. If you cannot tell, run the game and look for an API name in the graphics options, or check the launch options in Steam, EA App or Xbox for a Vulkan or DXVK flag.
A preset is a .ini text file that stores a saved list of effects and their settings. A shader is the individual effect file that does the work. You install shaders first, then load a preset on top of them. Getting that order backwards is the second most common reason a preset appears to do nothing.
How to Install ReShade Step by Step
Here is the full sequence. Each step lists what to click and how to tell it worked, so you can stop the moment something looks wrong instead of troubleshooting at the end.
- Close the game and any launcher. Steam, EA App, Battle.net and the Rockstar launcher all keep handles on game files. Close them too, not just the game window.
- Run the ReShade setup tool as administrator. Unzip the download, open the folder, right-click the setup executable and choose Run as administrator.
- Click “Add to game folder”. This is the button you want. “Uninstall from game folder” is the other one, and picking it does nothing useful on a fresh install.
- Point the browser at the game’s .exe file. Click “Browse for executable” and navigate to the real game binary. Not the launcher, not the mod manager, not a script extender.
- Choose the rendering API the game actually uses. The setup tool offers Direct3D 9, 10, 11 and 12 as separate entries, plus OpenGL and Vulkan. Pick the one your game runs on.
- Confirm the file list and click “Install”. The tool shows exactly which files it will write next to the executable. Read the list before you approve it.
- Install shader packages, then launch the game and press Home. The in-game overlay appearing with a line naming your API is the confirmation that the install worked.
Steps one through six take about four minutes. Step seven is where you find out whether you picked the right API, because the overlay either opens or it does not.
How to Install ReShade Step by Step for DirectX Games
For Direct3D games, you pick the Direct3D version from the dropdown and the setup tool writes one proxy DLL next to your game’s executable: d3d9.dll for Direct3D 9, and dxgi.dll for Direct3D 10, 11 and 12. The game loads that DLL instead of the real one, and ReShade gets a look at the finished frame.
Getting the version right matters. Choose Direct3D 9 for a game running on DX9 and ReShade will sit there doing nothing when you launch a DX11 title, because nothing ever asked d3d9.dll for the frame. The same failure happens in reverse with a DX9 game pointed at dxgi.dll. This is the number one reason a correct-looking install produces no visible change.
| Rendering API | File ReShade writes | How the game finds it |
|---|---|---|
| Direct3D 9 | d3d9.dll | Loaded directly by the game at startup |
| Direct3D 10, 11, 12 | dxgi.dll | Loaded by the graphics stack, proxy to the real one |
| OpenGL | opengl32.dll | Loaded directly, proxy to the system library |
| Vulkan | Implicit layer manifest | Registered system-wide, not per game folder |
| Direct3D 8 | d3d9.dll via the d3d8to9 wrapper | Wrapper translates the old calls first |
Direct3D 8 games need a translation layer before ReShade can attach at all, because it has no native DX8 support. Install the d3d8to9 wrapper, point the wrapper at your game’s executable, then run the ReShade setup tool against the wrapper’s own d3d9.dll.
You know the API loaded when the overlay opens and shows the API name in its header. If the overlay never appears on DirectX, the wrong API is almost certainly the cause, and reinstalling the same version over the same files will not change anything.
How to Install ReShade Step by Step for Vulkan Games
Vulkan works differently, and the difference is worth knowing before you start. Instead of dropping a proxy DLL in the game folder, ReShade registers itself as an implicit layer with the Vulkan loader, which is a system-wide change. That means there is nothing game-specific to delete afterwards, and it also means the setup tool asks for permission more readily because it is modifying system configuration.
To confirm a game is on Vulkan, check its graphics settings first. Most titles that support it list Vulkan in a dropdown, often alongside DX11 and DX12. If the game does not expose the choice, check the launcher: Steam and EA App both allow you to add launch options, and many DX11 titles have a Vulkan or DXVK flag that switches them over. A title running through DXVK is a Vulkan game as far as ReShade is concerned, so choose Vulkan for those.
