Copyright 2014-2020 The Khronos Group Inc.

This Specification is protected by copyright laws and contains material proprietary to Khronos. Except as described by these terms, it or any components may not be reproduced, republished, distributed, transmitted, displayed, broadcast or otherwise exploited in any manner without the express prior written permission of Khronos. Khronos grants a conditional copyright license to use and reproduce the unmodified Specification for any purpose, without fee or royalty, EXCEPT no licenses to any patent, trademark or other intellectual property rights are granted under these terms.

Khronos makes no, and expressly disclaims any, representations or warranties, express or implied, regarding this Specification, including, without limitation: merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement of any intellectual property, correctness, accuracy, completeness, timeliness, and reliability. Under no circumstances will Khronos, or any of its Promoters, Contributors or Members, or their respective partners, officers, directors, employees, agents or representatives be liable for any damages, whether direct, indirect, special or consequential damages for lost revenues, lost profits, or otherwise, arising from or in connection with these materials.

This Specification has been created under the Khronos Intellectual Property Rights Policy, which is Attachment A of the Khronos Group Membership Agreement available at https://www.khronos.org/files/member_agreement.pdf, and which defines the terms 'Scope', 'Compliant Portion', and 'Necessary Patent Claims'. Parties desiring to implement the Specification and make use of Khronos trademarks in relation to that implementation, and receive reciprocal patent license protection under the Khronos Intellectual Property Rights Policy must become Adopters and confirm the implementation as conformant under the process defined by Khronos for this Specification; see https://www.khronos.org/adopters.

This Specification contains substantially unmodified functionality from, and is a successor to, Khronos specifications including OpenGL, OpenGL ES and OpenCL.

Some parts of this Specification are purely informative and so are EXCLUDED from the Scope of this Specification. The Document Conventions section of the Introduction defines how these parts of the Specification are identified.

Where this Specification uses technical terminology, defined in the Glossary or otherwise, that refer to enabling technologies that are not expressly set forth in this Specification, those enabling technologies are EXCLUDED from the Scope of this Specification. For clarity, enabling technologies not disclosed with particularity in this Specification (e.g. semiconductor manufacturing technology, hardware architecture, processor architecture or microarchitecture, memory architecture, compiler technology, object oriented technology, basic operating system technology, compression technology, algorithms, and so on) are NOT to be considered expressly set forth; only those application program interfaces and data structures disclosed with particularity are included in the Scope of this Specification.

For purposes of the Khronos Intellectual Property Rights Policy as it relates to the definition of Necessary Patent Claims, all recommended or optional features, behaviors and functionality set forth in this Specification, if implemented, are considered to be included as Compliant Portions.

Where this Specification includes normative references to external documents, only the specifically identified sections of those external documents are INCLUDED in the Scope of this Specification. If not created by Khronos, those external documents may contain contributions from non-members of Khronos not covered by the Khronos Intellectual Property Rights Policy.

Vulkan and Khronos are registered trademarks of The Khronos Group Inc. ASTC is a trademark of ARM Holdings PLC; OpenCL is a trademark of Apple Inc.; and OpenGL and OpenGL ES are registered trademarks of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, all used under license by Khronos. All other product names, trademarks, and/or company names are used solely for identification and belong to their respective owners.

1. Introduction

This document, referred to as the “Vulkan Specification” or just the “Specification” hereafter, describes the Vulkan Application Programming Interface (API). Vulkan is a C99 API designed for explicit control of low-level graphics and compute functionality.

The canonical version of the Specification is available in the official Vulkan Registry (https://www.khronos.org/registry/vulkan/). The source files used to generate the Vulkan specification are stored in the Vulkan Documentation Repository (https://github.com/KhronosGroup/Vulkan-Docs). The source repository additionally has a public issue tracker and allows the submission of pull requests that improve the specification.

1.1. Document Conventions

The Vulkan specification is intended for use by both implementors of the API and application developers seeking to make use of the API, forming a contract between these parties. Specification text may address either party; typically the intended audience can be inferred from context, though some sections are defined to address only one of these parties. (For example, Valid Usage sections only address application developers). Any requirements, prohibitions, recommendations or options defined by normative terminology are imposed only on the audience of that text.

Note

Structure and enumerated types defined in extensions that were promoted to core in Vulkan 1.1 are now defined in terms of the equivalent Vulkan 1.1 interfaces. This affects the Vulkan Specification, the Vulkan header files, and the corresponding XML Registry.

1.1.1. Informative Language

Some language in the specification is purely informative, intended to give background or suggestions to implementors or developers.

If an entire chapter or section contains only informative language, its title will be suffixed with “(Informative)”.

All NOTEs are implicitly informative.

1.1.2. Normative Terminology

Within this specification, the key words must, required, should, recommended, may, and optional are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119 - Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels (https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2119.txt). These key words are highlighted in the specification for clarity. In text addressing application developers, their use expresses requirements that apply to application behavior. In text addressing implementors, their use expresses requirements that apply to implementations.

In text addressing application developers, the additional key words can and cannot are to be interpreted as describing the capabilities of an application, as follows:

can

This word means that the application is able to perform the action described.

cannot

This word means that the API and/or the execution environment provide no mechanism through which the application can express or accomplish the action described.

These key words are never used in text addressing implementors.

Note

There is an important distinction between cannot and must not, as used in this Specification. Cannot means something the application literally is unable to express or accomplish through the API, while must not means something that the application is capable of expressing through the API, but that the consequences of doing so are undefined and potentially unrecoverable for the implementation (see Errors).

Unless otherwise noted in the section heading, all sections and appendices in this document are normative.

1.1.3. Technical Terminology

The Vulkan Specification makes use of common engineering and graphics terms such as Pipeline, Shader, and Host to identify and describe Vulkan API constructs and their attributes, states, and behaviors. The Glossary defines the basic meanings of these terms in the context of the Specification. The Specification text provides fuller definitions of the terms and may elaborate, extend, or clarify the Glossary definitions. When a term defined in the Glossary is used in normative language within the Specification, the definitions within the Specification govern and supersede any meanings the terms may have in other technical contexts (i.e. outside the Specification).

1.1.4. Normative References

References to external documents are considered normative references if the Specification uses any of the normative terms defined in Normative Terminology to refer to them or their requirements, either as a whole or in part.

The following documents are referenced by normative sections of the specification:

IEEE. August, 2008. IEEE Standard for Floating-Point Arithmetic. IEEE Std 754-2008. https://dx.doi.org/10.1109/IEEESTD.2008.4610935 .

Andrew Garrard. Khronos Data Format Specification, version 1.3. https://www.khronos.org/registry/DataFormat/specs/1.3/dataformat.1.3.html .

John Kessenich. SPIR-V Extended Instructions for GLSL, Version 1.00 (February 10, 2016). https://www.khronos.org/registry/spir-v/ .

John Kessenich, Boaz Ouriel, and Raun Krisch. SPIR-V Specification, Version 1.5, Revision 3, Unified (April 24, 2020). https://www.khronos.org/registry/spir-v/ .

Jon Leech. The Khronos Vulkan API Registry. https://www.khronos.org/registry/vulkan/specs/1.2/registry.html .

Jon Leech and Tobias Hector. Vulkan Documentation and Extensions: Procedures and Conventions. https://www.khronos.org/registry/vulkan/specs/1.2/styleguide.html .

Vulkan Loader Specification and Architecture Overview (August, 2016). https://github.com/KhronosGroup/Vulkan-Loader/blob/master/loader/LoaderAndLayerInterface.md .

2. Fundamentals

This chapter introduces fundamental concepts including the Vulkan architecture and execution model, API syntax, queues, pipeline configurations, numeric representation, state and state queries, and the different types of objects and shaders. It provides a framework for interpreting more specific descriptions of commands and behavior in the remainder of the Specification.

2.1. Host and Device Environment

The Vulkan Specification assumes and requires: the following properties of the host environment with respect to Vulkan implementations:

  • The host must have runtime support for 8, 16, 32 and 64-bit signed and unsigned twos-complement integers, all addressable at the granularity of their size in bytes.

  • The host must have runtime support for 32- and 64-bit floating-point types satisfying the range and precision constraints in the Floating Point Computation section.

  • The representation and endianness of these types on the host must match the representation and endianness of the same types on every physical device supported.

Note

Since a variety of data types and structures in Vulkan may be accessible by both host and physical device operations, the implementation should be able to access such data efficiently in both paths in order to facilitate writing portable and performant applications.

2.2. Execution Model

This section outlines the execution model of a Vulkan system.

Vulkan exposes one or more devices, each of which exposes one or more queues which may process work asynchronously to one another. The set of queues supported by a device is partitioned into families. Each family supports one or more types of functionality and may contain multiple queues with similar characteristics. Queues within a single family are considered compatible with one another, and work produced for a family of queues can be executed on any queue within that family. This Specification defines four types of functionality that queues may support: graphics, compute, transfer, and sparse memory management.

Note

A single device may report multiple similar queue families rather than, or as well as, reporting multiple members of one or more of those families. This indicates that while members of those families have similar capabilities, they are not directly compatible with one another.

Device memory is explicitly managed by the application. Each device may advertise one or more heaps, representing different areas of memory. Memory heaps are either device local or host local, but are always visible to the device. Further detail about memory heaps is exposed via memory types available on that heap. Examples of memory areas that may be available on an implementation include:

  • device local is memory that is physically connected to the device.

  • device local, host visible is device local memory that is visible to the host.

  • host local, host visible is memory that is local to the host and visible to the device and host.

On other architectures, there may only be a single heap that can be used for any purpose.

A Vulkan application controls a set of devices through the submission of command buffers which have recorded device commands issued via Vulkan library calls. The content of command buffers is specific to the underlying implementation and is opaque to the application. Once constructed, a command buffer can be submitted once or many times to a queue for execution. Multiple command buffers can be built in parallel by employing multiple threads within the application.

Command buffers submitted to different queues may execute in parallel or even out of order with respect to one another. Command buffers submitted to a single queue respect submission order, as described further in synchronization chapter. Command buffer execution by the device is also asynchronous to host execution. Once a command buffer is submitted to a queue, control may return to the application immediately. Synchronization between the device and host, and between different queues is the responsibility of the application.

2.2.1. Queue Operation

Vulkan queues provide an interface to the execution engines of a device. Commands for these execution engines are recorded into command buffers ahead of execution time. These command buffers are then submitted to queues with a queue submission command for execution in a number of batches. Once submitted to a queue, these commands will begin and complete execution without further application intervention, though the order of this execution is dependent on a number of implicit and explicit ordering constraints.

Work is submitted to queues using queue submission commands that typically take the form vkQueue* (e.g. vkQueueSubmit, vkQueueBindSparse), and optionally take a list of semaphores upon which to wait before work begins and a list of semaphores to signal once work has completed. The work itself, as well as signaling and waiting on the semaphores are all queue operations.

Queue operations on different queues have no implicit ordering constraints, and may execute in any order. Explicit ordering constraints between queues can be expressed with semaphores and fences.

Command buffer submissions to a single queue respect submission order and other implicit ordering guarantees, but otherwise may overlap or execute out of order. Other types of batches and queue submissions against a single queue (e.g. sparse memory binding) have no implicit ordering constraints with any other queue submission or batch. Additional explicit ordering constraints between queue submissions and individual batches can be expressed with semaphores and fences.

Before a fence or semaphore is signaled, it is guaranteed that any previously submitted queue operations have completed execution, and that memory writes from those queue operations are available to future queue operations. Waiting on a signaled semaphore or fence guarantees that previous writes that are available are also visible to subsequent commands.

Command buffer boundaries, both between primary command buffers of the same or different batches or submissions as well as between primary and secondary command buffers, do not introduce any additional ordering constraints. In other words, submitting the set of command buffers (which can include executing secondary command buffers) between any semaphore or fence operations execute the recorded commands as if they had all been recorded into a single primary command buffer, except that the current state is reset on each boundary. Explicit ordering constraints can be expressed with explicit synchronization primitives.

There are a few implicit ordering guarantees between commands within a command buffer, but only covering a subset of execution. Additional explicit ordering constraints can be expressed with the various explicit synchronization primitives.

Note

Implementations have significant freedom to overlap execution of work submitted to a queue, and this is common due to deep pipelining and parallelism in Vulkan devices.

Commands recorded in command buffers either perform actions (draw, dispatch, clear, copy, query/timestamp operations, begin/end subpass operations), set state (bind pipelines, descriptor sets, and buffers, set dynamic state, push constants, set render pass/subpass state), or perform synchronization (set/wait events, pipeline barrier, render pass/subpass dependencies). Some commands perform more than one of these tasks. State setting commands update the current state of the command buffer. Some commands that perform actions (e.g. draw/dispatch) do so based on the current state set cumulatively since the start of the command buffer. The work involved in performing action commands is often allowed to overlap or to be reordered, but doing so must not alter the state to be used by each action command. In general, action commands are those commands that alter framebuffer attachments, read/write buffer or image memory, or write to query pools.

Synchronization commands introduce explicit execution and memory dependencies between two sets of action commands, where the second set of commands depends on the first set of commands. These dependencies enforce that both the execution of certain pipeline stages in the later set occur after the execution of certain stages in the source set, and that the effects of memory accesses performed by certain pipeline stages occur in order and are visible to each other. When not enforced by an explicit dependency or implicit ordering guarantees, action commands may overlap execution or execute out of order, and may not see the side effects of each other’s memory accesses.

The device executes queue operations asynchronously with respect to the host. Control is returned to an application immediately following command buffer submission to a queue. The application must synchronize work between the host and device as needed.

2.3. Object Model

The devices, queues, and other entities in Vulkan are represented by Vulkan objects. At the API level, all objects are referred to by handles. There are two classes of handles, dispatchable and non-dispatchable. Dispatchable handle types are a pointer to an opaque type. This pointer may be used by layers as part of intercepting API commands, and thus each API command takes a dispatchable type as its first parameter. Each object of a dispatchable type must have a unique handle value during its lifetime.

Non-dispatchable handle types are a 64-bit integer type whose meaning is implementation-dependent, and may encode object information directly in the handle rather than acting as a reference to an underlying object. Objects of a non-dispatchable type may not have unique handle values within a type or across types. If handle values are not unique, then destroying one such handle must not cause identical handles of other types to become invalid, and must not cause identical handles of the same type to become invalid if that handle value has been created more times than it has been destroyed.

All objects created or allocated from a VkDevice (i.e. with a VkDevice as the first parameter) are private to that device, and must not be used on other devices.

2.3.1. Object Lifetime

Objects are created or allocated by vkCreate* and vkAllocate* commands, respectively. Once an object is created or allocated, its “structure” is considered to be immutable, though the contents of certain object types is still free to change. Objects are destroyed or freed by vkDestroy* and vkFree* commands, respectively.

Objects that are allocated (rather than created) take resources from an existing pool object or memory heap, and when freed return resources to that pool or heap. While object creation and destruction are generally expected to be low-frequency occurrences during runtime, allocating and freeing objects can occur at high frequency. Pool objects help accommodate improved performance of the allocations and frees.

It is an application’s responsibility to track the lifetime of Vulkan objects, and not to destroy them while they are still in use.

The ownership of application-owned memory is immediately acquired by any Vulkan command it is passed into. Ownership of such memory must be released back to the application at the end of the duration of the command, so that the application can alter or free this memory as soon as all the commands that acquired it have returned.

The following object types are consumed when they are passed into a Vulkan command and not further accessed by the objects they are used to create. They must not be destroyed in the duration of any API command they are passed into:

  • VkShaderModule

  • VkPipelineCache

A VkRenderPass object passed as a parameter to create another object is not further accessed by that object after the duration of the command it is passed into. A VkRenderPass used in a command buffer follows the rules described below.

A VkPipelineLayout object must not be destroyed while any command buffer that uses it is in the recording state.

VkDescriptorSetLayout objects may be accessed by commands that operate on descriptor sets allocated using that layout, and those descriptor sets must not be updated with vkUpdateDescriptorSets after the descriptor set layout has been destroyed. Otherwise, a VkDescriptorSetLayout object passed as a parameter to create another object is not further accessed by that object after the duration of the command it is passed into.

The application must not destroy any other type of Vulkan object until all uses of that object by the device (such as via command buffer execution) have completed.

The following Vulkan objects must not be destroyed while any command buffers using the object are in the pending state:

  • VkEvent

  • VkQueryPool

  • VkBuffer

  • VkBufferView

  • VkImage

  • VkImageView

  • VkPipeline

  • VkSampler

  • VkSamplerYcbcrConversion

  • VkDescriptorPool

  • VkFramebuffer

  • VkRenderPass

  • VkCommandBuffer

  • VkCommandPool

  • VkDeviceMemory

  • VkDescriptorSet

Destroying these objects will move any command buffers that are in the recording or executable state, and are using those objects, to the invalid state.

The following Vulkan objects must not be destroyed while any queue is executing commands that use the object:

  • VkFence

  • VkSemaphore

  • VkCommandBuffer

  • VkCommandPool

In general, objects can be destroyed or freed in any order, even if the object being freed is involved in the use of another object (e.g. use of a resource in a view, use of a view in a descriptor set, use of an object in a command buffer, binding of a memory allocation to a resource), as long as any object that uses the freed object is not further used in any way except to be destroyed or to be reset in such a way that it no longer uses the other object (such as resetting a command buffer). If the object has been reset, then it can be used as if it never used the freed object. An exception to this is when there is a parent/child relationship between objects. In this case, the application must not destroy a parent object before its children, except when the parent is explicitly defined to free its children when it is destroyed (e.g. for pool objects, as defined below).

VkCommandPool objects are parents of VkCommandBuffer objects. VkDescriptorPool objects are parents of VkDescriptorSet objects. VkDevice objects are parents of many object types (all that take a VkDevice as a parameter to their creation).

The following Vulkan objects have specific restrictions for when they can be destroyed:

  • VkQueue objects cannot be explicitly destroyed. Instead, they are implicitly destroyed when the VkDevice object they are retrieved from is destroyed.

