C Specification

To create a swapchain, call:

// Provided by VK_KHR_swapchain
VkResult vkCreateSwapchainKHR(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    const VkSwapchainCreateInfoKHR*             pCreateInfo,
    const VkAllocationCallbacks*                pAllocator,
    VkSwapchainKHR*                             pSwapchain);

Parameters

  • device is the device to create the swapchain for.

  • pCreateInfo is a pointer to a VkSwapchainCreateInfoKHR structure specifying the parameters of the created swapchain.

  • pAllocator is the allocator used for host memory allocated for the swapchain object when there is no more specific allocator available (see Memory Allocation).

  • pSwapchain is a pointer to a VkSwapchainKHR handle in which the created swapchain object will be returned.

Description

If the oldSwapchain parameter of pCreateInfo is a valid swapchain, which has exclusive full-screen access, that access is released from oldSwapchain. If the command succeeds in this case, the newly created swapchain will automatically acquire exclusive full-screen access from oldSwapchain.

Note

This implicit transfer is intended to avoid exiting and entering full-screen exclusive mode, which may otherwise cause unwanted visual updates to the display.

In some cases, swapchain creation may fail if exclusive full-screen mode is requested for application control, but for some implementation-specific reason exclusive full-screen access is unavailable for the particular combination of parameters provided. If this occurs, VK_ERROR_INITIALIZATION_FAILED will be returned.

Note

In particular, it will fail if the imageExtent member of pCreateInfo does not match the extents of the monitor. Other reasons for failure may include the app not being set as high-dpi aware, or if the physical device and monitor are not compatible in this mode.

When the VkSurfaceKHR in VkSwapchainCreateInfoKHR is a display surface, then the VkDisplayModeKHR in display surface’s VkDisplaySurfaceCreateInfoKHR is associated with a particular VkDisplayKHR. Swapchain creation may fail if that VkDisplayKHR is not acquired by the application. In this scenario VK_ERROR_INITIALIZATION_FAILED is returned.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-vkCreateSwapchainKHR-device-parameter
    device must be a valid VkDevice handle

  • VUID-vkCreateSwapchainKHR-pCreateInfo-parameter
    pCreateInfo must be a valid pointer to a valid VkSwapchainCreateInfoKHR structure

  • VUID-vkCreateSwapchainKHR-pAllocator-parameter
    If pAllocator is not NULL, pAllocator must be a valid pointer to a valid VkAllocationCallbacks structure

  • VUID-vkCreateSwapchainKHR-pSwapchain-parameter
    pSwapchain must be a valid pointer to a VkSwapchainKHR handle

Host Synchronization

  • Host access to pCreateInfo->surface must be externally synchronized

  • Host access to pCreateInfo->oldSwapchain must be externally synchronized

Return Codes
On success, this command returns

  • VK_SUCCESS

On failure, this command returns

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST

  • VK_ERROR_SURFACE_LOST_KHR

  • VK_ERROR_NATIVE_WINDOW_IN_USE_KHR

  • VK_ERROR_INITIALIZATION_FAILED

See Also

VK_KHR_swapchain, VkAllocationCallbacks, VkDevice, VkSwapchainCreateInfoKHR, VkSwapchainKHR

Document Notes

For more information, see the Vulkan Specification

This page is extracted from the Vulkan Specification. Fixes and changes should be made to the Specification, not directly.

Copyright

Copyright 2014-2021 The Khronos Group Inc.

SPDX-License-Identifier: CC-BY-4.0