The install itself is the same seven steps with one substitution. At the API screen, pick Vulkan instead of a Direct3D entry, then install and launch as usual. Confirmation is identical: press Home, the overlay opens, and the header confirms which API it is attached to.
Because the layer is registered system-wide, installing ReShade for a Vulkan game leaves it active for other Vulkan titles too. Some players remove it in that situation using the setup tool’s uninstall option, which unregisters the layer properly.
Choose a ReShade Preset or Add Effects
Install your shader packages before you load a preset. A preset is only a list of settings pointing at effects by name, so if the effects are not installed, every line in it points at nothing. The setup tool’s shader step lets you pull packages straight from the author’s repository, and that is the cleanest route for beginners.
Skip that if you already have shader files, and point the setup tool at your own package instead. Once the game is running, press Home to open the overlay. The Add Effects tab lists everything installed. Move a shader from the left column to the right, set its key and value, and the change appears immediately.
For a sensible starting point, a few effects go a long way. SMAA or a CAS-style sharpen for edge quality, a bloom with a low intensity, a subtle vignette, and a vibrance or colour grading pass. Leave ambient occlusion and depth of field off while you are testing, because those two are the expensive ones and the ones most likely to flicker on a scene with a lot of transparency.
To use a preset someone else made, drop the .ini file into the same folder as the game’s executable. Then open the overlay, go to the preset section, and use the folder icon to browse to it. If the file is not listed, the fix is a workaround that forces ReShade to register the folder: save any throwaway preset from the overlay, which creates a .ini of its own, then overwrite that file’s contents with the downloaded preset and reload the list.
The reason this happens is usually write permission rather than a broken file. If the game lives under Program Files and ReShade was not installed with administrator rights, it cannot write a new .ini into that folder, and nothing you download will ever appear. Right-click the game shortcut, choose Run as administrator, and open the overlay again.
Update, Move, or Reinstall ReShade
To move ReShade to another game or update the version, close the game, its launcher, and any mod manager that launches it. Rerun the newer setup tool, click Add to game folder, select the same executable, pick the same API, and confirm the overwrite.
Installing a new version over an old one without uninstalling first leaves two sets of files in the folder. The overlay that loads belongs to one of them, and the other is dead weight that confuses anyone diagnosing it later. If you are moving between games, uninstall from the old folder first, then install into the new one.
Your presets live in the game folder, not inside the ReShade installation, so they survive an update. Copy that .ini somewhere outside the game directory before a big patch, though, because some games wipe their folder when the executable changes.
Verify the Installation
Launch the game, load a save, and press Home. Five things tell you the setup is correct.
- The overlay opens. If nothing happens, the API is wrong or the game loads its graphics through a path ReShade cannot attach to.
- The header names your API. It should match the entry you picked during install.
- The preset appears under the preset folder. If the folder is empty, the .ini is in the wrong place or the folder is read-only.
- An effect change is visible immediately. Crank a vignette to an obvious value, look, then put it back.
- Frame rate holds and the game stays stable. A few percent is normal with a light setup. A stutter that follows you everywhere is a shader problem, not an injector problem.
Screenshots land in a ReShadeScreenshots folder next to the game executable by default. Change the path in the settings screen of the overlay if you record a lot of video, so the frames do not end up in a folder your recorder is also writing to.
Common Mistakes
Almost every report of a failed ReShade install falls into one of these buckets, and the fix is nearly always the same pair of decisions: the right .exe and the right API.