  • Destroying a pool object implicitly frees all objects allocated from that pool. Specifically, destroying VkCommandPool frees all VkCommandBuffer objects that were allocated from it, and destroying VkDescriptorPool frees all VkDescriptorSet objects that were allocated from it.

  • VkDevice objects can be destroyed when all VkQueue objects retrieved from them are idle, and all objects created from them have been destroyed. This includes the following objects:

    • VkFence

    • VkSemaphore

    • VkEvent

    • VkQueryPool

    • VkBuffer

    • VkBufferView

    • VkImage

    • VkImageView

    • VkShaderModule

    • VkPipelineCache

    • VkPipeline

    • VkPipelineLayout

    • VkSampler

    • VkSamplerYcbcrConversion

    • VkDescriptorSetLayout

    • VkDescriptorPool

    • VkFramebuffer

    • VkRenderPass

    • VkCommandPool

    • VkCommandBuffer

    • VkDeviceMemory

  • VkPhysicalDevice objects cannot be explicitly destroyed. Instead, they are implicitly destroyed when the VkInstance object they are retrieved from is destroyed.

  • VkInstance objects can be destroyed once all VkDevice objects created from any of its VkPhysicalDevice objects have been destroyed.

2.3.2. External Object Handles

As defined above, the scope of object handles created or allocated from a VkDevice is limited to that logical device. Objects which are not in scope are said to be external. To bring an external object into scope, an external handle must be exported from the object in the source scope and imported into the destination scope.

Note

The scope of external handles and their associated resources may vary according to their type, but they can generally be shared across process and API boundaries.

2.4. Application Binary Interface

The mechanism by which Vulkan is made available to applications is platform- or implementation- defined. On many platforms the C interface described in this Specification is provided by a shared library. Since shared libraries can be changed independently of the applications that use them, they present particular compatibility challenges, and this Specification places some requirements on them.

Shared library implementations must use the default Application Binary Interface (ABI) of the standard C compiler for the platform, or provide customized API headers that cause application code to use the implementation’s non-default ABI. An ABI in this context means the size, alignment, and layout of C data types; the procedure calling convention; and the naming convention for shared library symbols corresponding to C functions. Customizing the calling convention for a platform is usually accomplished by defining calling convention macros appropriately in vk_platform.h.

On platforms where Vulkan is provided as a shared library, library symbols beginning with “vk” and followed by a digit or uppercase letter are reserved for use by the implementation. Applications which use Vulkan must not provide definitions of these symbols. This allows the Vulkan shared library to be updated with additional symbols for new API versions or extensions without causing symbol conflicts with existing applications.

Shared library implementations should provide library symbols for commands in the highest version of this Specification they support, and for Window System Integration extensions relevant to the platform. They may also provide library symbols for commands defined by additional extensions.

Note

These requirements and recommendations are intended to allow implementors to take advantage of platform-specific conventions for SDKs, ABIs, library versioning mechanisms, etc. while still minimizing the code changes necessary to port applications or libraries between platforms. Platform vendors, or providers of the de facto standard Vulkan shared library for a platform, are encouraged to document what symbols the shared library provides and how it will be versioned when new symbols are added.

Applications should only rely on shared library symbols for commands in the minimum core version required by the application. vkGetInstanceProcAddr and vkGetDeviceProcAddr should be used to obtain function pointers for commands in core versions beyond the application’s minimum required version.

2.5. Command Syntax and Duration

The Specification describes Vulkan commands as functions or procedures using C99 syntax. Language bindings for other languages such as C++ and JavaScript may allow for stricter parameter passing, or object-oriented interfaces.

Vulkan uses the standard C types for the base type of scalar parameters (e.g. types from <stdint.h>), with exceptions described below, or elsewhere in the text when appropriate:

VkBool32 represents boolean True and False values, since C does not have a sufficiently portable built-in boolean type:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef uint32_t VkBool32;

VK_TRUE represents a boolean True (integer 1) value, and VK_FALSE a boolean False (integer 0) value.

All values returned from a Vulkan implementation in a VkBool32 will be either VK_TRUE or VK_FALSE.

Applications must not pass any other values than VK_TRUE or VK_FALSE into a Vulkan implementation where a VkBool32 is expected.

VkDeviceSize represents device memory size and offset values:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef uint64_t VkDeviceSize;

VkDeviceAddress represents device buffer address values:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef uint64_t VkDeviceAddress;

Commands that create Vulkan objects are of the form vkCreate* and take Vk*CreateInfo structures with the parameters needed to create the object. These Vulkan objects are destroyed with commands of the form vkDestroy*.

The last in-parameter to each command that creates or destroys a Vulkan object is pAllocator. The pAllocator parameter can be set to a non-NULL value such that allocations for the given object are delegated to an application provided callback; refer to the Memory Allocation chapter for further details.

Commands that allocate Vulkan objects owned by pool objects are of the form vkAllocate*, and take Vk*AllocateInfo structures. These Vulkan objects are freed with commands of the form vkFree*. These objects do not take allocators; if host memory is needed, they will use the allocator that was specified when their parent pool was created.

Commands are recorded into a command buffer by calling API commands of the form vkCmd*. Each such command may have different restrictions on where it can be used: in a primary and/or secondary command buffer, inside and/or outside a render pass, and in one or more of the supported queue types. These restrictions are documented together with the definition of each such command.

The duration of a Vulkan command refers to the interval between calling the command and its return to the caller.

2.5.1. Lifetime of Retrieved Results

Information is retrieved from the implementation with commands of the form vkGet* and vkEnumerate*.

Unless otherwise specified for an individual command, the results are invariant; that is, they will remain unchanged when retrieved again by calling the same command with the same parameters, so long as those parameters themselves all remain valid.

2.6. Threading Behavior

Vulkan is intended to provide scalable performance when used on multiple host threads. All commands support being called concurrently from multiple threads, but certain parameters, or components of parameters are defined to be externally synchronized. This means that the caller must guarantee that no more than one thread is using such a parameter at a given time.

More precisely, Vulkan commands use simple stores to update the state of Vulkan objects. A parameter declared as externally synchronized may have its contents updated at any time during the host execution of the command. If two commands operate on the same object and at least one of the commands declares the object to be externally synchronized, then the caller must guarantee not only that the commands do not execute simultaneously, but also that the two commands are separated by an appropriate memory barrier (if needed).

Note

Memory barriers are particularly relevant for hosts based on the ARM CPU architecture, which is more weakly ordered than many developers are accustomed to from x86/x64 programming. Fortunately, most higher-level synchronization primitives (like the pthread library) perform memory barriers as a part of mutual exclusion, so mutexing Vulkan objects via these primitives will have the desired effect.

Similarly the application must avoid any potential data hazard of application-owned memory that has its ownership temporarily acquired by a Vulkan command. While the ownership of application-owned memory remains acquired by a command the implementation may read the memory at any point, and it may write non-const qualified memory at any point. Parameters referring to non-const qualified application-owned memory are not marked explicitly as externally synchronized in the Specification.

Many object types are immutable, meaning the objects cannot change once they have been created. These types of objects never need external synchronization, except that they must not be destroyed while they are in use on another thread. In certain special cases mutable object parameters are internally synchronized, making external synchronization unnecessary. Any command parameters that are not labeled as externally synchronized are either not mutated by the command or are internally synchronized. Additionally, certain objects related to a command’s parameters (e.g. command pools and descriptor pools) may be affected by a command, and must also be externally synchronized. These implicit parameters are documented as described below.

Parameters of commands that are externally synchronized are listed below.

Externally Synchronized Parameters

There are also a few instances where a command can take in a user allocated list whose contents are externally synchronized parameters. In these cases, the caller must guarantee that at most one thread is using a given element within the list at a given time. These parameters are listed below.

Externally Synchronized Parameter Lists

  • The buffer member of each element of the pBufferBinds member of each element of the pBindInfo parameter in vkQueueBindSparse

  • The image member of each element of the pImageOpaqueBinds member of each element of the pBindInfo parameter in vkQueueBindSparse

  • The image member of each element of the pImageBinds member of each element of the pBindInfo parameter in vkQueueBindSparse

  • Each element of the pFences parameter in vkResetFences

  • Each element of the pDescriptorSets parameter in vkFreeDescriptorSets

  • The dstSet member of each element of the pDescriptorWrites parameter in vkUpdateDescriptorSets

  • The dstSet member of each element of the pDescriptorCopies parameter in vkUpdateDescriptorSets

  • Each element of the pCommandBuffers parameter in vkFreeCommandBuffers

In addition, there are some implicit parameters that need to be externally synchronized. For example, all commandBuffer parameters that need to be externally synchronized imply that the commandPool that was passed in when creating that command buffer also needs to be externally synchronized. The implicit parameters and their associated object are listed below.

Implicit Externally Synchronized Parameters

2.7. Errors

Vulkan is a layered API. The lowest layer is the core Vulkan layer, as defined by this Specification. The application can use additional layers above the core for debugging, validation, and other purposes.

One of the core principles of Vulkan is that building and submitting command buffers should be highly efficient. Thus error checking and validation of state in the core layer is minimal, although more rigorous validation can be enabled through the use of layers.

The core layer assumes applications are using the API correctly. Except as documented elsewhere in the Specification, the behavior of the core layer to an application using the API incorrectly is undefined, and may include program termination. However, implementations must ensure that incorrect usage by an application does not affect the integrity of the operating system, the Vulkan implementation, or other Vulkan client applications in the system. In particular, any guarantees made by an operating system about whether memory from one process can be visible to another process or not must not be violated by a Vulkan implementation for any memory allocation. Vulkan implementations are not required to make additional security or integrity guarantees beyond those provided by the OS unless explicitly directed by the application’s use of a particular feature or extension.

Note

For instance, if an operating system guarantees that data in all its memory allocations are set to zero when newly allocated, the Vulkan implementation must make the same guarantees for any allocations it controls (e.g. VkDeviceMemory).

Similarly, if an operating system guarantees that use-after-free of host allocations will not result in values written by another process becoming visible, the same guarantees must be made by the Vulkan implementation for device memory.

If the protected memory feature is supported, the implementation provides additional guarantees when invalid usage occurs to prevent values in protected memory from being accessed or inferred outside of protected operations, as described in Protected Memory Access Rules.

Validation of correct API usage is left to validation layers. Applications should be developed with validation layers enabled, to help catch and eliminate errors. Once validated, released applications should not enable validation layers by default.

2.7.1. Valid Usage

Valid usage defines a set of conditions which must be met in order to achieve well-defined runtime behavior in an application. These conditions depend only on Vulkan state, and the parameters or objects whose usage is constrained by the condition.

Some valid usage conditions have dependencies on runtime limits or feature availability. It is possible to validate these conditions against Vulkan’s minimum supported values for these limits and features, or some subset of other known values.

Valid usage conditions do not cover conditions where well-defined behavior (including returning an error code) exists.

Valid usage conditions should apply to the command or structure where complete information about the condition would be known during execution of an application. This is such that a validation layer or linter can be written directly against these statements at the point they are specified.

Note

This does lead to some non-obvious places for valid usage statements. For instance, the valid values for a structure might depend on a separate value in the calling command. In this case, the structure itself will not reference this valid usage as it is impossible to determine validity from the structure that it is invalid - instead this valid usage would be attached to the calling command.

Another example is draw state - the state setters are independent, and can cause a legitimately invalid state configuration between draw calls; so the valid usage statements are attached to the place where all state needs to be valid - at the draw command.

Valid usage conditions are described in a block labelled “Valid Usage” following each command or structure they apply to.

2.7.2. Implicit Valid Usage

Some valid usage conditions apply to all commands and structures in the API, unless explicitly denoted otherwise for a specific command or structure. These conditions are considered implicit, and are described in a block labelled “Valid Usage (Implicit)” following each command or structure they apply to. Implicit valid usage conditions are described in detail below.

Valid Usage for Object Handles

Any input parameter to a command that is an object handle must be a valid object handle, unless otherwise specified. An object handle is valid if:

  • It has been created or allocated by a previous, successful call to the API. Such calls are noted in the Specification.

  • It has not been deleted or freed by a previous call to the API. Such calls are noted in the Specification.

  • Any objects used by that object, either as part of creation or execution, must also be valid.

The reserved values VK_NULL_HANDLE and NULL can be used in place of valid non-dispatchable handles and dispatchable handles, respectively, when explicitly called out in the Specification. Any command that creates an object successfully must not return these values. It is valid to pass these values to vkDestroy* or vkFree* commands, which will silently ignore these values.

Valid Usage for Pointers

Any parameter that is a pointer must be a valid pointer only if it is explicitly called out by a Valid Usage statement.

A pointer is “valid” if it points at memory containing values of the number and type(s) expected by the command, and all fundamental types accessed through the pointer (e.g. as elements of an array or as members of a structure) satisfy the alignment requirements of the host processor.

Valid Usage for Strings

Any parameter that is a pointer to char must be a finite sequence of values terminated by a null character, or if explicitly called out in the Specification, can be NULL.

Valid Usage for Enumerated Types

Any parameter of an enumerated type must be a valid enumerant for that type. A enumerant is valid if:

  • The enumerant is defined as part of the enumerated type.

  • The enumerant is not the special value (suffixed with _MAX_ENUM1) defined for the enumerated type.

    1

    This special value exists only to ensure that C enum types are 32 bits in size. It is not part of the API, and should not be used by applications.

Any enumerated type returned from a query command or otherwise output from Vulkan to the application must not have a reserved value. Reserved values are values not defined by any extension for that enumerated type.

Note

This language is intended to accommodate cases such as “hidden” extensions known only to driver internals, or layers enabling extensions without knowledge of the application, without allowing return of values not defined by any extension.
Note

Application developers are encouraged to be careful when using switch statements with Vulkan API enums. This is because new extensions can add new values to existing enums. The use of a default: statement, within a switch, may avoid future compilation issues. Particularly for enums like e.g. VkDriverId that may change at any time.
Valid Usage for Flags

A collection of flags is represented by a bitmask using the type VkFlags:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef uint32_t VkFlags;

Bitmasks are passed to many commands and structures to compactly represent options, but VkFlags is not used directly in the API. Instead, a Vk*Flags type which is an alias of VkFlags, and whose name matches the corresponding Vk*FlagBits that are valid for that type, is used.

Any Vk*Flags member or parameter used in the API as an input must be a valid combination of bit flags. A valid combination is either zero or the bitwise OR of valid bit flags. A bit flag is valid if:

  • The bit flag is defined as part of the Vk*FlagBits type, where the bits type is obtained by taking the flag type and replacing the trailing Flags with FlagBits. For example, a flag value of type VkColorComponentFlags must contain only bit flags defined by VkColorComponentFlagBits.

  • The flag is allowed in the context in which it is being used. For example, in some cases, certain bit flags or combinations of bit flags are mutually exclusive.

Any Vk*Flags member or parameter returned from a query command or otherwise output from Vulkan to the application may contain bit flags undefined in its corresponding Vk*FlagBits type. An application cannot rely on the state of these unspecified bits.

Only the low-order 31 bits (bit positions zero through 30) are available for use as flag bits.

Note

This restriction is due to poorly defined behavior by C compilers given a C enumerant value of 0x80000000. In some cases adding this enumerant value may increase the size of the underlying Vk*FlagBits type, breaking the ABI.
Valid Usage for Structure Types

Any parameter that is a structure containing a sType member must have a value of sType which is a valid VkStructureType value matching the type of the structure.

