Why do Vulkan shaders need processing every time I play on Pop OS?

Processing Vulkan shaders helps reduce microstutter during gameplay. If you enable background processing in Steam, it should compile all shaders when your client is open. However, it will still need to recompile them if you update your GPU drivers or if new shaders get added, especially in games that frequently update shaders like Helldivers 2. So, it's a bit of a mixed bag!

You can actually turn this feature off in Steam if it bothers you. If you have decent hardware, you might not notice a performance drop. Look for the setting in the compatibility options in Steam's menu, but I’m not sure where exactly since I’m away from my PC right now.

Honestly, you don’t have to process them if your specs are decent. Just turn that feature off; it’s really just an annoyance. If you're using Lutris, you might need to tweak some settings to compile shaders once instead.

Yes, Steam processes these shaders to save time during your gameplay and reduce lag. If you want to disable it, head to the Downloads section in Steam settings where you can toggle off the shader downloads.

I’ve turned it off myself and haven’t noticed any benefits from having it on, so I’d say just disable it if it's annoying you!