| What you see | Why it happens | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Home does nothing, no overlay | Wrong rendering API selected | Uninstall, confirm the game’s API, reinstall with the matching entry |
| Overlay opens but the effect list is empty | No shader packages installed yet | Normal state on a fresh install; add packages from the repository in the setup tool |
| Downloaded preset is not in the list | .ini not in the game folder, or the folder is not writable | Save a throwaway preset to create the file, overwrite it, run the game as administrator |
| Crash on launch | Wrong DLL for the game’s API, or an anti-cheat refusal | Reinstall with the correct API, and uninstall before any online session |
| Settings do not save | No write permission under Program Files | Install and run with administrator rights |
| Windows calls the installer an unrecognized app | Unsigned download, expected behaviour | Ignore it if the file came from reshade.me; download only from the official site |
| Flickering depth of field or ambient occlusion | Effect cannot read the depth buffer cleanly | Lower the effect’s value, or disable it on scenes with foliage and glass |
One habit prevents most of these. Take a screenshot of the game folder before you install, note which files appeared afterwards, and read the file list in the setup tool rather than clicking through it. If the list shows a DLL your game never loads, you picked the wrong API, and you will see it right there instead of twenty minutes into debugging.
On compatibility, keep ReShade out of competitive multiplayer entirely. It works by injecting a renamed library into the rendering pipeline, and that mechanism is exactly what anti-cheat systems watch for. Kernel-level protection in particular is not something to experiment with, and several competitive titles block any injector outright. Single-player titles and most co-op games are unproblematic. Read the community wiki for your specific game before you install rather than after.
And download from reshade.me. Third-party repacks of the installer are the single most common source of the malware warnings people ask about, and there is no reason to take that risk with something that injects code into your games.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does ReShade work with every PC game?
Most Windows PC games support ReShade, including anything running Direct3D 9 through 12, OpenGL or Vulkan. The exceptions are Direct3D 8 titles without a translation layer, games with a kernel-level anti-cheat that blocks injectors, and some games that load their graphics through an unusual wrapper. If the overlay does not open on the first try, check whether the API you picked matches what the game actually uses before assuming the game is unsupported.
Why does Windows warn that ReShade is an unrecognized app?
Because the installer is downloaded rather than installed from the Microsoft Store, and Windows SmartScreen flags executables it has never seen before. The warning is expected and is not evidence of malware. What matters is the source: download the setup tool from reshade.me and nothing else. Repacked installers from file-sharing sites are where the real risk lives, and that is the case worth backing away from.
Should I pick Vulkan or DirectX for my game?
Pick whichever one the game is actually running, not the newest one. If the game’s graphics menu offers a choice and you have not changed it, keep the default and install for that. If you launch through DXVK or pass a Vulkan flag in the launch options, choose Vulkan. Installing for the wrong one is harmless but useless: ReShade never attaches and the Home key does nothing.
Does ReShade change my game files?
It adds files next to the game’s executable, mostly a proxy DLL and a small configuration file. It does not modify assets, saves, scripts or the game’s own code, and it is not a mod in the sense that mod managers understand. That is also why it keeps working after a patch, and why a mod manager will not list it. To remove it completely, rerun the setup tool and use the uninstall option.
How do I uninstall ReShade?
Rerun the setup tool, click the uninstall option, select the same executable you installed to, and pick the same rendering API. The tool removes exactly the files it added. Deleting the DLL by hand leaves the configuration file and preset behind, and in some games a half-removed install is harder to fix than a clean one. For a Vulkan install, use the same uninstall button, which unregisters the implicit layer.
How much frame rate does ReShade cost?
Nothing until you enable an effect, and then it depends entirely on which effects. A single antialiasing or sharpen pass costs very little. Screen space ambient occlusion, depth of field and ray-traced global illumination are the expensive ones and can take several percent on mid-range hardware. Add effects one at a time, check the frame rate after each, and if a preset drops performance, disable its heaviest pass before dropping the whole preset.
Conclusion
Start by identifying two things about your game: the rendering API it runs on, and the exact .exe file in its folder. Everything else on this page follows from those answers.
Download the setup tool from reshade.me, run it as administrator, add to the game folder, select that .exe, match the API, and install a shader package. Launch the game, press Home, and start with a light preset. If the overlay does not open, the API is wrong and no amount of reinstalling the same choice will fix it.
Keep a copy of the game folder before you start, particularly if the game lives in a modded or mod-managed setup, and back up any preset you have spent time tuning. If frame rate or stability takes a hit, pull back one effect at a time rather than abandoning the whole thing.