Structure types supported by the Vulkan API include:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0, VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef enum VkStructureType {
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_APPLICATION_INFO = 0,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_INSTANCE_CREATE_INFO = 1,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DEVICE_QUEUE_CREATE_INFO = 2,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DEVICE_CREATE_INFO = 3,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_SUBMIT_INFO = 4,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_MEMORY_ALLOCATE_INFO = 5,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_MAPPED_MEMORY_RANGE = 6,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_BIND_SPARSE_INFO = 7,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_FENCE_CREATE_INFO = 8,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_SEMAPHORE_CREATE_INFO = 9,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_EVENT_CREATE_INFO = 10,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_QUERY_POOL_CREATE_INFO = 11,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_BUFFER_CREATE_INFO = 12,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_BUFFER_VIEW_CREATE_INFO = 13,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_IMAGE_CREATE_INFO = 14,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_IMAGE_VIEW_CREATE_INFO = 15,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_SHADER_MODULE_CREATE_INFO = 16,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PIPELINE_CACHE_CREATE_INFO = 17,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PIPELINE_SHADER_STAGE_CREATE_INFO = 18,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PIPELINE_VERTEX_INPUT_STATE_CREATE_INFO = 19,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PIPELINE_INPUT_ASSEMBLY_STATE_CREATE_INFO = 20,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PIPELINE_TESSELLATION_STATE_CREATE_INFO = 21,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PIPELINE_VIEWPORT_STATE_CREATE_INFO = 22,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PIPELINE_RASTERIZATION_STATE_CREATE_INFO = 23,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PIPELINE_MULTISAMPLE_STATE_CREATE_INFO = 24,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PIPELINE_DEPTH_STENCIL_STATE_CREATE_INFO = 25,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PIPELINE_COLOR_BLEND_STATE_CREATE_INFO = 26,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PIPELINE_DYNAMIC_STATE_CREATE_INFO = 27,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_GRAPHICS_PIPELINE_CREATE_INFO = 28,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_COMPUTE_PIPELINE_CREATE_INFO = 29,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PIPELINE_LAYOUT_CREATE_INFO = 30,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_SAMPLER_CREATE_INFO = 31,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DESCRIPTOR_SET_LAYOUT_CREATE_INFO = 32,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DESCRIPTOR_POOL_CREATE_INFO = 33,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DESCRIPTOR_SET_ALLOCATE_INFO = 34,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_WRITE_DESCRIPTOR_SET = 35,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_COPY_DESCRIPTOR_SET = 36,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_FRAMEBUFFER_CREATE_INFO = 37,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_RENDER_PASS_CREATE_INFO = 38,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_COMMAND_POOL_CREATE_INFO = 39,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_COMMAND_BUFFER_ALLOCATE_INFO = 40,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_COMMAND_BUFFER_INHERITANCE_INFO = 41,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_COMMAND_BUFFER_BEGIN_INFO = 42,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_RENDER_PASS_BEGIN_INFO = 43,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_BUFFER_MEMORY_BARRIER = 44,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_IMAGE_MEMORY_BARRIER = 45,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_MEMORY_BARRIER = 46,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_LOADER_INSTANCE_CREATE_INFO = 47,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_LOADER_DEVICE_CREATE_INFO = 48,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_SUBGROUP_PROPERTIES = 1000094000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_BIND_BUFFER_MEMORY_INFO = 1000157000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_BIND_IMAGE_MEMORY_INFO = 1000157001,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_16BIT_STORAGE_FEATURES = 1000083000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_MEMORY_DEDICATED_REQUIREMENTS = 1000127000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_MEMORY_DEDICATED_ALLOCATE_INFO = 1000127001,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_MEMORY_ALLOCATE_FLAGS_INFO = 1000060000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DEVICE_GROUP_RENDER_PASS_BEGIN_INFO = 1000060003,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DEVICE_GROUP_COMMAND_BUFFER_BEGIN_INFO = 1000060004,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DEVICE_GROUP_SUBMIT_INFO = 1000060005,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DEVICE_GROUP_BIND_SPARSE_INFO = 1000060006,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_BIND_BUFFER_MEMORY_DEVICE_GROUP_INFO = 1000060013,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_BIND_IMAGE_MEMORY_DEVICE_GROUP_INFO = 1000060014,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_GROUP_PROPERTIES = 1000070000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DEVICE_GROUP_DEVICE_CREATE_INFO = 1000070001,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_BUFFER_MEMORY_REQUIREMENTS_INFO_2 = 1000146000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_IMAGE_MEMORY_REQUIREMENTS_INFO_2 = 1000146001,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_IMAGE_SPARSE_MEMORY_REQUIREMENTS_INFO_2 = 1000146002,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_MEMORY_REQUIREMENTS_2 = 1000146003,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_SPARSE_IMAGE_MEMORY_REQUIREMENTS_2 = 1000146004,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_FEATURES_2 = 1000059000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_PROPERTIES_2 = 1000059001,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_FORMAT_PROPERTIES_2 = 1000059002,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_IMAGE_FORMAT_PROPERTIES_2 = 1000059003,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_IMAGE_FORMAT_INFO_2 = 1000059004,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_QUEUE_FAMILY_PROPERTIES_2 = 1000059005,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_MEMORY_PROPERTIES_2 = 1000059006,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_SPARSE_IMAGE_FORMAT_PROPERTIES_2 = 1000059007,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_SPARSE_IMAGE_FORMAT_INFO_2 = 1000059008,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_POINT_CLIPPING_PROPERTIES = 1000117000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_RENDER_PASS_INPUT_ATTACHMENT_ASPECT_CREATE_INFO = 1000117001,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_IMAGE_VIEW_USAGE_CREATE_INFO = 1000117002,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PIPELINE_TESSELLATION_DOMAIN_ORIGIN_STATE_CREATE_INFO = 1000117003,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_RENDER_PASS_MULTIVIEW_CREATE_INFO = 1000053000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_MULTIVIEW_FEATURES = 1000053001,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_MULTIVIEW_PROPERTIES = 1000053002,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_VARIABLE_POINTERS_FEATURES = 1000120000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PROTECTED_SUBMIT_INFO = 1000145000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_PROTECTED_MEMORY_FEATURES = 1000145001,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_PROTECTED_MEMORY_PROPERTIES = 1000145002,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DEVICE_QUEUE_INFO_2 = 1000145003,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_SAMPLER_YCBCR_CONVERSION_CREATE_INFO = 1000156000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_SAMPLER_YCBCR_CONVERSION_INFO = 1000156001,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_BIND_IMAGE_PLANE_MEMORY_INFO = 1000156002,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_IMAGE_PLANE_MEMORY_REQUIREMENTS_INFO = 1000156003,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_SAMPLER_YCBCR_CONVERSION_FEATURES = 1000156004,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_SAMPLER_YCBCR_CONVERSION_IMAGE_FORMAT_PROPERTIES = 1000156005,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DESCRIPTOR_UPDATE_TEMPLATE_CREATE_INFO = 1000085000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_EXTERNAL_IMAGE_FORMAT_INFO = 1000071000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_EXTERNAL_IMAGE_FORMAT_PROPERTIES = 1000071001,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_EXTERNAL_BUFFER_INFO = 1000071002,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_EXTERNAL_BUFFER_PROPERTIES = 1000071003,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_ID_PROPERTIES = 1000071004,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_EXTERNAL_MEMORY_BUFFER_CREATE_INFO = 1000072000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_EXTERNAL_MEMORY_IMAGE_CREATE_INFO = 1000072001,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_EXPORT_MEMORY_ALLOCATE_INFO = 1000072002,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_EXTERNAL_FENCE_INFO = 1000112000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_EXTERNAL_FENCE_PROPERTIES = 1000112001,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_EXPORT_FENCE_CREATE_INFO = 1000113000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_EXPORT_SEMAPHORE_CREATE_INFO = 1000077000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_EXTERNAL_SEMAPHORE_INFO = 1000076000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_EXTERNAL_SEMAPHORE_PROPERTIES = 1000076001,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_MAINTENANCE_3_PROPERTIES = 1000168000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DESCRIPTOR_SET_LAYOUT_SUPPORT = 1000168001,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_SHADER_DRAW_PARAMETERS_FEATURES = 1000063000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_VULKAN_1_1_FEATURES = 49,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_VULKAN_1_1_PROPERTIES = 50,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_VULKAN_1_2_FEATURES = 51,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_VULKAN_1_2_PROPERTIES = 52,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_IMAGE_FORMAT_LIST_CREATE_INFO = 1000147000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_ATTACHMENT_DESCRIPTION_2 = 1000109000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_ATTACHMENT_REFERENCE_2 = 1000109001,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_SUBPASS_DESCRIPTION_2 = 1000109002,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_SUBPASS_DEPENDENCY_2 = 1000109003,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_RENDER_PASS_CREATE_INFO_2 = 1000109004,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_SUBPASS_BEGIN_INFO = 1000109005,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_SUBPASS_END_INFO = 1000109006,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_8BIT_STORAGE_FEATURES = 1000177000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_DRIVER_PROPERTIES = 1000196000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_SHADER_ATOMIC_INT64_FEATURES = 1000180000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_SHADER_FLOAT16_INT8_FEATURES = 1000082000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_FLOAT_CONTROLS_PROPERTIES = 1000197000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DESCRIPTOR_SET_LAYOUT_BINDING_FLAGS_CREATE_INFO = 1000161000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_DESCRIPTOR_INDEXING_FEATURES = 1000161001,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_DESCRIPTOR_INDEXING_PROPERTIES = 1000161002,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DESCRIPTOR_SET_VARIABLE_DESCRIPTOR_COUNT_ALLOCATE_INFO = 1000161003,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DESCRIPTOR_SET_VARIABLE_DESCRIPTOR_COUNT_LAYOUT_SUPPORT = 1000161004,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_DEPTH_STENCIL_RESOLVE_PROPERTIES = 1000199000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_SUBPASS_DESCRIPTION_DEPTH_STENCIL_RESOLVE = 1000199001,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_SCALAR_BLOCK_LAYOUT_FEATURES = 1000221000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_IMAGE_STENCIL_USAGE_CREATE_INFO = 1000246000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_SAMPLER_FILTER_MINMAX_PROPERTIES = 1000130000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_SAMPLER_REDUCTION_MODE_CREATE_INFO = 1000130001,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_VULKAN_MEMORY_MODEL_FEATURES = 1000211000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_IMAGELESS_FRAMEBUFFER_FEATURES = 1000108000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_FRAMEBUFFER_ATTACHMENTS_CREATE_INFO = 1000108001,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_FRAMEBUFFER_ATTACHMENT_IMAGE_INFO = 1000108002,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_RENDER_PASS_ATTACHMENT_BEGIN_INFO = 1000108003,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_UNIFORM_BUFFER_STANDARD_LAYOUT_FEATURES = 1000253000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_SHADER_SUBGROUP_EXTENDED_TYPES_FEATURES = 1000175000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_SEPARATE_DEPTH_STENCIL_LAYOUTS_FEATURES = 1000241000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_ATTACHMENT_REFERENCE_STENCIL_LAYOUT = 1000241001,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_ATTACHMENT_DESCRIPTION_STENCIL_LAYOUT = 1000241002,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_HOST_QUERY_RESET_FEATURES = 1000261000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_TIMELINE_SEMAPHORE_FEATURES = 1000207000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_TIMELINE_SEMAPHORE_PROPERTIES = 1000207001,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_CREATE_INFO = 1000207002,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_TIMELINE_SEMAPHORE_SUBMIT_INFO = 1000207003,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_SEMAPHORE_WAIT_INFO = 1000207004,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_SEMAPHORE_SIGNAL_INFO = 1000207005,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_BUFFER_DEVICE_ADDRESS_FEATURES = 1000257000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_BUFFER_DEVICE_ADDRESS_INFO = 1000244001,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_BUFFER_OPAQUE_CAPTURE_ADDRESS_CREATE_INFO = 1000257002,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_MEMORY_OPAQUE_CAPTURE_ADDRESS_ALLOCATE_INFO = 1000257003,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DEVICE_MEMORY_OPAQUE_CAPTURE_ADDRESS_INFO = 1000257004,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_VARIABLE_POINTER_FEATURES = VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_VARIABLE_POINTERS_FEATURES,
    VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_SHADER_DRAW_PARAMETER_FEATURES = VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_SHADER_DRAW_PARAMETERS_FEATURES,
} VkStructureType;

Each value corresponds to a particular structure with a sType member with a matching name. As a general rule, the name of each VkStructureType value is obtained by taking the name of the structure, stripping the leading Vk, prefixing each capital letter with _, converting the entire resulting string to upper case, and prefixing it with VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_. For example, structures of type VkImageCreateInfo correspond to a VkStructureType of VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_IMAGE_CREATE_INFO, and thus its sType member must equal that when it is passed to the API.

The values VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_LOADER_INSTANCE_CREATE_INFO and VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_LOADER_DEVICE_CREATE_INFO are reserved for internal use by the loader, and do not have corresponding Vulkan structures in this Specification.

Valid Usage for Structure Pointer Chains

Any parameter that is a structure containing a void* pNext member must have a value of pNext that is either NULL, or is a pointer to a valid extending structure, containing sType and pNext members as described in the Vulkan Documentation and Extensions document in the section “Extension Interactions”. The set of structures connected by pNext pointers is referred to as a pNext chain.

Each structure present in the pNext chain must be defined at runtime by either:

  • a core version which is supported

  • an extension which is enabled

  • a supported device extension in the case of physical-device-level functionality added by the device extension

Each type of extending structure must not appear more than once in a pNext chain, including any aliases. This general rule may be explicitly overridden for specific structures.

Any component of the implementation (the loader, any enabled layers, and drivers) must skip over, without processing (other than reading the sType and pNext members) any extending structures in the chain not defined by core versions or extensions supported by that component.

As a convenience to implementations and layers needing to iterate through a structure pointer chain, the Vulkan API provides two base structures. These structures allow for some type safety, and can be used by Vulkan API functions that operate on generic inputs and outputs.

The VkBaseInStructure structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkBaseInStructure {
    VkStructureType                    sType;
    const struct VkBaseInStructure*    pNext;
} VkBaseInStructure;

  • sType is the structure type of the structure being iterated through.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to the next structure in a structure chain.

VkBaseInStructure can be used to facilitate iterating through a read-only structure pointer chain.

The VkBaseOutStructure structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkBaseOutStructure {
    VkStructureType               sType;
    struct VkBaseOutStructure*    pNext;
} VkBaseOutStructure;

  • sType is the structure type of the structure being iterated through.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to the next structure in a structure chain.

VkBaseOutStructure can be used to facilitate iterating through a structure pointer chain that returns data back to the application.

Valid Usage for Nested Structures

The above conditions also apply recursively to members of structures provided as input to a command, either as a direct argument to the command, or themselves a member of another structure.

Specifics on valid usage of each command are covered in their individual sections.

Valid Usage for Extensions

Instance-level functionality or behavior added by an instance extension to the API must not be used unless that extension is supported by the instance as determined by vkEnumerateInstanceExtensionProperties, and that extension is enabled in VkInstanceCreateInfo.

Physical-device-level functionality or behavior added by an instance extension to the API must not be used unless that extension is supported by the instance as determined by vkEnumerateInstanceExtensionProperties, and that extension is enabled in VkInstanceCreateInfo.

Physical-device-level functionality or behavior added by a device extension to the API must not be used unless the conditions described in Extending Physical Device Core Functionality are met.

Device functionality or behavior added by a device extension to the API must not be used unless that extension is supported by the device as determined by vkEnumerateDeviceExtensionProperties, and that extension is enabled in VkDeviceCreateInfo.

Valid Usage for Newer Core Versions

Instance-level functionality or behavior added by a new core version of the API must not be used unless it is supported by the instance as determined by vkEnumerateInstanceVersion and the specified version of VkApplicationInfo::apiVersion.

Physical-device-level functionality or behavior added by a new core version of the API must not be used unless it is supported by the physical device as determined by VkPhysicalDeviceProperties::apiVersion and the specified version of VkApplicationInfo::apiVersion.

Device-level functionality or behavior added by a new core version of the API must not be used unless it is supported by the device as determined by VkPhysicalDeviceProperties::apiVersion and the specified version of VkApplicationInfo::apiVersion.

2.7.3. Return Codes

While the core Vulkan API is not designed to capture incorrect usage, some circumstances still require return codes. Commands in Vulkan return their status via return codes that are in one of two categories:

  • Successful completion codes are returned when a command needs to communicate success or status information. All successful completion codes are non-negative values.

  • Run time error codes are returned when a command needs to communicate a failure that could only be detected at runtime. All runtime error codes are negative values.

All return codes in Vulkan are reported via VkResult return values. The possible codes are:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef enum VkResult {
    VK_SUCCESS = 0,
    VK_NOT_READY = 1,
    VK_TIMEOUT = 2,
    VK_EVENT_SET = 3,
    VK_EVENT_RESET = 4,
    VK_INCOMPLETE = 5,
    VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY = -1,
    VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY = -2,
    VK_ERROR_INITIALIZATION_FAILED = -3,
    VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST = -4,
    VK_ERROR_MEMORY_MAP_FAILED = -5,
    VK_ERROR_LAYER_NOT_PRESENT = -6,
    VK_ERROR_EXTENSION_NOT_PRESENT = -7,
    VK_ERROR_FEATURE_NOT_PRESENT = -8,
    VK_ERROR_INCOMPATIBLE_DRIVER = -9,
    VK_ERROR_TOO_MANY_OBJECTS = -10,
    VK_ERROR_FORMAT_NOT_SUPPORTED = -11,
    VK_ERROR_FRAGMENTED_POOL = -12,
    VK_ERROR_UNKNOWN = -13,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_POOL_MEMORY = -1000069000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_ERROR_INVALID_EXTERNAL_HANDLE = -1000072003,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_ERROR_FRAGMENTATION = -1000161000,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
    VK_ERROR_INVALID_OPAQUE_CAPTURE_ADDRESS = -1000257000,
} VkResult;
Success Codes

  • VK_SUCCESS Command successfully completed

  • VK_NOT_READY A fence or query has not yet completed

  • VK_TIMEOUT A wait operation has not completed in the specified time

  • VK_EVENT_SET An event is signaled

  • VK_EVENT_RESET An event is unsignaled

  • VK_INCOMPLETE A return array was too small for the result

Error codes

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY A host memory allocation has failed.

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY A device memory allocation has failed.

  • VK_ERROR_INITIALIZATION_FAILED Initialization of an object could not be completed for implementation-specific reasons.

  • VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST The logical or physical device has been lost. See Lost Device

  • VK_ERROR_MEMORY_MAP_FAILED Mapping of a memory object has failed.

  • VK_ERROR_LAYER_NOT_PRESENT A requested layer is not present or could not be loaded.

  • VK_ERROR_EXTENSION_NOT_PRESENT A requested extension is not supported.

  • VK_ERROR_FEATURE_NOT_PRESENT A requested feature is not supported.

  • VK_ERROR_INCOMPATIBLE_DRIVER The requested version of Vulkan is not supported by the driver or is otherwise incompatible for implementation-specific reasons.

  • VK_ERROR_TOO_MANY_OBJECTS Too many objects of the type have already been created.

  • VK_ERROR_FORMAT_NOT_SUPPORTED A requested format is not supported on this device.

  • VK_ERROR_FRAGMENTED_POOL A pool allocation has failed due to fragmentation of the pool’s memory. This must only be returned if no attempt to allocate host or device memory was made to accommodate the new allocation. This should be returned in preference to VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_POOL_MEMORY, but only if the implementation is certain that the pool allocation failure was due to fragmentation.

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_POOL_MEMORY A pool memory allocation has failed. This must only be returned if no attempt to allocate host or device memory was made to accommodate the new allocation. If the failure was definitely due to fragmentation of the pool, VK_ERROR_FRAGMENTED_POOL should be returned instead.

  • VK_ERROR_INVALID_EXTERNAL_HANDLE An external handle is not a valid handle of the specified type.

  • VK_ERROR_FRAGMENTATION A descriptor pool creation has failed due to fragmentation.

  • VK_ERROR_INVALID_OPAQUE_CAPTURE_ADDRESS A buffer creation or memory allocation failed because the requested address is not available.

  • VK_ERROR_UNKNOWN An unknown error has occurred; either the application has provided invalid input, or an implementation failure has occurred.

