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Vulkan support reference

## Description

This is the reference documentation for Vulkan related functions and types. For more task-oriented information, see the Vulkan guide.

## Typedefs

typedef void(* | GLFWvkproc) (void)
| Vulkan API function pointer type.

## Functions

int | glfwVulkanSupported (void)
| Returns whether the Vulkan loader and an ICD have been found.
const char ** | glfwGetRequiredInstanceExtensions (uint32_t *count)
| Returns the Vulkan instance extensions required by GLFW.
GLFWvkproc | glfwGetInstanceProcAddress (VkInstance instance, const char *procname)
| Returns the address of the specified Vulkan instance function.
int | glfwGetPhysicalDevicePresentationSupport (VkInstance instance, VkPhysicalDevice device, uint32_t queuefamily)
| Returns whether the specified queue family can present images.
VkResult | glfwCreateWindowSurface (VkInstance instance, GLFWwindow *window, const VkAllocationCallbacks *allocator, VkSurfaceKHR *surface)
| Creates a Vulkan surface for the specified window.

## Typedef Documentation

## GLFWvkproc

typedef void(* GLFWvkproc) (void)

Generic function pointer used for returning Vulkan API function pointers without forcing a cast from a regular pointer.

See also
  Querying Vulkan function pointers
  glfwGetInstanceProcAddress

Since
  Added in version 3.2.

## Function Documentation

## glfwVulkanSupported()

int glfwVulkanSupported | ( | void |  | ) |

This function returns whether the Vulkan loader and any minimally functional ICD have been found.

The availability of a Vulkan loader and even an ICD does not by itself guarantee that surface creation or even instance creation is possible. Call glfwGetRequiredInstanceExtensions to check whether the extensions necessary for Vulkan surface creation are available and glfwGetPhysicalDevicePresentationSupport to check whether a queue family of a physical device supports image presentation.

Returns
  GLFW_TRUE if Vulkan is minimally available, or GLFW_FALSE otherwise.

Errors
  Possible errors include GLFW_NOT_INITIALIZED.

Thread safety
  This function may be called from any thread.

See also
  Querying for Vulkan support

Since
  Added in version 3.2.

## glfwGetRequiredInstanceExtensions()

const char ** glfwGetRequiredInstanceExtensions | ( | uint32_t * | count | ) |

This function returns an array of names of Vulkan instance extensions required by GLFW for creating Vulkan surfaces for GLFW windows. If successful, the list will always contain VK_KHR_surface, so if you don't require any additional extensions you can pass this list directly to the VkInstanceCreateInfo struct.

If Vulkan is not available on the machine, this function returns NULL and generates a GLFW_API_UNAVAILABLE error. Call glfwVulkanSupported to check whether Vulkan is at least minimally available.

If Vulkan is available but no set of extensions allowing window surface creation was found, this function returns NULL. You may still use Vulkan for off-screen rendering and compute work.

Parameters

  [out] | count | Where to store the number of extensions in the returned array. This is set to zero if an error occurred.

Returns
  An array of ASCII encoded extension names, or NULL if an error occurred.

Errors
  Possible errors include GLFW_NOT_INITIALIZED and GLFW_API_UNAVAILABLE.

Remarks
  Additional extensions may be required by future versions of GLFW. You should check if any extensions you wish to enable are already in the returned array, as it is an error to specify an extension more than once in the VkInstanceCreateInfo struct.

Pointer lifetime
  The returned array is allocated and freed by GLFW. You should not free it yourself. It is guaranteed to be valid only until the library is terminated.

Thread safety
  This function may be called from any thread.

See also
  Querying required Vulkan extensions
  glfwCreateWindowSurface

Since
  Added in version 3.2.

## glfwGetInstanceProcAddress()

GLFWvkproc glfwGetInstanceProcAddress | ( | VkInstance | instance,
|  | const char * | procname )

This function returns the address of the specified Vulkan core or extension function for the specified instance. If instance is set to NULL it can return any function exported from the Vulkan loader, including at least the following functions:

- vkEnumerateInstanceExtensionProperties
- vkEnumerateInstanceLayerProperties
- vkCreateInstance
- vkGetInstanceProcAddr

If Vulkan is not available on the machine, this function returns NULL and generates a GLFW_API_UNAVAILABLE error. Call glfwVulkanSupported to check whether Vulkan is at least minimally available.

This function is equivalent to calling vkGetInstanceProcAddr with a platform-specific query of the Vulkan loader as a fallback.

Parameters

  [in] | instance | The Vulkan instance to query, or NULL to retrieve functions related to instance creation.
  [in] | procname | The ASCII encoded name of the function.

Returns
  The address of the function, or NULL if an error occurred.

Errors
  Possible errors include GLFW_NOT_INITIALIZED and GLFW_API_UNAVAILABLE.

