See it work

[assets]
"shaders/sky_hop" = { type = "shader", source = "shaders/sky_hop.slang" }
[bundles.hello]
assets = ["shaders/*"]

examples/flappy_bird/assets.toml, the whole file. Assets and bundles are declared, not loaded by hand.

    const de_asset_id ids[1] = {de_asset_id_from("shaders/sky_hop")};
    a->load = de_asset_load_many(a->assets, ids, 1, 0);
    if (de_asset_wait(a->assets, a->load, WAIT_NS) != DE_LOAD_READY) {
        char msg[512] = "?";
        for (u32 i = 0; i < 1; ++i)
            if (de_asset_last_error(a->assets, ids[i], msg, sizeof msg) == DE_OK)
                fprintf(stderr, "sky_hop: asset %u: %s\n", i, msg);
        fprintf(stderr, "sky_hop: the assets did not load\n");
        return 1;
    }
    return 0;
}

main.c, lines 145–156. One call starts a load, one waits on it, and a failure says why.

static void record_scene(app *a, de_gpu_cmd *c, de_gpu_texture target) {
    u32 slot = (u32)(a->frame % FRAMES_IN_FLIGHT);
    a->drawing = a->maps[slot];
    a->count = 0;
    scene(a);
    de_gpu_barrier b = {
        .buffer = a->rectangles[slot], .before = DE_ACCESS_NONE, .after = DE_ACCESS_SHADER_READ};
    de_gpu_cmd_barriers(c, &b, 1);
    de_gpu_attachment color = {
        .texture = target, .clear = true, .clear_color = {.017f, .05f, .055f, 1}, .store = true};
    de_gpu_cmd_begin_render(c, &color, 1, NULL);
    de_gpu_cmd_set_pipeline(c, a->pipe);
    struct {
        u32 rectangles;
        f32 width, height;
        u32 pad;
    } pc = {de_gpu_buffer_bindless(a->d, a->rectangles[slot]), (f32)a->width, (f32)a->height, 0};
    de_gpu_cmd_push_constants(c, &pc, sizeof pc);
    de_gpu_cmd_draw(c, 6, a->count, 0, 0);
    de_gpu_cmd_end_render(c);
}

main.c, lines 310–330. The frame is recorded straight onto the GPU abstraction: one barrier, one pipeline, one instanced draw.