If a command returns a runtime error, unless otherwise specified any output parameters will have undefined contents, except that if the output parameter is a structure with sType and pNext fields, those fields will be unmodified. Any structures chained from pNext will also have undefined contents, except that sType and pNext will be unmodified.

VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_*_MEMORY errors do not modify any currently existing Vulkan objects. Objects that have already been successfully created can still be used by the application.

Note

As a general rule, Free, Release, and Reset commands do not return VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY, while any other command with a return code may return it. Any exceptions from this rule are described for those commands.

VK_ERROR_UNKNOWN will be returned by an implementation when an unexpected error occurs that cannot be attributed to valid behavior of the application and implementation. Under these conditions, it may be returned from any command returning a VkResult.

Note

VK_ERROR_UNKNOWN is not expected to ever be returned if the application behavior is valid, and if the implementation is bug-free. If VK_ERROR_UNKNOWN is received, the application should be checked against the latest validation layers to verify correct behavior as much as possible. If no issues are identified it could be an implementation issue, and the implementor should be contacted for support.

Performance-critical commands generally do not have return codes. If a runtime error occurs in such commands, the implementation will defer reporting the error until a specified point. For commands that record into command buffers (vkCmd*) runtime errors are reported by vkEndCommandBuffer.

2.8. Numeric Representation and Computation

Implementations normally perform computations in floating-point, and must meet the range and precision requirements defined under “Floating-Point Computation” below.

These requirements only apply to computations performed in Vulkan operations outside of shader execution, such as texture image specification and sampling, and per-fragment operations. Range and precision requirements during shader execution differ and are specified by the Precision and Operation of SPIR-V Instructions section.

In some cases, the representation and/or precision of operations is implicitly limited by the specified format of vertex or texel data consumed by Vulkan. Specific floating-point formats are described later in this section.

2.8.1. Floating-Point Computation

Most floating-point computation is performed in SPIR-V shader modules. The properties of computation within shaders are constrained as defined by the Precision and Operation of SPIR-V Instructions section.

Some floating-point computation is performed outside of shaders, such as viewport and depth range calculations. For these computations, we do not specify how floating-point numbers are to be represented, or the details of how operations on them are performed, but only place minimal requirements on representation and precision as described in the remainder of this section.

We require simply that numbers’ floating-point parts contain enough bits and that their exponent fields are large enough so that individual results of floating-point operations are accurate to about 1 part in 105. The maximum representable magnitude for all floating-point values must be at least 232.

x × 0 = 0 × x = 0 for any non-infinite and non-NaN x.

1 × x = x × 1 = x.

x + 0 = 0 + x = x.

00 = 1.

Occasionally, further requirements will be specified. Most single-precision floating-point formats meet these requirements.

The special values Inf and -Inf encode values with magnitudes too large to be represented; the special value NaN encodes “Not A Number” values resulting from undefined arithmetic operations such as 0 / 0. Implementations may support Inf and NaN in their floating-point computations.

2.8.2. Floating-Point Format Conversions

When a value is converted to a defined floating-point representation, finite values falling between two representable finite values are rounded to one or the other. The rounding mode is not defined. Finite values whose magnitude is larger than that of any representable finite value may be rounded either to the closest representable finite value or to the appropriately signed infinity. For unsigned destination formats any negative values are converted to zero. Positive infinity is converted to positive infinity; negative infinity is converted to negative infinity in signed formats and to zero in unsigned formats; and any NaN is converted to a NaN.

2.8.3. 16-Bit Floating-Point Numbers

16-bit floating point numbers are defined in the “16-bit floating point numbers” section of the Khronos Data Format Specification.

2.8.4. Unsigned 11-Bit Floating-Point Numbers

Unsigned 11-bit floating point numbers are defined in the “Unsigned 11-bit floating point numbers” section of the Khronos Data Format Specification.

2.8.5. Unsigned 10-Bit Floating-Point Numbers

Unsigned 10-bit floating point numbers are defined in the “Unsigned 10-bit floating point numbers” section of the Khronos Data Format Specification.

2.8.6. General Requirements

Any representable floating-point value in the appropriate format is legal as input to a Vulkan command that requires floating-point data. The result of providing a value that is not a floating-point number to such a command is unspecified, but must not lead to Vulkan interruption or termination. For example, providing a negative zero (where applicable) or a denormalized number to a Vulkan command must yield deterministic results, while providing a NaN or Inf yields unspecified results.

Some calculations require division. In such cases (including implied divisions performed by vector normalization), division by zero produces an unspecified result but must not lead to Vulkan interruption or termination.

2.9. Fixed-Point Data Conversions

When generic vertex attributes and pixel color or depth components are represented as integers, they are often (but not always) considered to be normalized. Normalized integer values are treated specially when being converted to and from floating-point values, and are usually referred to as normalized fixed-point.

In the remainder of this section, b denotes the bit width of the fixed-point integer representation. When the integer is one of the types defined by the API, b is the bit width of that type. When the integer comes from an image containing color or depth component texels, b is the number of bits allocated to that component in its specified image format.

The signed and unsigned fixed-point representations are assumed to be b-bit binary two’s-complement integers and binary unsigned integers, respectively.

2.9.1. Conversion from Normalized Fixed-Point to Floating-Point

Unsigned normalized fixed-point integers represent numbers in the range [0,1]. The conversion from an unsigned normalized fixed-point value c to the corresponding floating-point value f is defined as

Signed normalized fixed-point integers represent numbers in the range [-1,1]. The conversion from a signed normalized fixed-point value c to the corresponding floating-point value f is performed using

Only the range [-2b-1 + 1, 2b-1 - 1] is used to represent signed fixed-point values in the range [-1,1]. For example, if b = 8, then the integer value -127 corresponds to -1.0 and the value 127 corresponds to 1.0. Note that while zero is exactly expressible in this representation, one value (-128 in the example) is outside the representable range, and must be clamped before use. This equation is used everywhere that signed normalized fixed-point values are converted to floating-point.

2.9.2. Conversion from Floating-Point to Normalized Fixed-Point

The conversion from a floating-point value f to the corresponding unsigned normalized fixed-point value c is defined by first clamping f to the range [0,1], then computing

c = convertFloatToUint(f × (2b - 1), b)

where convertFloatToUint}(r,b) returns one of the two unsigned binary integer values with exactly b bits which are closest to the floating-point value r. Implementations should round to nearest. If r is equal to an integer, then that integer value must be returned. In particular, if f is equal to 0.0 or 1.0, then c must be assigned 0 or 2b - 1, respectively.

The conversion from a floating-point value f to the corresponding signed normalized fixed-point value c is performed by clamping f to the range [-1,1], then computing

c = convertFloatToInt(f × (2b-1 - 1), b)

where convertFloatToInt(r,b) returns one of the two signed two’s-complement binary integer values with exactly b bits which are closest to the floating-point value r. Implementations should round to nearest. If r is equal to an integer, then that integer value must be returned. In particular, if f is equal to -1.0, 0.0, or 1.0, then c must be assigned -(2b-1 - 1), 0, or 2b-1 - 1, respectively.

This equation is used everywhere that floating-point values are converted to signed normalized fixed-point.

2.10. Common Object Types

Some types of Vulkan objects are used in many different structures and command parameters, and are described here. These types include offsets, extents, and rectangles.

2.10.1. Offsets

Offsets are used to describe a pixel location within an image or framebuffer, as an (x,y) location for two-dimensional images, or an (x,y,z) location for three-dimensional images.

A two-dimensional offsets is defined by the structure:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkOffset2D {
    int32_t    x;
    int32_t    y;
} VkOffset2D;

  • x is the x offset.

  • y is the y offset.

A three-dimensional offset is defined by the structure:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkOffset3D {
    int32_t    x;
    int32_t    y;
    int32_t    z;
} VkOffset3D;

  • x is the x offset.

  • y is the y offset.

  • z is the z offset.

2.10.2. Extents

Extents are used to describe the size of a rectangular region of pixels within an image or framebuffer, as (width,height) for two-dimensional images, or as (width,height,depth) for three-dimensional images.

A two-dimensional extent is defined by the structure:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkExtent2D {
    uint32_t    width;
    uint32_t    height;
} VkExtent2D;

  • width is the width of the extent.

  • height is the height of the extent.

A three-dimensional extent is defined by the structure:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkExtent3D {
    uint32_t    width;
    uint32_t    height;
    uint32_t    depth;
} VkExtent3D;

  • width is the width of the extent.

  • height is the height of the extent.

  • depth is the depth of the extent.

2.10.3. Rectangles

Rectangles are used to describe a specified rectangular region of pixels within an image or framebuffer. Rectangles include both an offset and an extent of the same dimensionality, as described above. Two-dimensional rectangles are defined by the structure

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkRect2D {
    VkOffset2D    offset;
    VkExtent2D    extent;
} VkRect2D;

  • offset is a VkOffset2D specifying the rectangle offset.

  • extent is a VkExtent2D specifying the rectangle extent.

3. Initialization

Before using Vulkan, an application must initialize it by loading the Vulkan commands, and creating a VkInstance object.

3.1. Command Function Pointers

Vulkan commands are not necessarily exposed by static linking on a platform. Commands to query function pointers for Vulkan commands are described below.

Note

When extensions are promoted or otherwise incorporated into another extension or Vulkan core version, command aliases may be included. Whilst the behavior of each command alias is identical, the behavior of retrieving each alias’s function pointer is not. A function pointer for a given alias can only be retrieved if the extension or version that introduced that alias is supported and enabled, irrespective of whether any other alias is available.

Function pointers for all Vulkan commands can be obtained with the command:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
PFN_vkVoidFunction vkGetInstanceProcAddr(
    VkInstance                                  instance,
    const char*                                 pName);

  • instance is the instance that the function pointer will be compatible with, or NULL for commands not dependent on any instance.

  • pName is the name of the command to obtain.

vkGetInstanceProcAddr itself is obtained in a platform- and loader- specific manner. Typically, the loader library will export this command as a function symbol, so applications can link against the loader library, or load it dynamically and look up the symbol using platform-specific APIs.

The table below defines the various use cases for vkGetInstanceProcAddr and expected return value (“fp” is “function pointer”) for each case.

The returned function pointer is of type PFN_vkVoidFunction, and must be cast to the type of the command being queried before use.

Table 1. vkGetInstanceProcAddr behavior
instance pName return value

*1

NULL

undefined

invalid non-NULL instance

*1

undefined

NULL

vkGetInstanceProcAddr

fp4

NULL

vkEnumerateInstanceVersion

fp

NULL

vkEnumerateInstanceExtensionProperties

fp

NULL

vkEnumerateInstanceLayerProperties

fp

NULL

vkCreateInstance

fp

instance

core Vulkan command

fp2

instance

enabled instance extension commands for instance

fp2

instance

available device extension3 commands for instance

fp2

any other case, not covered above

NULL
1

"*" means any representable value for the parameter (including valid values, invalid values, and NULL).

2

The returned function pointer must only be called with a dispatchable object (the first parameter) that is instance or a child of instance, e.g. VkInstance, VkPhysicalDevice, VkDevice, VkQueue, or VkCommandBuffer.

3

An “available device extension” is a device extension supported by any physical device enumerated by instance.

4

Starting with Vulkan 1.2, vkGetInstanceProcAddr can resolve itself with a NULL instance pointer.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-vkGetInstanceProcAddr-instance-parameter
    If instance is not NULL, instance must be a valid VkInstance handle

  • VUID-vkGetInstanceProcAddr-pName-parameter
    pName must be a null-terminated UTF-8 string

In order to support systems with multiple Vulkan implementations, the function pointers returned by vkGetInstanceProcAddr may point to dispatch code that calls a different real implementation for different VkDevice objects or their child objects. The overhead of the internal dispatch for VkDevice objects can be avoided by obtaining device-specific function pointers for any commands that use a device or device-child object as their dispatchable object. Such function pointers can be obtained with the command:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
PFN_vkVoidFunction vkGetDeviceProcAddr(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    const char*                                 pName);

The table below defines the various use cases for vkGetDeviceProcAddr and expected return value for each case.

The returned function pointer is of type PFN_vkVoidFunction, and must be cast to the type of the command being queried before use. The function pointer must only be called with a dispatchable object (the first parameter) that is device or a child of device.

Table 2. vkGetDeviceProcAddr behavior
device pName return value

NULL

*1

undefined

invalid device

*1

undefined

device

NULL

undefined

device

core device-level Vulkan command

fp2

device

enabled extension device-level commands

fp2

any other case, not covered above

NULL
1

"*" means any representable value for the parameter (including valid values, invalid values, and NULL).

2

The returned function pointer must only be called with a dispatchable object (the first parameter) that is device or a child of device e.g. VkDevice, VkQueue, or VkCommandBuffer.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

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

  • VUID-vkGetDeviceProcAddr-pName-parameter
    pName must be a null-terminated UTF-8 string

The definition of PFN_vkVoidFunction is:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef void (VKAPI_PTR *PFN_vkVoidFunction)(void);

3.1.1. Extending Physical Device Core Functionality

New core physical-device-level functionality can be used when the physical-device version is greater than or equal to the version of Vulkan that added the new functionality. The Vulkan version supported by a physical device can be obtained by calling vkGetPhysicalDeviceProperties.

3.1.2. Extending Physical Device From Device Extensions

When the [VK_KHR_get_physical_device_properties2] extension is enabled, or when both the instance and the physical-device versions are at least 1.1, physical-device-level functionality of a device extension can be used with a physical device if the corresponding extension is enumerated by vkEnumerateDeviceExtensionProperties for that physical device, even before a logical device has been created.

To obtain a function pointer for a physical-device-level command from a device extension, an application can use vkGetInstanceProcAddr. This function pointer may point to dispatch code, which calls a different real implementation for different VkPhysicalDevice objects. Applications must not use a VkPhysicalDevice in any command added by an extension or core version that is not supported by that physical device.

Device extensions may define structures that can be added to the pNext chain of physical-device-level commands.

3.2. Instances

There is no global state in Vulkan and all per-application state is stored in a VkInstance object. Creating a VkInstance object initializes the Vulkan library and allows the application to pass information about itself to the implementation.

Instances are represented by VkInstance handles:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VK_DEFINE_HANDLE(VkInstance)

To query the version of instance-level functionality supported by the implementation, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
VkResult vkEnumerateInstanceVersion(
    uint32_t*                                   pApiVersion);

  • pApiVersion is a pointer to a uint32_t, which is the version of Vulkan supported by instance-level functionality, encoded as described in Version Numbers.

Note

The intended behaviour of vkEnumerateInstanceVersion is that an implementation should not need to perform memory allocations and should unconditionally return VK_SUCCESS. The loader, and any enabled layers, may return VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY in the case of a failed memory allocation.
Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-vkEnumerateInstanceVersion-pApiVersion-parameter
    pApiVersion must be a valid pointer to a uint32_t value

Return Codes
Success

  • VK_SUCCESS

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY

To create an instance object, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VkResult vkCreateInstance(
    const VkInstanceCreateInfo*                 pCreateInfo,
    const VkAllocationCallbacks*                pAllocator,
    VkInstance*                                 pInstance);

  • pCreateInfo is a pointer to a VkInstanceCreateInfo structure controlling creation of the instance.

  • pAllocator controls host memory allocation as described in the Memory Allocation chapter.

  • pInstance points a VkInstance handle in which the resulting instance is returned.

vkCreateInstance verifies that the requested layers exist. If not, vkCreateInstance will return VK_ERROR_LAYER_NOT_PRESENT. Next vkCreateInstance verifies that the requested extensions are supported (e.g. in the implementation or in any enabled instance layer) and if any requested extension is not supported, vkCreateInstance must return VK_ERROR_EXTENSION_NOT_PRESENT. After verifying and enabling the instance layers and extensions the VkInstance object is created and returned to the application. If a requested extension is only supported by a layer, both the layer and the extension need to be specified at vkCreateInstance time for the creation to succeed.

Valid Usage
Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-vkCreateInstance-pCreateInfo-parameter
    pCreateInfo must be a valid pointer to a valid VkInstanceCreateInfo structure

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

  • VUID-vkCreateInstance-pInstance-parameter
    pInstance must be a valid pointer to a VkInstance handle

Return Codes
Success

  • VK_SUCCESS

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_INITIALIZATION_FAILED

  • VK_ERROR_LAYER_NOT_PRESENT

  • VK_ERROR_EXTENSION_NOT_PRESENT

  • VK_ERROR_INCOMPATIBLE_DRIVER

The VkInstanceCreateInfo structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkInstanceCreateInfo {
    VkStructureType             sType;
    const void*                 pNext;
    VkInstanceCreateFlags       flags;
    const VkApplicationInfo*    pApplicationInfo;
    uint32_t                    enabledLayerCount;
    const char* const*          ppEnabledLayerNames;
    uint32_t                    enabledExtensionCount;
    const char* const*          ppEnabledExtensionNames;
} VkInstanceCreateInfo;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • flags is reserved for future use.

  • pApplicationInfo is NULL or a pointer to a VkApplicationInfo structure. If not NULL, this information helps implementations recognize behavior inherent to classes of applications. VkApplicationInfo is defined in detail below.

  • enabledLayerCount is the number of global layers to enable.

  • ppEnabledLayerNames is a pointer to an array of enabledLayerCount null-terminated UTF-8 strings containing the names of layers to enable for the created instance. The layers are loaded in the order they are listed in this array, with the first array element being the closest to the application, and the last array element being the closest to the driver. See the Layers section for further details.

  • enabledExtensionCount is the number of global extensions to enable.

