explaingit

blinue/magpie

13,807HLSLAudience · generalComplexity · 2/5Setup · easy

TLDR

Magpie is a Windows app that upscales any game or application window to your monitor's full resolution using GPU-accelerated algorithms like FSR and Anime4K, making lower-resolution games look sharper and cleaner.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Window upscaling
      GPU acceleration
      Sharpness improvement
    Algorithms
      FSR upscaling
      Anime4K shaders
      CRT shaders
    Tech Stack
      HLSL shaders
      DirectX
      WinUI interface
    Use Cases
      Old game upscaling
      Animated content
      Retro display look
    Requirements
      Windows 10 1903 plus
      DirectX feature level 11
Click or tap to explore — scroll the page freely

Code map

Detail Auto

An interactive map of this repo's files and how they connect — its source is parsed live in your browser. Click Visualize to build it.

filefunction / class

Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Upscale an older game that only runs at a low resolution so it fills a high-resolution monitor without blurriness

USE CASE 2

Apply Anime4K shaders to animated video or games to sharpen line art and reduce compression artifacts

USE CASE 3

Use CRT shaders to replicate the look of retro hardware on a modern monitor

Tech stack

HLSLC++WinUIDirectX

Getting it running

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Older games that do not support high DPI may need Windows compatibility settings adjusted to avoid double-scaling artifacts.

In plain English

Magpie is a lightweight application for Windows 10 and 11 that makes any window appear larger on screen with better picture quality than the basic scaling Windows provides by default. The main use case is games: if a game runs at a lower resolution than your monitor supports, Magpie can scale it up using algorithms designed to preserve sharpness and reduce blurriness. It supports both fullscreen and windowed modes, so you can apply scaling whether a program runs in a full-screen window or a smaller window on your desktop. Under the hood it uses GPU-accelerated algorithms including Anime4K (a popular upscaling method originally designed for animated content), FSR (AMD's open-source upscaling technology), and a set of CRT shaders that replicate the look of older display hardware. The interface is built with WinUI, Microsoft's modern Windows design system, and supports both light and dark themes. Multiple monitors are supported. To use Magpie, you run it alongside whatever program you want to scale, then trigger the upscaling with a keyboard shortcut or through the UI. If your system uses DPI scaling and the target application does not support high DPI (which is common with older games), the README suggests adjusting the application's compatibility settings to avoid double-scaling problems. The minimum requirements are Windows 10 version 1903 or later, and DirectX feature level 11 support, which most computers from the last decade satisfy. The project is open source, translated into multiple languages through Weblate, and has received code and translation contributions from a number of community members.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
How do I use Magpie to upscale a windowed game on Windows 11 using the FSR algorithm with a keyboard shortcut?
Prompt 2
My older game runs at 720p but my monitor is 1440p. Walk me through setting up Magpie so it upscales the game window using Anime4K.
Prompt 3
I have an older game with DPI scaling issues when I use Magpie. How do I fix the double-scaling problem in Windows compatibility settings?
Prompt 4
Which Magpie upscaling algorithm should I choose for pixel-art retro games versus 3D games?
Open on GitHub → Explain another repo

← blinue on gitmyhub — every repo by this author, as a profile.

Verify against the repo before relying on details.