Pointer lifetime
  The returned function pointer is valid until the library is terminated.

Thread safety
  This function may be called from any thread.

See also
  Querying Vulkan function pointers

Since
  Added in version 3.2.

## glfwGetPhysicalDevicePresentationSupport()

int glfwGetPhysicalDevicePresentationSupport | ( | VkInstance | instance,
|  | VkPhysicalDevice | device,
|  | uint32_t | queuefamily )

This function returns whether the specified queue family of the specified physical device supports presentation to the platform GLFW was built for.

If Vulkan or the required window surface creation instance extensions are not available on the machine, or if the specified instance was not created with the required extensions, this function returns GLFW_FALSE and generates a GLFW_API_UNAVAILABLE error. Call glfwVulkanSupported to check whether Vulkan is at least minimally available and glfwGetRequiredInstanceExtensions to check what instance extensions are required.

Parameters

  [in] | instance | The instance that the physical device belongs to.
  [in] | device | The physical device that the queue family belongs to.
  [in] | queuefamily | The index of the queue family to query.

Returns
  GLFW_TRUE if the queue family supports presentation, or GLFW_FALSE otherwise.

Errors
  Possible errors include GLFW_NOT_INITIALIZED, GLFW_API_UNAVAILABLE and GLFW_PLATFORM_ERROR.

Remarks
  macOS: This function currently always returns GLFW_TRUE, as the VK_MVK_macos_surface and VK_EXT_metal_surface extensions do not provide a vkGetPhysicalDevice*PresentationSupport type function.

Thread safety
  This function may be called from any thread. For synchronization details of Vulkan objects, see the Vulkan specification.

See also
  Querying for Vulkan presentation support

Since
  Added in version 3.2.

## glfwCreateWindowSurface()

VkResult glfwCreateWindowSurface | ( | VkInstance | instance,
|  | GLFWwindow * | window,
|  | const VkAllocationCallbacks * | allocator,
|  | VkSurfaceKHR * | surface )

This function creates a Vulkan surface for the specified window.

If the Vulkan loader or at least one minimally functional ICD were not found, this function returns VK_ERROR_INITIALIZATION_FAILED and generates a GLFW_API_UNAVAILABLE error. Call glfwVulkanSupported to check whether Vulkan is at least minimally available.

If the required window surface creation instance extensions are not available or if the specified instance was not created with these extensions enabled, this function returns VK_ERROR_EXTENSION_NOT_PRESENT and generates a GLFW_API_UNAVAILABLE error. Call glfwGetRequiredInstanceExtensions to check what instance extensions are required.

The window surface cannot be shared with another API so the window must have been created with the client api hint set to GLFW_NO_API otherwise it generates a GLFW_INVALID_VALUE error and returns VK_ERROR_NATIVE_WINDOW_IN_USE_KHR.

The window surface must be destroyed before the specified Vulkan instance. It is the responsibility of the caller to destroy the window surface. GLFW does not destroy it for you. Call vkDestroySurfaceKHR to destroy the surface.

Parameters

  [in] | instance | The Vulkan instance to create the surface in.
  [in] | window | The window to create the surface for.
  [in] | allocator | The allocator to use, or NULL to use the default allocator.
  [out] | surface | Where to store the handle of the surface. This is set to VK_NULL_HANDLE if an error occurred.

Returns
  VK_SUCCESS if successful, or a Vulkan error code if an error occurred.

Errors
  Possible errors include GLFW_NOT_INITIALIZED, GLFW_API_UNAVAILABLE, GLFW_PLATFORM_ERROR and GLFW_INVALID_VALUE

Remarks
  If an error occurs before the creation call is made, GLFW returns the Vulkan error code most appropriate for the error. Appropriate use of glfwVulkanSupported and glfwGetRequiredInstanceExtensions should eliminate almost all occurrences of these errors.
  macOS: GLFW prefers the VK_EXT_metal_surface extension, with the VK_MVK_macos_surface extension as a fallback. The name of the selected extension, if any, is included in the array returned by glfwGetRequiredInstanceExtensions.
  macOS: This function creates and sets a CAMetalLayer instance for the window content view, which is required for MoltenVK to function.
  X11: By default GLFW prefers the VK_KHR_xcb_surface extension, with the VK_KHR_xlib_surface extension as a fallback. You can make VK_KHR_xlib_surface the preferred extension by setting the GLFW_X11_XCB_VULKAN_SURFACE init hint. The name of the selected extension, if any, is included in the array returned by glfwGetRequiredInstanceExtensions.

Thread safety
  This function may be called from any thread. For synchronization details of Vulkan objects, see the Vulkan specification.

See also
  Creating a Vulkan window surface
  glfwGetRequiredInstanceExtensions

Since
  Added in version 3.2.