  • ppEnabledExtensionNames is a pointer to an array of enabledExtensionCount null-terminated UTF-8 strings containing the names of extensions to enable.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkInstanceCreateInfo-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_INSTANCE_CREATE_INFO

  • VUID-VkInstanceCreateInfo-pNext-pNext
    pNext must be NULL

  • VUID-VkInstanceCreateInfo-flags-zerobitmask
    flags must be 0

  • VUID-VkInstanceCreateInfo-pApplicationInfo-parameter
    If pApplicationInfo is not NULL, pApplicationInfo must be a valid pointer to a valid VkApplicationInfo structure

  • VUID-VkInstanceCreateInfo-ppEnabledLayerNames-parameter
    If enabledLayerCount is not 0, ppEnabledLayerNames must be a valid pointer to an array of enabledLayerCount null-terminated UTF-8 strings

  • VUID-VkInstanceCreateInfo-ppEnabledExtensionNames-parameter
    If enabledExtensionCount is not 0, ppEnabledExtensionNames must be a valid pointer to an array of enabledExtensionCount null-terminated UTF-8 strings

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef VkFlags VkInstanceCreateFlags;

VkInstanceCreateFlags is a bitmask type for setting a mask, but is currently reserved for future use.

The VkApplicationInfo structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkApplicationInfo {
    VkStructureType    sType;
    const void*        pNext;
    const char*        pApplicationName;
    uint32_t           applicationVersion;
    const char*        pEngineName;
    uint32_t           engineVersion;
    uint32_t           apiVersion;
} VkApplicationInfo;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • pApplicationName is NULL or is a pointer to a null-terminated UTF-8 string containing the name of the application.

  • applicationVersion is an unsigned integer variable containing the developer-supplied version number of the application.

  • pEngineName is NULL or is a pointer to a null-terminated UTF-8 string containing the name of the engine (if any) used to create the application.

  • engineVersion is an unsigned integer variable containing the developer-supplied version number of the engine used to create the application.

  • apiVersion must be the highest version of Vulkan that the application is designed to use, encoded as described in Version Numbers. The patch version number specified in apiVersion is ignored when creating an instance object. Only the major and minor versions of the instance must match those requested in apiVersion.

Vulkan 1.0 implementations were required to return VK_ERROR_INCOMPATIBLE_DRIVER if apiVersion was larger than 1.0. Implementations that support Vulkan 1.1 or later must not return VK_ERROR_INCOMPATIBLE_DRIVER for any value of apiVersion.

Note

Because Vulkan 1.0 implementations may fail with VK_ERROR_INCOMPATIBLE_DRIVER, applications should determine the version of Vulkan available before calling vkCreateInstance. If the vkGetInstanceProcAddr returns NULL for vkEnumerateInstanceVersion, it is a Vulkan 1.0 implementation. Otherwise, the application can call vkEnumerateInstanceVersion to determine the version of Vulkan.

As long as the instance supports at least Vulkan 1.1, an application can use different versions of Vulkan with an instance than it does with a device or physical device.

Note

The Khronos validation layers will treat apiVersion as the highest API version the application targets, and will validate API usage against the minimum of that version and the implementation version (instance or device, depending on context). If an application tries to use functionality from a greater version than this, a validation error will be triggered.

For example, if the instance supports Vulkan 1.1 and three physical devices support Vulkan 1.0, Vulkan 1.1, and Vulkan 1.2, respectively, and if the application sets apiVersion to 1.2, the application can use the following versions of Vulkan:

  • Vulkan 1.0 can be used with the instance and with all physical devices.

  • Vulkan 1.1 can be used with the instance and with the physical devices that support Vulkan 1.1 and Vulkan 1.2.

  • Vulkan 1.2 can be used with the physical device that supports Vulkan 1.2.

If we modify the above example so that the application sets apiVersion to 1.1, then the application must not use Vulkan 1.2 functionality on the physical device that supports Vulkan 1.2.

Implicit layers must be disabled if they do not support a version at least as high as apiVersion. See the Vulkan Loader Specification and Architecture Overview document for additional information.

Note

Providing a NULL VkInstanceCreateInfo::pApplicationInfo or providing an apiVersion of 0 is equivalent to providing an apiVersion of VK_MAKE_VERSION(1,0,0).
Valid Usage

  • VUID-VkApplicationInfo-apiVersion-04010
    If apiVersion is not 0, then it must be greater or equal to VK_API_VERSION_1_0

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkApplicationInfo-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_APPLICATION_INFO

  • VUID-VkApplicationInfo-pNext-pNext
    pNext must be NULL

  • VUID-VkApplicationInfo-pApplicationName-parameter
    If pApplicationName is not NULL, pApplicationName must be a null-terminated UTF-8 string

  • VUID-VkApplicationInfo-pEngineName-parameter
    If pEngineName is not NULL, pEngineName must be a null-terminated UTF-8 string

To destroy an instance, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
void vkDestroyInstance(
    VkInstance                                  instance,
    const VkAllocationCallbacks*                pAllocator);

  • instance is the handle of the instance to destroy.

  • pAllocator controls host memory allocation as described in the Memory Allocation chapter.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-vkDestroyInstance-instance-00629
    All child objects created using instance must have been destroyed prior to destroying instance

  • VUID-vkDestroyInstance-instance-00630
    If VkAllocationCallbacks were provided when instance was created, a compatible set of callbacks must be provided here

  • VUID-vkDestroyInstance-instance-00631
    If no VkAllocationCallbacks were provided when instance was created, pAllocator must be NULL

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-vkDestroyInstance-instance-parameter
    If instance is not NULL, instance must be a valid VkInstance handle

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

Host Synchronization

  • Host access to instance must be externally synchronized

  • Host access to all VkPhysicalDevice objects enumerated from instance must be externally synchronized

4. Devices and Queues

Once Vulkan is initialized, devices and queues are the primary objects used to interact with a Vulkan implementation.

Vulkan separates the concept of physical and logical devices. A physical device usually represents a single complete implementation of Vulkan (excluding instance-level functionality) available to the host, of which there are a finite number. A logical device represents an instance of that implementation with its own state and resources independent of other logical devices.

Physical devices are represented by VkPhysicalDevice handles:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VK_DEFINE_HANDLE(VkPhysicalDevice)

4.1. Physical Devices

To retrieve a list of physical device objects representing the physical devices installed in the system, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VkResult vkEnumeratePhysicalDevices(
    VkInstance                                  instance,
    uint32_t*                                   pPhysicalDeviceCount,
    VkPhysicalDevice*                           pPhysicalDevices);

  • instance is a handle to a Vulkan instance previously created with vkCreateInstance.

  • pPhysicalDeviceCount is a pointer to an integer related to the number of physical devices available or queried, as described below.

  • pPhysicalDevices is either NULL or a pointer to an array of VkPhysicalDevice handles.

If pPhysicalDevices is NULL, then the number of physical devices available is returned in pPhysicalDeviceCount. Otherwise, pPhysicalDeviceCount must point to a variable set by the user to the number of elements in the pPhysicalDevices array, and on return the variable is overwritten with the number of handles actually written to pPhysicalDevices. If pPhysicalDeviceCount is less than the number of physical devices available, at most pPhysicalDeviceCount structures will be written. If pPhysicalDeviceCount is smaller than the number of physical devices available, VK_INCOMPLETE will be returned instead of VK_SUCCESS, to indicate that not all the available physical devices were returned.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-vkEnumeratePhysicalDevices-instance-parameter
    instance must be a valid VkInstance handle

  • VUID-vkEnumeratePhysicalDevices-pPhysicalDeviceCount-parameter
    pPhysicalDeviceCount must be a valid pointer to a uint32_t value

  • VUID-vkEnumeratePhysicalDevices-pPhysicalDevices-parameter
    If the value referenced by pPhysicalDeviceCount is not 0, and pPhysicalDevices is not NULL, pPhysicalDevices must be a valid pointer to an array of pPhysicalDeviceCount VkPhysicalDevice handles

Return Codes
Success

  • VK_SUCCESS

  • VK_INCOMPLETE

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_INITIALIZATION_FAILED

To query general properties of physical devices once enumerated, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
void vkGetPhysicalDeviceProperties(
    VkPhysicalDevice                            physicalDevice,
    VkPhysicalDeviceProperties*                 pProperties);

  • physicalDevice is the handle to the physical device whose properties will be queried.

  • pProperties is a pointer to a VkPhysicalDeviceProperties structure in which properties are returned.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-vkGetPhysicalDeviceProperties-physicalDevice-parameter
    physicalDevice must be a valid VkPhysicalDevice handle

  • VUID-vkGetPhysicalDeviceProperties-pProperties-parameter
    pProperties must be a valid pointer to a VkPhysicalDeviceProperties structure

The VkPhysicalDeviceProperties structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkPhysicalDeviceProperties {
    uint32_t                            apiVersion;
    uint32_t                            driverVersion;
    uint32_t                            vendorID;
    uint32_t                            deviceID;
    VkPhysicalDeviceType                deviceType;
    char                                deviceName[VK_MAX_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_NAME_SIZE];
    uint8_t                             pipelineCacheUUID[VK_UUID_SIZE];
    VkPhysicalDeviceLimits              limits;
    VkPhysicalDeviceSparseProperties    sparseProperties;
} VkPhysicalDeviceProperties;

  • apiVersion is the version of Vulkan supported by the device, encoded as described in Version Numbers.

  • driverVersion is the vendor-specified version of the driver.

  • vendorID is a unique identifier for the vendor (see below) of the physical device.

  • deviceID is a unique identifier for the physical device among devices available from the vendor.

  • deviceType is a VkPhysicalDeviceType specifying the type of device.

  • deviceName is an array of VK_MAX_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_NAME_SIZE char containing a null-terminated UTF-8 string which is the name of the device.

  • pipelineCacheUUID is an array of VK_UUID_SIZE uint8_t values representing a universally unique identifier for the device.

  • limits is the VkPhysicalDeviceLimits structure specifying device-specific limits of the physical device. See Limits for details.

  • sparseProperties is the VkPhysicalDeviceSparseProperties structure specifying various sparse related properties of the physical device. See Sparse Properties for details.

Note

The value of apiVersion may be different than the version returned by vkEnumerateInstanceVersion; either higher or lower. In such cases, the application must not use functionality that exceeds the version of Vulkan associated with a given object. The pApiVersion parameter returned by vkEnumerateInstanceVersion is the version associated with a VkInstance and its children, except for a VkPhysicalDevice and its children. VkPhysicalDeviceProperties::apiVersion is the version associated with a VkPhysicalDevice and its children.

The vendorID and deviceID fields are provided to allow applications to adapt to device characteristics that are not adequately exposed by other Vulkan queries.

Note

These may include performance profiles, hardware errata, or other characteristics.

The vendor identified by vendorID is the entity responsible for the most salient characteristics of the underlying implementation of the VkPhysicalDevice being queried.

Note

For example, in the case of a discrete GPU implementation, this should be the GPU chipset vendor. In the case of a hardware accelerator integrated into a system-on-chip (SoC), this should be the supplier of the silicon IP used to create the accelerator.

If the vendor has a PCI vendor ID, the low 16 bits of vendorID must contain that PCI vendor ID, and the remaining bits must be set to zero. Otherwise, the value returned must be a valid Khronos vendor ID, obtained as described in the Vulkan Documentation and Extensions: Procedures and Conventions document in the section “Registering a Vendor ID with Khronos”. Khronos vendor IDs are allocated starting at 0x10000, to distinguish them from the PCI vendor ID namespace. Khronos vendor IDs are symbolically defined in the VkVendorId type.

The vendor is also responsible for the value returned in deviceID. If the implementation is driven primarily by a PCI device with a PCI device ID, the low 16 bits of deviceID must contain that PCI device ID, and the remaining bits must be set to zero. Otherwise, the choice of what values to return may be dictated by operating system or platform policies - but should uniquely identify both the device version and any major configuration options (for example, core count in the case of multicore devices).

Note

The same device ID should be used for all physical implementations of that device version and configuration. For example, all uses of a specific silicon IP GPU version and configuration should use the same device ID, even if those uses occur in different SoCs.

Khronos vendor IDs which may be returned in VkPhysicalDeviceProperties::vendorID are:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef enum VkVendorId {
    VK_VENDOR_ID_VIV = 0x10001,
    VK_VENDOR_ID_VSI = 0x10002,
    VK_VENDOR_ID_KAZAN = 0x10003,
    VK_VENDOR_ID_CODEPLAY = 0x10004,
    VK_VENDOR_ID_MESA = 0x10005,
} VkVendorId;
Note

Khronos vendor IDs may be allocated by vendors at any time. Only the latest canonical versions of this Specification, of the corresponding vk.xml API Registry, and of the corresponding vulkan_core.h header file must contain all reserved Khronos vendor IDs.

Only Khronos vendor IDs are given symbolic names at present. PCI vendor IDs returned by the implementation can be looked up in the PCI-SIG database.

The physical device types which may be returned in VkPhysicalDeviceProperties::deviceType are:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef enum VkPhysicalDeviceType {
    VK_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_TYPE_OTHER = 0,
    VK_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_TYPE_INTEGRATED_GPU = 1,
    VK_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_TYPE_DISCRETE_GPU = 2,
    VK_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_TYPE_VIRTUAL_GPU = 3,
    VK_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_TYPE_CPU = 4,
} VkPhysicalDeviceType;

  • VK_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_TYPE_OTHER - the device does not match any other available types.

  • VK_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_TYPE_INTEGRATED_GPU - the device is typically one embedded in or tightly coupled with the host.

  • VK_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_TYPE_DISCRETE_GPU - the device is typically a separate processor connected to the host via an interlink.

  • VK_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_TYPE_VIRTUAL_GPU - the device is typically a virtual node in a virtualization environment.

  • VK_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_TYPE_CPU - the device is typically running on the same processors as the host.

The physical device type is advertised for informational purposes only, and does not directly affect the operation of the system. However, the device type may correlate with other advertised properties or capabilities of the system, such as how many memory heaps there are.

To query general properties of physical devices once enumerated, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
void vkGetPhysicalDeviceProperties2(
    VkPhysicalDevice                            physicalDevice,
    VkPhysicalDeviceProperties2*                pProperties);

  • physicalDevice is the handle to the physical device whose properties will be queried.

  • pProperties is a pointer to a VkPhysicalDeviceProperties2 structure in which properties are returned.

Each structure in pProperties and its pNext chain contain members corresponding to properties or implementation-dependent limits. vkGetPhysicalDeviceProperties2 writes each member to a value indicating the value of that property or limit.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-vkGetPhysicalDeviceProperties2-physicalDevice-parameter
    physicalDevice must be a valid VkPhysicalDevice handle

  • VUID-vkGetPhysicalDeviceProperties2-pProperties-parameter
    pProperties must be a valid pointer to a VkPhysicalDeviceProperties2 structure

The VkPhysicalDeviceProperties2 structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
typedef struct VkPhysicalDeviceProperties2 {
    VkStructureType               sType;
    void*                         pNext;
    VkPhysicalDeviceProperties    properties;
} VkPhysicalDeviceProperties2;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • properties is a VkPhysicalDeviceProperties structure describing properties of the physical device. This structure is written with the same values as if it were written by vkGetPhysicalDeviceProperties.

The pNext chain of this structure is used to extend the structure with properties defined by extensions.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

To query the properties of the driver corresponding to Vulkan 1.1 functionality, add VkPhysicalDeviceVulkan11Properties to the pNext chain of the VkPhysicalDeviceProperties2 structure.

The VkPhysicalDeviceVulkan11Properties structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
typedef struct VkPhysicalDeviceVulkan11Properties {
    VkStructureType            sType;
    void*                      pNext;
    uint8_t                    deviceUUID[VK_UUID_SIZE];
    uint8_t                    driverUUID[VK_UUID_SIZE];
    uint8_t                    deviceLUID[VK_LUID_SIZE];
    uint32_t                   deviceNodeMask;
    VkBool32                   deviceLUIDValid;
    uint32_t                   subgroupSize;
    VkShaderStageFlags         subgroupSupportedStages;
    VkSubgroupFeatureFlags     subgroupSupportedOperations;
    VkBool32                   subgroupQuadOperationsInAllStages;
    VkPointClippingBehavior    pointClippingBehavior;
    uint32_t                   maxMultiviewViewCount;
    uint32_t                   maxMultiviewInstanceIndex;
    VkBool32                   protectedNoFault;
    uint32_t                   maxPerSetDescriptors;
    VkDeviceSize               maxMemoryAllocationSize;
} VkPhysicalDeviceVulkan11Properties;

  • deviceUUID is an array of VK_UUID_SIZE uint8_t values representing a universally unique identifier for the device.

  • driverUUID is an array of VK_UUID_SIZE uint8_t values representing a universally unique identifier for the driver build in use by the device.

  • deviceLUID is an array of VK_LUID_SIZE uint8_t values representing a locally unique identifier for the device.

  • deviceNodeMask is a uint32_t bitfield identifying the node within a linked device adapter corresponding to the device.

  • deviceLUIDValid is a boolean value that will be VK_TRUE if deviceLUID contains a valid LUID and deviceNodeMask contains a valid node mask, and VK_FALSE if they do not.

  • subgroupSize is the default number of invocations in each subgroup. subgroupSize is at least 1 if any of the physical device’s queues support VK_QUEUE_GRAPHICS_BIT or VK_QUEUE_COMPUTE_BIT. subgroupSize is a power-of-two.

  • subgroupSupportedStages is a bitfield of VkShaderStageFlagBits describing the shader stages that group operations with subgroup scope are supported in. subgroupSupportedStages will have the VK_SHADER_STAGE_COMPUTE_BIT bit set if any of the physical device’s queues support VK_QUEUE_COMPUTE_BIT.

  • subgroupSupportedOperations is a bitmask of VkSubgroupFeatureFlagBits specifying the sets of group operations with subgroup scope supported on this device. subgroupSupportedOperations will have the VK_SUBGROUP_FEATURE_BASIC_BIT bit set if any of the physical device’s queues support VK_QUEUE_GRAPHICS_BIT or VK_QUEUE_COMPUTE_BIT.

  • subgroupQuadOperationsInAllStages is a boolean specifying whether quad group operations are available in all stages, or are restricted to fragment and compute stages.

  • pointClippingBehavior is a VkPointClippingBehavior value specifying the point clipping behavior supported by the implementation.

  • maxMultiviewViewCount is one greater than the maximum view index that can be used in a subpass.

