Redshift Lite Installer FAQ
Redshift Lite (or “Min”) is a reduced-size installer for web connected devices - users will see new behavior and may have questions. This page aims to provide immediate answers for the most common concerns.
Why is there a Lite installer?
The Lite installer is smaller to download, faster to copy across machines, and results in a smaller installation size.
The Full installer includes shader kernels for all supported hardware and that data takes up hundreds of megabytes. Instead, the Lite installer only includes shader kernels for rendering with Redshift CPU but uses a program called the Redshift Download Tool that only downloads what is necessary for your hardware. This saves disk space by excluding unnecessary files for hardware not found in your system.
How are shader kernels automatically downloaded?
During installation, when using the Lite installer, the Redshift Download Tool pops up automatically after completing the plugin installation stage. This tool automatically detects compatible hardware in your system and downloads the appropriate shader kernels.
What if I want to install Redshift on a computer that is not connected to the internet?
If you will be offline at the time of installation, or have unreliable internet service, we recommend using the Redshift Full installer found here and copying it to the install machine.
I received an error during installation reading “GPU Shader kernels have failed to download, we recommend checking your connection and retrying installation.”
This message appears when there is a problem downloading the shader kernels. First check your internet connection to verify everything is working, then click the “Retry” button. If this doesn’t work, click the “Continue” button to finish installation for Redshift CPU only.
If your internet works you can try manually launching the Redshift Download Tool at any time after the installation is complete. The Redshift Download Tool is found in <REDSHIFT_INSTALLATION_PATH>/bin/redshiftDownloadTool.
Otherwise, we recommend downloading the Full Redshift Installer and copying it to the install machine.
When rendering I receive the error “Skipped device [device name] because kernel files are missing. Please deactivate the device or reinstall Redshift”
This can happen for several reasons:
Shader kernels failed to download using the Lite installer
You changed hardware after installing Redshift, like adding a new GPU
On macOS, you upgraded your operating system after installing Redshift
To resolve this first close the host application, uninstall Redshift, and then run the Lite installer again to download the required shader kernels.
Are there any reasons, aside from an internet connection problem, that shader kernels might fail to download and install?
Yes. This can also happen because:
There is not enough disk space for shader kernels in the install location
The Redshift Download Tool was not run using Administrative Rights
Security applications or proxy settings could prevent the Redshift Download Tool from working