The ReShade menu opens with a hotkey you set during installation, usually Home or Delete by default

ReShade is a post-processing tool that overlays visual filters on top of games — things like sharper colors, better contrast, or cinematic effects. Once you install it into a game folder, you access its settings through an in-game menu. That menu does not appear automatically. You trigger it by pressing a key on your keyboard, and the specific key depends on how you set up ReShade when you first ran it.

The most common hotkeys are the Home key or the Delete key. If neither of those works, you may have chosen a different key during setup, or you may need to check your ReShade configuration file to see what you assigned. The menu appears as an overlay on top of your game — it does not pause the game or take you to a separate screen.

Key Takeaways

  • ReShade opens its menu with a hotkey you choose during installation, most often Home or Delete.
  • If the default hotkeys do not work, check the ReShadePreset.ini file in your game folder to see which key you assigned.
  • The menu appears as an overlay while the game is running, so you can adjust filters in real time and see the changes when ready.
  • If ReShade does not respond to any hotkey, the installation may have failed or the game may block overlays.

Finding Your ReShade Hotkey if You Forgot It

When you first install ReShade into a game, a setup window asks you to choose a hotkey to open the menu. If you do not remember what you picked, look in your game folder for a file called ReShadePreset.ini. Open it with Notepad or any text editor.

Search the file for the line that says KeyMenu=. The number or text after that equals sign is your hotkey. Common codes are 36 for Home, 46 for Delete, 45 for Insert, or 112 for F1. If you see a number you do not recognize, search online for "ReShade key code" plus that number to find out which key it maps to.

If you want to change your hotkey, you can edit that same line in ReShadePreset.ini and save the file. The next time you launch the game, ReShade will use the new key.

Why the ReShade Menu Does Not Appear

If you press your hotkey and nothing happens, the most common reason is that ReShade did not install correctly into that game. ReShade needs to place a file called dxgi.dll (or d3d11.dll, d3d10.dll, or opengl32.dll depending on the game engine) directly in the game folder. If that file is not there, ReShade cannot run.

Some games also block overlays as a security measure. Games with anti-cheat systems like straightforward Anti-Cheat or BattlEye often prevent ReShade from loading at all. If you installed ReShade correctly but the menu still will not open, check whether the game uses anti-cheat software — if it does, ReShade may not work with that title.

A third possibility is that your keyboard layout or input method is interfering. If you use a non-English keyboard layout or a remapping tool, the hotkey may not register the way ReShade expects. Try pressing the key multiple times, or try a different key by editing ReShadePreset.ini.

Navigating the ReShade Menu Once It Opens

When the menu appears, you see a list of effects on the left side of your screen. Each effect is a filter you can turn on or off by clicking its checkbox. Below the list, you can adjust settings for whichever effect you have selected — things like intensity, color shift, or blur amount.

The menu also shows a performance counter in the top left, telling you how much the filters are slowing down your frame rate. If your game starts stuttering after you enable several effects, you can see exactly which ones are costing the most performance and disable the heaviest ones.

To close the menu and return to the game, press your hotkey again. The filters stay active in the background — closing the menu does not turn them off.

Saving and Loading Your Filter Settings

ReShade stores your filter choices in preset files. When you adjust effects and close the menu, ReShade saves those settings to a file. The next time you launch that game, the same filters load automatically with the same settings you chose.

If you want to save multiple different looks for the same game, you can create separate preset files. The ReShade menu has options to save your current setup as a new preset or load a preset you saved before. This is useful if you want one filter setup for outdoor scenes and a different one for dark indoor areas.

Troubleshooting Common ReShade Problems

If ReShade makes your game crash on startup, the most likely cause is a conflict between ReShade and your graphics driver or the game itself. Try uninstalling ReShade completely from that game folder and reinstalling it. During reinstallation, choose a simpler graphics API if the setup window offers options — for example, choose Direct3D 11 instead of Direct3D 12.

If the menu opens but the effects look wrong or do not change when you adjust the sliders, your graphics driver may be out of date. Update your GPU driver through NVIDIA GeForce Experience, AMD Radeon Software, or Intel Arc Control depending on your graphics card. After updating, restart your computer and try ReShade again.

If you see a message saying ReShade cannot load because of anti-cheat, there is no workaround — that game straightforward does not allow ReShade. Some games add anti-cheat in updates, so a game that worked before may stop working after a patch.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use ReShade in online multiplayer games?

Many online games block ReShade with anti-cheat software. Even if ReShade loads, using it in competitive multiplayer may violate the game's terms of service. Check the game's rules before installing ReShade, and assume that any game with ranked competitive modes or anti-cheat will not allow it.

What if I installed ReShade but the game will not start?

ReShade may be incompatible with your graphics driver or the game version. Try removing the ReShade files from the game folder entirely, then reinstall ReShade and choose a different graphics API during setup. If the game still will not start, ReShade may not support that title.

Does ReShade slow down my game?

Yes, every filter uses GPU power and reduces frame rate. The impact depends on which effects you enable and how demanding they are. You can see the performance cost in the top left of the ReShade menu — disable the heaviest effects if your frame rate drops too much.

Can I use ReShade in games I own on Steam?

ReShade works with Steam games the same way it works with any other game — you install it into the game folder. However, some Steam games use anti-cheat that blocks ReShade, and using ReShade in those games may violate the terms of service. Check the game's community discussions or support page before installing.