  • maxMultiviewInstanceIndex is the maximum valid value of instance index allowed to be generated by a drawing command recorded within a subpass of a multiview render pass instance.

  • protectedNoFault specifies the behavior of the implementation when protected memory access rules are broken. If protectedNoFault is VK_TRUE, breaking those rules will not result in process termination or device loss.

  • maxPerSetDescriptors is a maximum number of descriptors (summed over all descriptor types) in a single descriptor set that is guaranteed to satisfy any implementation-dependent constraints on the size of a descriptor set itself. Applications can query whether a descriptor set that goes beyond this limit is supported using vkGetDescriptorSetLayoutSupport.

  • maxMemoryAllocationSize is the maximum size of a memory allocation that can be created, even if there is more space available in the heap.

The members of VkPhysicalDeviceVulkan11Properties must have the same values as the corresponding members of VkPhysicalDeviceIDProperties, VkPhysicalDeviceSubgroupProperties, VkPhysicalDevicePointClippingProperties, VkPhysicalDeviceMultiviewProperties, VkPhysicalDeviceProtectedMemoryProperties, and VkPhysicalDeviceMaintenance3Properties.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkPhysicalDeviceVulkan11Properties-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_VULKAN_1_1_PROPERTIES

To query the properties of the driver corresponding to Vulkan 1.2 functionality, add VkPhysicalDeviceVulkan12Properties to the pNext chain of the VkPhysicalDeviceProperties2 structure.

The VkPhysicalDeviceVulkan12Properties structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
typedef struct VkPhysicalDeviceVulkan12Properties {
    VkStructureType                      sType;
    void*                                pNext;
    VkDriverId                           driverID;
    char                                 driverName[VK_MAX_DRIVER_NAME_SIZE];
    char                                 driverInfo[VK_MAX_DRIVER_INFO_SIZE];
    VkConformanceVersion                 conformanceVersion;
    VkShaderFloatControlsIndependence    denormBehaviorIndependence;
    VkShaderFloatControlsIndependence    roundingModeIndependence;
    VkBool32                             shaderSignedZeroInfNanPreserveFloat16;
    VkBool32                             shaderSignedZeroInfNanPreserveFloat32;
    VkBool32                             shaderSignedZeroInfNanPreserveFloat64;
    VkBool32                             shaderDenormPreserveFloat16;
    VkBool32                             shaderDenormPreserveFloat32;
    VkBool32                             shaderDenormPreserveFloat64;
    VkBool32                             shaderDenormFlushToZeroFloat16;
    VkBool32                             shaderDenormFlushToZeroFloat32;
    VkBool32                             shaderDenormFlushToZeroFloat64;
    VkBool32                             shaderRoundingModeRTEFloat16;
    VkBool32                             shaderRoundingModeRTEFloat32;
    VkBool32                             shaderRoundingModeRTEFloat64;
    VkBool32                             shaderRoundingModeRTZFloat16;
    VkBool32                             shaderRoundingModeRTZFloat32;
    VkBool32                             shaderRoundingModeRTZFloat64;
    uint32_t                             maxUpdateAfterBindDescriptorsInAllPools;
    VkBool32                             shaderUniformBufferArrayNonUniformIndexingNative;
    VkBool32                             shaderSampledImageArrayNonUniformIndexingNative;
    VkBool32                             shaderStorageBufferArrayNonUniformIndexingNative;
    VkBool32                             shaderStorageImageArrayNonUniformIndexingNative;
    VkBool32                             shaderInputAttachmentArrayNonUniformIndexingNative;
    VkBool32                             robustBufferAccessUpdateAfterBind;
    VkBool32                             quadDivergentImplicitLod;
    uint32_t                             maxPerStageDescriptorUpdateAfterBindSamplers;
    uint32_t                             maxPerStageDescriptorUpdateAfterBindUniformBuffers;
    uint32_t                             maxPerStageDescriptorUpdateAfterBindStorageBuffers;
    uint32_t                             maxPerStageDescriptorUpdateAfterBindSampledImages;
    uint32_t                             maxPerStageDescriptorUpdateAfterBindStorageImages;
    uint32_t                             maxPerStageDescriptorUpdateAfterBindInputAttachments;
    uint32_t                             maxPerStageUpdateAfterBindResources;
    uint32_t                             maxDescriptorSetUpdateAfterBindSamplers;
    uint32_t                             maxDescriptorSetUpdateAfterBindUniformBuffers;
    uint32_t                             maxDescriptorSetUpdateAfterBindUniformBuffersDynamic;
    uint32_t                             maxDescriptorSetUpdateAfterBindStorageBuffers;
    uint32_t                             maxDescriptorSetUpdateAfterBindStorageBuffersDynamic;
    uint32_t                             maxDescriptorSetUpdateAfterBindSampledImages;
    uint32_t                             maxDescriptorSetUpdateAfterBindStorageImages;
    uint32_t                             maxDescriptorSetUpdateAfterBindInputAttachments;
    VkResolveModeFlags                   supportedDepthResolveModes;
    VkResolveModeFlags                   supportedStencilResolveModes;
    VkBool32                             independentResolveNone;
    VkBool32                             independentResolve;
    VkBool32                             filterMinmaxSingleComponentFormats;
    VkBool32                             filterMinmaxImageComponentMapping;
    uint64_t                             maxTimelineSemaphoreValueDifference;
    VkSampleCountFlags                   framebufferIntegerColorSampleCounts;
} VkPhysicalDeviceVulkan12Properties;

  • driverID is a unique identifier for the driver of the physical device.

  • driverName is an array of VK_MAX_DRIVER_NAME_SIZE char containing a null-terminated UTF-8 string which is the name of the driver.

  • driverInfo is an array of VK_MAX_DRIVER_INFO_SIZE char containing a null-terminated UTF-8 string with additional information about the driver.

  • conformanceVersion is the version of the Vulkan conformance test this driver is conformant against (see VkConformanceVersion).

  • denormBehaviorIndependence is a VkShaderFloatControlsIndependence value indicating whether, and how, denorm behavior can be set independently for different bit widths.

  • roundingModeIndependence is a VkShaderFloatControlsIndependence value indicating whether, and how, rounding modes can be set independently for different bit widths.

  • shaderSignedZeroInfNanPreserveFloat16 is a boolean value indicating whether sign of a zero, Nans and can be preserved in 16-bit floating-point computations. It also indicates whether the SignedZeroInfNanPreserve execution mode can be used for 16-bit floating-point types.

  • shaderSignedZeroInfNanPreserveFloat32 is a boolean value indicating whether sign of a zero, Nans and can be preserved in 32-bit floating-point computations. It also indicates whether the SignedZeroInfNanPreserve execution mode can be used for 32-bit floating-point types.

  • shaderSignedZeroInfNanPreserveFloat64 is a boolean value indicating whether sign of a zero, Nans and can be preserved in 64-bit floating-point computations. It also indicates whether the SignedZeroInfNanPreserve execution mode can be used for 64-bit floating-point types.

  • shaderDenormPreserveFloat16 is a boolean value indicating whether denormals can be preserved in 16-bit floating-point computations. It also indicates whether the DenormPreserve execution mode can be used for 16-bit floating-point types.

  • shaderDenormPreserveFloat32 is a boolean value indicating whether denormals can be preserved in 32-bit floating-point computations. It also indicates whether the DenormPreserve execution mode can be used for 32-bit floating-point types.

  • shaderDenormPreserveFloat64 is a boolean value indicating whether denormals can be preserved in 64-bit floating-point computations. It also indicates whether the DenormPreserve execution mode can be used for 64-bit floating-point types.

  • shaderDenormFlushToZeroFloat16 is a boolean value indicating whether denormals can be flushed to zero in 16-bit floating-point computations. It also indicates whether the DenormFlushToZero execution mode can be used for 16-bit floating-point types.

  • shaderDenormFlushToZeroFloat32 is a boolean value indicating whether denormals can be flushed to zero in 32-bit floating-point computations. It also indicates whether the DenormFlushToZero execution mode can be used for 32-bit floating-point types.

  • shaderDenormFlushToZeroFloat64 is a boolean value indicating whether denormals can be flushed to zero in 64-bit floating-point computations. It also indicates whether the DenormFlushToZero execution mode can be used for 64-bit floating-point types.

  • shaderRoundingModeRTEFloat16 is a boolean value indicating whether an implementation supports the round-to-nearest-even rounding mode for 16-bit floating-point arithmetic and conversion instructions. It also indicates whether the RoundingModeRTE execution mode can be used for 16-bit floating-point types.

  • shaderRoundingModeRTEFloat32 is a boolean value indicating whether an implementation supports the round-to-nearest-even rounding mode for 32-bit floating-point arithmetic and conversion instructions. It also indicates whether the RoundingModeRTE execution mode can be used for 32-bit floating-point types.

  • shaderRoundingModeRTEFloat64 is a boolean value indicating whether an implementation supports the round-to-nearest-even rounding mode for 64-bit floating-point arithmetic and conversion instructions. It also indicates whether the RoundingModeRTE execution mode can be used for 64-bit floating-point types.

  • shaderRoundingModeRTZFloat16 is a boolean value indicating whether an implementation supports the round-towards-zero rounding mode for 16-bit floating-point arithmetic and conversion instructions. It also indicates whether the RoundingModeRTZ execution mode can be used for 16-bit floating-point types.

  • shaderRoundingModeRTZFloat32 is a boolean value indicating whether an implementation supports the round-towards-zero rounding mode for 32-bit floating-point arithmetic and conversion instructions. It also indicates whether the RoundingModeRTZ execution mode can be used for 32-bit floating-point types.

  • shaderRoundingModeRTZFloat64 is a boolean value indicating whether an implementation supports the round-towards-zero rounding mode for 64-bit floating-point arithmetic and conversion instructions. It also indicates whether the RoundingModeRTZ execution mode can be used for 64-bit floating-point types.

  • maxUpdateAfterBindDescriptorsInAllPools is the maximum number of descriptors (summed over all descriptor types) that can be created across all pools that are created with the VK_DESCRIPTOR_POOL_CREATE_UPDATE_AFTER_BIND_BIT bit set. Pool creation may fail when this limit is exceeded, or when the space this limit represents is unable to satisfy a pool creation due to fragmentation.

  • shaderUniformBufferArrayNonUniformIndexingNative is a boolean value indicating whether uniform buffer descriptors natively support nonuniform indexing. If this is VK_FALSE, then a single dynamic instance of an instruction that nonuniformly indexes an array of uniform buffers may execute multiple times in order to access all the descriptors.

  • shaderSampledImageArrayNonUniformIndexingNative is a boolean value indicating whether sampler and image descriptors natively support nonuniform indexing. If this is VK_FALSE, then a single dynamic instance of an instruction that nonuniformly indexes an array of samplers or images may execute multiple times in order to access all the descriptors.

  • shaderStorageBufferArrayNonUniformIndexingNative is a boolean value indicating whether storage buffer descriptors natively support nonuniform indexing. If this is VK_FALSE, then a single dynamic instance of an instruction that nonuniformly indexes an array of storage buffers may execute multiple times in order to access all the descriptors.

  • shaderStorageImageArrayNonUniformIndexingNative is a boolean value indicating whether storage image descriptors natively support nonuniform indexing. If this is VK_FALSE, then a single dynamic instance of an instruction that nonuniformly indexes an array of storage images may execute multiple times in order to access all the descriptors.

  • shaderInputAttachmentArrayNonUniformIndexingNative is a boolean value indicating whether input attachment descriptors natively support nonuniform indexing. If this is VK_FALSE, then a single dynamic instance of an instruction that nonuniformly indexes an array of input attachments may execute multiple times in order to access all the descriptors.

  • robustBufferAccessUpdateAfterBind is a boolean value indicating whether robustBufferAccess can be enabled in a device simultaneously with descriptorBindingUniformBufferUpdateAfterBind, descriptorBindingStorageBufferUpdateAfterBind, descriptorBindingUniformTexelBufferUpdateAfterBind, and/or descriptorBindingStorageTexelBufferUpdateAfterBind. If this is VK_FALSE, then either robustBufferAccess must be disabled or all of these update-after-bind features must be disabled.

  • quadDivergentImplicitLod is a boolean value indicating whether implicit level of detail calculations for image operations have well-defined results when the image and/or sampler objects used for the instruction are not uniform within a quad. See Derivative Image Operations.

  • maxPerStageDescriptorUpdateAfterBindSamplers is similar to maxPerStageDescriptorSamplers but counts descriptors from descriptor sets created with or without the VK_DESCRIPTOR_SET_LAYOUT_CREATE_UPDATE_AFTER_BIND_POOL_BIT bit set.

  • maxPerStageDescriptorUpdateAfterBindUniformBuffers is similar to maxPerStageDescriptorUniformBuffers but counts descriptors from descriptor sets created with or without the VK_DESCRIPTOR_SET_LAYOUT_CREATE_UPDATE_AFTER_BIND_POOL_BIT bit set.

  • maxPerStageDescriptorUpdateAfterBindStorageBuffers is similar to maxPerStageDescriptorStorageBuffers but counts descriptors from descriptor sets created with or without the VK_DESCRIPTOR_SET_LAYOUT_CREATE_UPDATE_AFTER_BIND_POOL_BIT bit set.

  • maxPerStageDescriptorUpdateAfterBindSampledImages is similar to maxPerStageDescriptorSampledImages but counts descriptors from descriptor sets created with or without the VK_DESCRIPTOR_SET_LAYOUT_CREATE_UPDATE_AFTER_BIND_POOL_BIT bit set.

  • maxPerStageDescriptorUpdateAfterBindStorageImages is similar to maxPerStageDescriptorStorageImages but counts descriptors from descriptor sets created with or without the VK_DESCRIPTOR_SET_LAYOUT_CREATE_UPDATE_AFTER_BIND_POOL_BIT bit set.

  • maxPerStageDescriptorUpdateAfterBindInputAttachments is similar to maxPerStageDescriptorInputAttachments but counts descriptors from descriptor sets created with or without the VK_DESCRIPTOR_SET_LAYOUT_CREATE_UPDATE_AFTER_BIND_POOL_BIT bit set.

  • maxPerStageUpdateAfterBindResources is similar to maxPerStageResources but counts descriptors from descriptor sets created with or without the VK_DESCRIPTOR_SET_LAYOUT_CREATE_UPDATE_AFTER_BIND_POOL_BIT bit set.

  • maxDescriptorSetUpdateAfterBindSamplers is similar to maxDescriptorSetSamplers but counts descriptors from descriptor sets created with or without the VK_DESCRIPTOR_SET_LAYOUT_CREATE_UPDATE_AFTER_BIND_POOL_BIT bit set.

  • maxDescriptorSetUpdateAfterBindUniformBuffers is similar to maxDescriptorSetUniformBuffers but counts descriptors from descriptor sets created with or without the VK_DESCRIPTOR_SET_LAYOUT_CREATE_UPDATE_AFTER_BIND_POOL_BIT bit set.

  • maxDescriptorSetUpdateAfterBindUniformBuffersDynamic is similar to maxDescriptorSetUniformBuffersDynamic but counts descriptors from descriptor sets created with or without the VK_DESCRIPTOR_SET_LAYOUT_CREATE_UPDATE_AFTER_BIND_POOL_BIT bit set.

  • maxDescriptorSetUpdateAfterBindStorageBuffers is similar to maxDescriptorSetStorageBuffers but counts descriptors from descriptor sets created with or without the VK_DESCRIPTOR_SET_LAYOUT_CREATE_UPDATE_AFTER_BIND_POOL_BIT bit set.

  • maxDescriptorSetUpdateAfterBindStorageBuffersDynamic is similar to maxDescriptorSetStorageBuffersDynamic but counts descriptors from descriptor sets created with or without the VK_DESCRIPTOR_SET_LAYOUT_CREATE_UPDATE_AFTER_BIND_POOL_BIT bit set.

  • maxDescriptorSetUpdateAfterBindSampledImages is similar to maxDescriptorSetSampledImages but counts descriptors from descriptor sets created with or without the VK_DESCRIPTOR_SET_LAYOUT_CREATE_UPDATE_AFTER_BIND_POOL_BIT bit set.

  • maxDescriptorSetUpdateAfterBindStorageImages is similar to maxDescriptorSetStorageImages but counts descriptors from descriptor sets created with or without the VK_DESCRIPTOR_SET_LAYOUT_CREATE_UPDATE_AFTER_BIND_POOL_BIT bit set.

  • maxDescriptorSetUpdateAfterBindInputAttachments is similar to maxDescriptorSetInputAttachments but counts descriptors from descriptor sets created with or without the VK_DESCRIPTOR_SET_LAYOUT_CREATE_UPDATE_AFTER_BIND_POOL_BIT bit set.

  • supportedDepthResolveModes is a bitmask of VkResolveModeFlagBits indicating the set of supported depth resolve modes. VK_RESOLVE_MODE_SAMPLE_ZERO_BIT must be included in the set but implementations may support additional modes.

  • supportedStencilResolveModes is a bitmask of VkResolveModeFlagBits indicating the set of supported stencil resolve modes. VK_RESOLVE_MODE_SAMPLE_ZERO_BIT must be included in the set but implementations may support additional modes. VK_RESOLVE_MODE_AVERAGE_BIT must not be included in the set.

  • independentResolveNone is VK_TRUE if the implementation supports setting the depth and stencil resolve modes to different values when one of those modes is VK_RESOLVE_MODE_NONE. Otherwise the implementation only supports setting both modes to the same value.

  • independentResolve is VK_TRUE if the implementation supports all combinations of the supported depth and stencil resolve modes, including setting either depth or stencil resolve mode to VK_RESOLVE_MODE_NONE. An implementation that supports independentResolve must also support independentResolveNone.

  • filterMinmaxSingleComponentFormats is a boolean value indicating whether a minimum set of required formats support min/max filtering.

  • filterMinmaxImageComponentMapping is a boolean value indicating whether the implementation supports non-identity component mapping of the image when doing min/max filtering.

