diff --git a/glsl_ext.c b/glsl_ext.c
index 4955142..7960cfd 100644
--- a/glsl_ext.c
+++ b/glsl_ext.c
@@ -470,7 +470,8 @@ void ext_process(struct glsl_ext* ext, const char* f) {
                     handle_bind: /* use character for binding syntax */
                     case 'a' ... 'z':
                     case 'A' ... 'Z':
-                    case '0' ... '9': {
+                    case '0' ... '9':
+                    case '_': {
                         if (b_spc && b_br <= 0)
                             goto emit_bind; /* skip non-braced characters after space: `@sym:vec4 c` */
                         bbuf[bbuf_idx] = at;
diff --git a/shaders/bars.glsl b/shaders/bars.glsl
index c0b321f..41c7557 100644
--- a/shaders/bars.glsl
+++ b/shaders/bars.glsl
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
 /* Bar color changes with height */
 #define GRADIENT (d / GRADIENT_POWER + 1)
 /* Bar color */
-#define COLOR (@fg:#3366b2 * GRADIENT)
+#define COLOR (#3366b2 * GRADIENT)
 /* Direction that the bars are facing, 0 for inward, 1 for outward */
 #define DIRECTION 0
 /* Whether to switch left/right audio buffers */