  • maxTimelineSemaphoreValueDifference indicates the maximum difference allowed by the implementation between the current value of a timeline semaphore and any pending signal or wait operations.

  • framebufferIntegerColorSampleCounts is a bitmask of VkSampleCountFlagBits indicating the color sample counts that are supported for all framebuffer color attachments with integer formats.

The members of VkPhysicalDeviceVulkan12Properties must have the same values as the corresponding members of VkPhysicalDeviceDriverProperties, VkPhysicalDeviceFloatControlsProperties, VkPhysicalDeviceDescriptorIndexingProperties, VkPhysicalDeviceDepthStencilResolveProperties, VkPhysicalDeviceSamplerFilterMinmaxProperties, and VkPhysicalDeviceTimelineSemaphoreProperties.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkPhysicalDeviceVulkan12Properties-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_VULKAN_1_2_PROPERTIES

To query the UUID and LUID of a device, add a VkPhysicalDeviceIDProperties structure to the pNext chain of the VkPhysicalDeviceProperties2 structure. The VkPhysicalDeviceIDProperties structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
typedef struct VkPhysicalDeviceIDProperties {
    VkStructureType    sType;
    void*              pNext;
    uint8_t            deviceUUID[VK_UUID_SIZE];
    uint8_t            driverUUID[VK_UUID_SIZE];
    uint8_t            deviceLUID[VK_LUID_SIZE];
    uint32_t           deviceNodeMask;
    VkBool32           deviceLUIDValid;
} VkPhysicalDeviceIDProperties;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • deviceUUID is an array of VK_UUID_SIZE uint8_t values representing a universally unique identifier for the device.

  • driverUUID is an array of VK_UUID_SIZE uint8_t values representing a universally unique identifier for the driver build in use by the device.

  • deviceLUID is an array of VK_LUID_SIZE uint8_t values representing a locally unique identifier for the device.

  • deviceNodeMask is a uint32_t bitfield identifying the node within a linked device adapter corresponding to the device.

  • deviceLUIDValid is a boolean value that will be VK_TRUE if deviceLUID contains a valid LUID and deviceNodeMask contains a valid node mask, and VK_FALSE if they do not.

deviceUUID must be immutable for a given device across instances, processes, driver APIs, driver versions, and system reboots.

Applications can compare the driverUUID value across instance and process boundaries, and can make similar queries in external APIs to determine whether they are capable of sharing memory objects and resources using them with the device.

deviceUUID and/or driverUUID must be used to determine whether a particular external object can be shared between driver components, where such a restriction exists as defined in the compatibility table for the particular object type:

If deviceLUIDValid is VK_FALSE, the values of deviceLUID and deviceNodeMask are undefined. If deviceLUIDValid is VK_TRUE and Vulkan is running on the Windows operating system, the contents of deviceLUID can be cast to an LUID object and must be equal to the locally unique identifier of a IDXGIAdapter1 object that corresponds to physicalDevice. If deviceLUIDValid is VK_TRUE, deviceNodeMask must contain exactly one bit. If Vulkan is running on an operating system that supports the Direct3D 12 API and physicalDevice corresponds to an individual device in a linked device adapter, deviceNodeMask identifies the Direct3D 12 node corresponding to physicalDevice. Otherwise, deviceNodeMask must be 1.

Note

Although they have identical descriptions, VkPhysicalDeviceIDProperties::deviceUUID may differ from VkPhysicalDeviceProperties2::pipelineCacheUUID. The former is intended to identify and correlate devices across API and driver boundaries, while the latter is used to identify a compatible device and driver combination to use when serializing and de-serializing pipeline state.

Implementations should return deviceUUID values which are likely to be unique even in the presence of multiple Vulkan implementations (such as a GPU driver and a software renderer; two drivers for different GPUs; or the same Vulkan driver running on two logically different devices).

Khronos' conformance testing can not guarantee that deviceUUID values are actually unique, so implementors should make their own best efforts to ensure this. In particular, hard-coded deviceUUID values, especially all-0 bits, should never be used.

A combination of values unique to the vendor, the driver, and the hardware environment can be used to provide a deviceUUID which is unique to a high degree of certainty. Some possible inputs to such a computation are:

  • Information reported by vkGetPhysicalDeviceProperties

  • PCI device ID (if defined)

  • PCI bus ID, or similar system configuration information.

  • Driver binary checksums.
Note

While VkPhysicalDeviceIDProperties::deviceUUID is specified to remain consistent across driver versions and system reboots, it is not intended to be usable as a serializable persistent identifier for a device. It may change when a device is physically added to, removed from, or moved to a different connector in a system while that system is powered down. Further, there is no reasonable way to verify with conformance testing that a given device retains the same UUID in a given system across all driver versions supported in that system. While implementations should make every effort to report consistent device UUIDs across driver versions, applications should avoid relying on the persistence of this value for uses other than identifying compatible devices for external object sharing purposes.
Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkPhysicalDeviceIDProperties-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_ID_PROPERTIES

To query the properties of the driver corresponding to a physical device, add a VkPhysicalDeviceDriverProperties structure to the pNext chain of the VkPhysicalDeviceProperties2 structure. The VkPhysicalDeviceDriverProperties structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
typedef struct VkPhysicalDeviceDriverProperties {
    VkStructureType         sType;
    void*                   pNext;
    VkDriverId              driverID;
    char                    driverName[VK_MAX_DRIVER_NAME_SIZE];
    char                    driverInfo[VK_MAX_DRIVER_INFO_SIZE];
    VkConformanceVersion    conformanceVersion;
} VkPhysicalDeviceDriverProperties;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • driverID is a unique identifier for the driver of the physical device.

  • driverName is an array of VK_MAX_DRIVER_NAME_SIZE char containing a null-terminated UTF-8 string which is the name of the driver.

  • driverInfo is an array of VK_MAX_DRIVER_INFO_SIZE char containing a null-terminated UTF-8 string with additional information about the driver.

  • conformanceVersion is the version of the Vulkan conformance test this driver is conformant against (see VkConformanceVersion).

driverID must be immutable for a given driver across instances, processes, driver versions, and system reboots.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkPhysicalDeviceDriverProperties-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_DRIVER_PROPERTIES

Khronos driver IDs which may be returned in VkPhysicalDeviceDriverProperties::driverID are:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
typedef enum VkDriverId {
    VK_DRIVER_ID_AMD_PROPRIETARY = 1,
    VK_DRIVER_ID_AMD_OPEN_SOURCE = 2,
    VK_DRIVER_ID_MESA_RADV = 3,
    VK_DRIVER_ID_NVIDIA_PROPRIETARY = 4,
    VK_DRIVER_ID_INTEL_PROPRIETARY_WINDOWS = 5,
    VK_DRIVER_ID_INTEL_OPEN_SOURCE_MESA = 6,
    VK_DRIVER_ID_IMAGINATION_PROPRIETARY = 7,
    VK_DRIVER_ID_QUALCOMM_PROPRIETARY = 8,
    VK_DRIVER_ID_ARM_PROPRIETARY = 9,
    VK_DRIVER_ID_GOOGLE_SWIFTSHADER = 10,
    VK_DRIVER_ID_GGP_PROPRIETARY = 11,
    VK_DRIVER_ID_BROADCOM_PROPRIETARY = 12,
    VK_DRIVER_ID_MESA_LLVMPIPE = 13,
    VK_DRIVER_ID_MOLTENVK = 14,
} VkDriverId;
Note

Khronos driver IDs may be allocated by vendors at any time. There may be multiple driver IDs for the same vendor, representing different drivers (for e.g. different platforms, proprietary or open source, etc.). Only the latest canonical versions of this Specification, of the corresponding vk.xml API Registry, and of the corresponding vulkan_core.h header file must contain all reserved Khronos driver IDs.

Only driver IDs registered with Khronos are given symbolic names. There may be unregistered driver IDs returned.

The conformance test suite version an implementation is compliant with is described with the VkConformanceVersion structure:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
typedef struct VkConformanceVersion {
    uint8_t    major;
    uint8_t    minor;
    uint8_t    subminor;
    uint8_t    patch;
} VkConformanceVersion;

  • major is the major version number of the conformance test suite.

  • minor is the minor version number of the conformance test suite.

  • subminor is the subminor version number of the conformance test suite.

  • patch is the patch version number of the conformance test suite.

To query properties of queues available on a physical device, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
void vkGetPhysicalDeviceQueueFamilyProperties(
    VkPhysicalDevice                            physicalDevice,
    uint32_t*                                   pQueueFamilyPropertyCount,
    VkQueueFamilyProperties*                    pQueueFamilyProperties);

  • physicalDevice is the handle to the physical device whose properties will be queried.

  • pQueueFamilyPropertyCount is a pointer to an integer related to the number of queue families available or queried, as described below.

  • pQueueFamilyProperties is either NULL or a pointer to an array of VkQueueFamilyProperties structures.

If pQueueFamilyProperties is NULL, then the number of queue families available is returned in pQueueFamilyPropertyCount. Implementations must support at least one queue family. Otherwise, pQueueFamilyPropertyCount must point to a variable set by the user to the number of elements in the pQueueFamilyProperties array, and on return the variable is overwritten with the number of structures actually written to pQueueFamilyProperties. If pQueueFamilyPropertyCount is less than the number of queue families available, at most pQueueFamilyPropertyCount structures will be written.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-vkGetPhysicalDeviceQueueFamilyProperties-physicalDevice-parameter
    physicalDevice must be a valid VkPhysicalDevice handle

  • VUID-vkGetPhysicalDeviceQueueFamilyProperties-pQueueFamilyPropertyCount-parameter
    pQueueFamilyPropertyCount must be a valid pointer to a uint32_t value

  • VUID-vkGetPhysicalDeviceQueueFamilyProperties-pQueueFamilyProperties-parameter
    If the value referenced by pQueueFamilyPropertyCount is not 0, and pQueueFamilyProperties is not NULL, pQueueFamilyProperties must be a valid pointer to an array of pQueueFamilyPropertyCount VkQueueFamilyProperties structures

The VkQueueFamilyProperties structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkQueueFamilyProperties {
    VkQueueFlags    queueFlags;
    uint32_t        queueCount;
    uint32_t        timestampValidBits;
    VkExtent3D      minImageTransferGranularity;
} VkQueueFamilyProperties;

  • queueFlags is a bitmask of VkQueueFlagBits indicating capabilities of the queues in this queue family.

  • queueCount is the unsigned integer count of queues in this queue family. Each queue family must support at least one queue.

  • timestampValidBits is the unsigned integer count of meaningful bits in the timestamps written via vkCmdWriteTimestamp. The valid range for the count is 36..64 bits, or a value of 0, indicating no support for timestamps. Bits outside the valid range are guaranteed to be zeros.

  • minImageTransferGranularity is the minimum granularity supported for image transfer operations on the queues in this queue family.

The value returned in minImageTransferGranularity has a unit of compressed texel blocks for images having a block-compressed format, and a unit of texels otherwise.

Possible values of minImageTransferGranularity are:

  • (0,0,0) which indicates that only whole mip levels must be transferred using the image transfer operations on the corresponding queues. In this case, the following restrictions apply to all offset and extent parameters of image transfer operations:

    • The x, y, and z members of a VkOffset3D parameter must always be zero.

    • The width, height, and depth members of a VkExtent3D parameter must always match the width, height, and depth of the image subresource corresponding to the parameter, respectively.

  • (Ax, Ay, Az) where Ax, Ay, and Az are all integer powers of two. In this case the following restrictions apply to all image transfer operations:

    • x, y, and z of a VkOffset3D parameter must be integer multiples of Ax, Ay, and Az, respectively.

    • width of a VkExtent3D parameter must be an integer multiple of Ax, or else x + width must equal the width of the image subresource corresponding to the parameter.

    • height of a VkExtent3D parameter must be an integer multiple of Ay, or else y + height must equal the height of the image subresource corresponding to the parameter.

    • depth of a VkExtent3D parameter must be an integer multiple of Az, or else z + depth must equal the depth of the image subresource corresponding to the parameter.

    • If the format of the image corresponding to the parameters is one of the block-compressed formats then for the purposes of the above calculations the granularity must be scaled up by the compressed texel block dimensions.

Queues supporting graphics and/or compute operations must report (1,1,1) in minImageTransferGranularity, meaning that there are no additional restrictions on the granularity of image transfer operations for these queues. Other queues supporting image transfer operations are only required to support whole mip level transfers, thus minImageTransferGranularity for queues belonging to such queue families may be (0,0,0).

The Device Memory section describes memory properties queried from the physical device.

For physical device feature queries see the Features chapter.

Bits which may be set in VkQueueFamilyProperties::queueFlags indicating capabilities of queues in a queue family are:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef enum VkQueueFlagBits {
    VK_QUEUE_GRAPHICS_BIT = 0x00000001,
    VK_QUEUE_COMPUTE_BIT = 0x00000002,
    VK_QUEUE_TRANSFER_BIT = 0x00000004,
    VK_QUEUE_SPARSE_BINDING_BIT = 0x00000008,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_QUEUE_PROTECTED_BIT = 0x00000010,
} VkQueueFlagBits;

  • VK_QUEUE_GRAPHICS_BIT specifies that queues in this queue family support graphics operations.

  • VK_QUEUE_COMPUTE_BIT specifies that queues in this queue family support compute operations.

  • VK_QUEUE_TRANSFER_BIT specifies that queues in this queue family support transfer operations.

  • VK_QUEUE_SPARSE_BINDING_BIT specifies that queues in this queue family support sparse memory management operations (see Sparse Resources). If any of the sparse resource features are enabled, then at least one queue family must support this bit.

  • if VK_QUEUE_PROTECTED_BIT is set, then the queues in this queue family support the VK_DEVICE_QUEUE_CREATE_PROTECTED_BIT bit. (see Protected Memory). If the physical device supports the protectedMemory feature, at least one of its queue families must support this bit.

If an implementation exposes any queue family that supports graphics operations, at least one queue family of at least one physical device exposed by the implementation must support both graphics and compute operations.

Furthermore, if the protected memory physical device feature is supported, then at least one queue family of at least one physical device exposed by the implementation must support graphics operations, compute operations, and protected memory operations.

Note

All commands that are allowed on a queue that supports transfer operations are also allowed on a queue that supports either graphics or compute operations. Thus, if the capabilities of a queue family include VK_QUEUE_GRAPHICS_BIT or VK_QUEUE_COMPUTE_BIT, then reporting the VK_QUEUE_TRANSFER_BIT capability separately for that queue family is optional.

For further details see Queues.

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef VkFlags VkQueueFlags;

VkQueueFlags is a bitmask type for setting a mask of zero or more VkQueueFlagBits.

To query properties of queues available on a physical device, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
void vkGetPhysicalDeviceQueueFamilyProperties2(
    VkPhysicalDevice                            physicalDevice,
    uint32_t*                                   pQueueFamilyPropertyCount,
    VkQueueFamilyProperties2*                   pQueueFamilyProperties);

  • physicalDevice is the handle to the physical device whose properties will be queried.

  • pQueueFamilyPropertyCount is a pointer to an integer related to the number of queue families available or queried, as described in vkGetPhysicalDeviceQueueFamilyProperties.

  • pQueueFamilyProperties is either NULL or a pointer to an array of VkQueueFamilyProperties2 structures.

vkGetPhysicalDeviceQueueFamilyProperties2 behaves similarly to vkGetPhysicalDeviceQueueFamilyProperties, with the ability to return extended information in a pNext chain of output structures.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-vkGetPhysicalDeviceQueueFamilyProperties2-physicalDevice-parameter
    physicalDevice must be a valid VkPhysicalDevice handle

  • VUID-vkGetPhysicalDeviceQueueFamilyProperties2-pQueueFamilyPropertyCount-parameter
    pQueueFamilyPropertyCount must be a valid pointer to a uint32_t value

  • VUID-vkGetPhysicalDeviceQueueFamilyProperties2-pQueueFamilyProperties-parameter
    If the value referenced by pQueueFamilyPropertyCount is not 0, and pQueueFamilyProperties is not NULL, pQueueFamilyProperties must be a valid pointer to an array of pQueueFamilyPropertyCount VkQueueFamilyProperties2 structures

The VkQueueFamilyProperties2 structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
typedef struct VkQueueFamilyProperties2 {
    VkStructureType            sType;
    void*                      pNext;
    VkQueueFamilyProperties    queueFamilyProperties;
} VkQueueFamilyProperties2;
Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkQueueFamilyProperties2-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_QUEUE_FAMILY_PROPERTIES_2

  • VUID-VkQueueFamilyProperties2-pNext-pNext
    pNext must be NULL

4.2. Devices

Device objects represent logical connections to physical devices. Each device exposes a number of queue families each having one or more queues. All queues in a queue family support the same operations.

As described in Physical Devices, a Vulkan application will first query for all physical devices in a system. Each physical device can then be queried for its capabilities, including its queue and queue family properties. Once an acceptable physical device is identified, an application will create a corresponding logical device. An application must create a separate logical device for each physical device it will use. The created logical device is then the primary interface to the physical device.

How to enumerate the physical devices in a system and query those physical devices for their queue family properties is described in the Physical Device Enumeration section above.

A single logical device can also be created from multiple physical devices, if those physical devices belong to the same device group. A device group is a set of physical devices that support accessing each other’s memory and recording a single command buffer that can be executed on all the physical devices. Device groups are enumerated by calling vkEnumeratePhysicalDeviceGroups, and a logical device is created from a subset of the physical devices in a device group by passing the physical devices through VkDeviceGroupDeviceCreateInfo. For two physical devices to be in the same device group, they must support identical extensions, features, and properties.

Note

Physical devices in the same device group must be so similar because there are no rules for how different features/properties would interact. They must return the same values for nearly every invariant vkGetPhysicalDevice* feature, property, capability, etc., but could potentially differ for certain queries based on things like having a different display connected, or different compositor, etc.. The specification does not attempt to enumerate which state is in each category, because such a list would quickly become out of date.

To retrieve a list of the device groups present in the system, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
VkResult vkEnumeratePhysicalDeviceGroups(
    VkInstance                                  instance,
    uint32_t*                                   pPhysicalDeviceGroupCount,
    VkPhysicalDeviceGroupProperties*            pPhysicalDeviceGroupProperties);

  • instance is a handle to a Vulkan instance previously created with vkCreateInstance.

  • pPhysicalDeviceGroupCount is a pointer to an integer related to the number of device groups available or queried, as described below.

  • pPhysicalDeviceGroupProperties is either NULL or a pointer to an array of VkPhysicalDeviceGroupProperties structures.

If pPhysicalDeviceGroupProperties is NULL, then the number of device groups available is returned in pPhysicalDeviceGroupCount. Otherwise, pPhysicalDeviceGroupCount must point to a variable set by the user to the number of elements in the pPhysicalDeviceGroupProperties array, and on return the variable is overwritten with the number of structures actually written to pPhysicalDeviceGroupProperties. If pPhysicalDeviceGroupCount is less than the number of device groups available, at most pPhysicalDeviceGroupCount structures will be written. If pPhysicalDeviceGroupCount is smaller than the number of device groups available, VK_INCOMPLETE will be returned instead of VK_SUCCESS, to indicate that not all the available device groups were returned.

Every physical device must be in exactly one device group.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-vkEnumeratePhysicalDeviceGroups-instance-parameter
    instance must be a valid VkInstance handle

  • VUID-vkEnumeratePhysicalDeviceGroups-pPhysicalDeviceGroupCount-parameter
    pPhysicalDeviceGroupCount must be a valid pointer to a uint32_t value

  • VUID-vkEnumeratePhysicalDeviceGroups-pPhysicalDeviceGroupProperties-parameter
    If the value referenced by pPhysicalDeviceGroupCount is not 0, and pPhysicalDeviceGroupProperties is not NULL, pPhysicalDeviceGroupProperties must be a valid pointer to an array of pPhysicalDeviceGroupCount VkPhysicalDeviceGroupProperties structures

Return Codes
Success

  • VK_SUCCESS

  • VK_INCOMPLETE

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_INITIALIZATION_FAILED

The VkPhysicalDeviceGroupProperties structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
typedef struct VkPhysicalDeviceGroupProperties {
    VkStructureType     sType;
    void*               pNext;
    uint32_t            physicalDeviceCount;
    VkPhysicalDevice    physicalDevices[VK_MAX_DEVICE_GROUP_SIZE];
    VkBool32            subsetAllocation;
} VkPhysicalDeviceGroupProperties;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • physicalDeviceCount is the number of physical devices in the group.

  • physicalDevices is an array of VK_MAX_DEVICE_GROUP_SIZE VkPhysicalDevice handles representing all physical devices in the group. The first physicalDeviceCount elements of the array will be valid.

  • subsetAllocation specifies whether logical devices created from the group support allocating device memory on a subset of devices, via the deviceMask member of the VkMemoryAllocateFlagsInfo. If this is VK_FALSE, then all device memory allocations are made across all physical devices in the group. If physicalDeviceCount is 1, then subsetAllocation must be VK_FALSE.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkPhysicalDeviceGroupProperties-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_GROUP_PROPERTIES

  • VUID-VkPhysicalDeviceGroupProperties-pNext-pNext
    pNext must be NULL

4.2.1. Device Creation

Logical devices are represented by VkDevice handles:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VK_DEFINE_HANDLE(VkDevice)

A logical device is created as a connection to a physical device. To create a logical device, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VkResult vkCreateDevice(
    VkPhysicalDevice                            physicalDevice,
    const VkDeviceCreateInfo*                   pCreateInfo,
    const VkAllocationCallbacks*                pAllocator,
    VkDevice*                                   pDevice);

  • physicalDevice must be one of the device handles returned from a call to vkEnumeratePhysicalDevices (see Physical Device Enumeration).

  • pCreateInfo is a pointer to a VkDeviceCreateInfo structure containing information about how to create the device.

  • pAllocator controls host memory allocation as described in the Memory Allocation chapter.

  • pDevice is a pointer to a handle in which the created VkDevice is returned.

vkCreateDevice verifies that extensions and features requested in the ppEnabledExtensionNames and pEnabledFeatures members of pCreateInfo, respectively, are supported by the implementation. If any requested extension is not supported, vkCreateDevice must return VK_ERROR_EXTENSION_NOT_PRESENT. If any requested feature is not supported, vkCreateDevice must return VK_ERROR_FEATURE_NOT_PRESENT. Support for extensions can be checked before creating a device by querying vkEnumerateDeviceExtensionProperties. Support for features can similarly be checked by querying vkGetPhysicalDeviceFeatures.

After verifying and enabling the extensions the VkDevice object is created and returned to the application. If a requested extension is only supported by a layer, both the layer and the extension need to be specified at vkCreateInstance time for the creation to succeed.

Multiple logical devices can be created from the same physical device. Logical device creation may fail due to lack of device-specific resources (in addition to the other errors). If that occurs, vkCreateDevice will return VK_ERROR_TOO_MANY_OBJECTS.

Valid Usage
Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-vkCreateDevice-physicalDevice-parameter
    physicalDevice must be a valid VkPhysicalDevice handle

  • VUID-vkCreateDevice-pCreateInfo-parameter
    pCreateInfo must be a valid pointer to a valid VkDeviceCreateInfo structure

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

  • VUID-vkCreateDevice-pDevice-parameter
    pDevice must be a valid pointer to a VkDevice handle

Return Codes
Success

  • VK_SUCCESS

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_INITIALIZATION_FAILED

  • VK_ERROR_EXTENSION_NOT_PRESENT

  • VK_ERROR_FEATURE_NOT_PRESENT

  • VK_ERROR_TOO_MANY_OBJECTS

  • VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST

The VkDeviceCreateInfo structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkDeviceCreateInfo {
    VkStructureType                    sType;
    const void*                        pNext;
    VkDeviceCreateFlags                flags;
    uint32_t                           queueCreateInfoCount;
    const VkDeviceQueueCreateInfo*     pQueueCreateInfos;
    uint32_t                           enabledLayerCount;
    const char* const*                 ppEnabledLayerNames;
    uint32_t                           enabledExtensionCount;
    const char* const*                 ppEnabledExtensionNames;
    const VkPhysicalDeviceFeatures*    pEnabledFeatures;
} VkDeviceCreateInfo;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • flags is reserved for future use.

  • queueCreateInfoCount is the unsigned integer size of the pQueueCreateInfos array. Refer to the Queue Creation section below for further details.

  • pQueueCreateInfos is a pointer to an array of VkDeviceQueueCreateInfo structures describing the queues that are requested to be created along with the logical device. Refer to the Queue Creation section below for further details.

  • enabledLayerCount is deprecated and ignored.

  • ppEnabledLayerNames is deprecated and ignored. See Device Layer Deprecation.

  • enabledExtensionCount is the number of device extensions to enable.

  • ppEnabledExtensionNames is a pointer to an array of enabledExtensionCount null-terminated UTF-8 strings containing the names of extensions to enable for the created device. See the Extensions section for further details.

  • pEnabledFeatures is NULL or a pointer to a VkPhysicalDeviceFeatures structure containing boolean indicators of all the features to be enabled. Refer to the Features section for further details.

Valid Usage
Valid Usage (Implicit)
// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef VkFlags VkDeviceCreateFlags;

VkDeviceCreateFlags is a bitmask type for setting a mask, but is currently reserved for future use.

A logical device can be created that connects to one or more physical devices by adding a VkDeviceGroupDeviceCreateInfo structure to the pNext chain of VkDeviceCreateInfo. The VkDeviceGroupDeviceCreateInfo structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
typedef struct VkDeviceGroupDeviceCreateInfo {
    VkStructureType            sType;
    const void*                pNext;
    uint32_t                   physicalDeviceCount;
    const VkPhysicalDevice*    pPhysicalDevices;
} VkDeviceGroupDeviceCreateInfo;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • physicalDeviceCount is the number of elements in the pPhysicalDevices array.

  • pPhysicalDevices is a pointer to an array of physical device handles belonging to the same device group.

The elements of the pPhysicalDevices array are an ordered list of the physical devices that the logical device represents. These must be a subset of a single device group, and need not be in the same order as they were enumerated. The order of the physical devices in the pPhysicalDevices array determines the device index of each physical device, with element i being assigned a device index of i. Certain commands and structures refer to one or more physical devices by using device indices or device masks formed using device indices.

A logical device created without using VkDeviceGroupDeviceCreateInfo, or with physicalDeviceCount equal to zero, is equivalent to a physicalDeviceCount of one and pPhysicalDevices pointing to the physicalDevice parameter to vkCreateDevice. In particular, the device index of that physical device is zero.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-VkDeviceGroupDeviceCreateInfo-pPhysicalDevices-00375
    Each element of pPhysicalDevices must be unique

  • VUID-VkDeviceGroupDeviceCreateInfo-pPhysicalDevices-00376
    All elements of pPhysicalDevices must be in the same device group as enumerated by vkEnumeratePhysicalDeviceGroups

  • VUID-VkDeviceGroupDeviceCreateInfo-physicalDeviceCount-00377
    If physicalDeviceCount is not 0, the physicalDevice parameter of vkCreateDevice must be an element of pPhysicalDevices

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkDeviceGroupDeviceCreateInfo-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DEVICE_GROUP_DEVICE_CREATE_INFO

  • VUID-VkDeviceGroupDeviceCreateInfo-pPhysicalDevices-parameter
    If physicalDeviceCount is not 0, pPhysicalDevices must be a valid pointer to an array of physicalDeviceCount valid VkPhysicalDevice handles

4.2.2. Device Use

The following is a high-level list of VkDevice uses along with references on where to find more information:

4.2.3. Lost Device

A logical device may become lost for a number of implementation-specific reasons, indicating that pending and future command execution may fail and cause resources and backing memory to become undefined.

Note

Typical reasons for device loss will include things like execution timing out (to prevent denial of service), power management events, platform resource management, implementation errors.

Applications not adhering to valid usage may also result in device loss being reported, however this is not guaranteed. Even if device loss is reported, the system may be in an unrecoverable state, and further usage of the API is still considered invalid.

When this happens, certain commands will return VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST. After any such event, the logical device is considered lost. It is not possible to reset the logical device to a non-lost state, however the lost state is specific to a logical device (VkDevice), and the corresponding physical device (VkPhysicalDevice) may be otherwise unaffected.

In some cases, the physical device may also be lost, and attempting to create a new logical device will fail, returning VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST. This is usually indicative of a problem with the underlying implementation, or its connection to the host. If the physical device has not been lost, and a new logical device is successfully created from that physical device, it must be in the non-lost state.

Note

Whilst logical device loss may be recoverable, in the case of physical device loss, it is unlikely that an application will be able to recover unless additional, unaffected physical devices exist on the system. The error is largely informational and intended only to inform the user that a platform issue has occurred, and should be investigated further. For example, underlying hardware may have developed a fault or become physically disconnected from the rest of the system. In many cases, physical device loss may cause other more serious issues such as the operating system crashing; in which case it may not be reported via the Vulkan API.

When a device is lost, its child objects are not implicitly destroyed and their handles are still valid. Those objects must still be destroyed before their parents or the device can be destroyed (see the Object Lifetime section). The host address space corresponding to device memory mapped using vkMapMemory is still valid, and host memory accesses to these mapped regions are still valid, but the contents are undefined. It is still legal to call any API command on the device and child objects.

Once a device is lost, command execution may fail, and commands that return a VkResult may return VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST. Commands that do not allow runtime errors must still operate correctly for valid usage and, if applicable, return valid data.

Commands that wait indefinitely for device execution (namely vkDeviceWaitIdle, vkQueueWaitIdle, vkWaitForFences with a maximum timeout, and vkGetQueryPoolResults with the VK_QUERY_RESULT_WAIT_BIT bit set in flags) must return in finite time even in the case of a lost device, and return either VK_SUCCESS or VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST. For any command that may return VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST, for the purpose of determining whether a command buffer is in the pending state, or whether resources are considered in-use by the device, a return value of VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST is equivalent to VK_SUCCESS.

The content of any external memory objects that have been exported from or imported to a lost device become undefined. Objects on other logical devices or in other APIs which are associated with the same underlying memory resource as the external memory objects on the lost device are unaffected other than their content becoming undefined. The layout of subresources of images on other logical devices that are bound to VkDeviceMemory objects associated with the same underlying memory resources as external memory objects on the lost device becomes VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_UNDEFINED.

The state of VkSemaphore objects on other logical devices created by importing a semaphore payload with temporary permanence which was exported from the lost device is undefined. The state of VkSemaphore objects on other logical devices that permanently share a semaphore payload with a VkSemaphore object on the lost device is undefined, and remains undefined following any subsequent signal operations. Implementations must ensure pending and subsequently submitted wait operations on such semaphores behave as defined in Semaphore State Requirements For Wait Operations for external semaphores not in a valid state for a wait operation.

4.2.4. Device Destruction

To destroy a device, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
void vkDestroyDevice(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    const VkAllocationCallbacks*                pAllocator);

  • device is the logical device to destroy.

  • pAllocator controls host memory allocation as described in the Memory Allocation chapter.

To ensure that no work is active on the device, vkDeviceWaitIdle can be used to gate the destruction of the device. Prior to destroying a device, an application is responsible for destroying/freeing any Vulkan objects that were created using that device as the first parameter of the corresponding vkCreate* or vkAllocate* command.

Note

The lifetime of each of these objects is bound by the lifetime of the VkDevice object. Therefore, to avoid resource leaks, it is critical that an application explicitly free all of these resources prior to calling vkDestroyDevice.
Valid Usage

  • VUID-vkDestroyDevice-device-00378
    All child objects created on device must have been destroyed prior to destroying device

  • VUID-vkDestroyDevice-device-00379
    If VkAllocationCallbacks were provided when device was created, a compatible set of callbacks must be provided here

  • VUID-vkDestroyDevice-device-00380
    If no VkAllocationCallbacks were provided when device was created, pAllocator must be NULL

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-vkDestroyDevice-device-parameter
    If device is not NULL, device must be a valid VkDevice handle

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

Host Synchronization

  • Host access to device must be externally synchronized

  • Host access to all VkQueue objects received from device must be externally synchronized

4.3. Queues

4.3.1. Queue Family Properties

As discussed in the Physical Device Enumeration section above, the vkGetPhysicalDeviceQueueFamilyProperties command is used to retrieve details about the queue families and queues supported by a device.

Each index in the pQueueFamilyProperties array returned by vkGetPhysicalDeviceQueueFamilyProperties describes a unique queue family on that physical device. These indices are used when creating queues, and they correspond directly with the queueFamilyIndex that is passed to the vkCreateDevice command via the VkDeviceQueueCreateInfo structure as described in the Queue Creation section below.

Grouping of queue families within a physical device is implementation-dependent.

Note

The general expectation is that a physical device groups all queues of matching capabilities into a single family. However, while implementations should do this, it is possible that a physical device may return two separate queue families with the same capabilities.

Once an application has identified a physical device with the queue(s) that it desires to use, it will create those queues in conjunction with a logical device. This is described in the following section.

4.3.2. Queue Creation

Creating a logical device also creates the queues associated with that device. The queues to create are described by a set of VkDeviceQueueCreateInfo structures that are passed to vkCreateDevice in pQueueCreateInfos.

Queues are represented by VkQueue handles:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VK_DEFINE_HANDLE(VkQueue)

The VkDeviceQueueCreateInfo structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkDeviceQueueCreateInfo {
    VkStructureType             sType;
    const void*                 pNext;
    VkDeviceQueueCreateFlags    flags;
    uint32_t                    queueFamilyIndex;
    uint32_t                    queueCount;
    const float*                pQueuePriorities;
} VkDeviceQueueCreateInfo;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • flags is a bitmask indicating behavior of the queue.

  • queueFamilyIndex is an unsigned integer indicating the index of the queue family to create on this device. This index corresponds to the index of an element of the pQueueFamilyProperties array that was returned by vkGetPhysicalDeviceQueueFamilyProperties.

  • queueCount is an unsigned integer specifying the number of queues to create in the queue family indicated by queueFamilyIndex.

  • pQueuePriorities is a pointer to an array of queueCount normalized floating point values, specifying priorities of work that will be submitted to each created queue. See Queue Priority for more information.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-VkDeviceQueueCreateInfo-queueFamilyIndex-00381
    queueFamilyIndex must be less than pQueueFamilyPropertyCount returned by vkGetPhysicalDeviceQueueFamilyProperties

  • VUID-VkDeviceQueueCreateInfo-queueCount-00382
    queueCount must be less than or equal to the queueCount member of the VkQueueFamilyProperties structure, as returned by vkGetPhysicalDeviceQueueFamilyProperties in the pQueueFamilyProperties[queueFamilyIndex]

  • VUID-VkDeviceQueueCreateInfo-pQueuePriorities-00383
    Each element of pQueuePriorities must be between 0.0 and 1.0 inclusive

  • VUID-VkDeviceQueueCreateInfo-flags-02861
    If the protected memory feature is not enabled, the VK_DEVICE_QUEUE_CREATE_PROTECTED_BIT bit of flags must not be set

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkDeviceQueueCreateInfo-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DEVICE_QUEUE_CREATE_INFO

  • VUID-VkDeviceQueueCreateInfo-pNext-pNext
    pNext must be NULL

  • VUID-VkDeviceQueueCreateInfo-flags-parameter
    flags must be a valid combination of VkDeviceQueueCreateFlagBits values

  • VUID-VkDeviceQueueCreateInfo-pQueuePriorities-parameter
    pQueuePriorities must be a valid pointer to an array of queueCount float values

  • VUID-VkDeviceQueueCreateInfo-queueCount-arraylength
    queueCount must be greater than 0

Bits which can be set in VkDeviceQueueCreateInfo::flags to specify usage behavior of the queue are:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef enum VkDeviceQueueCreateFlagBits {
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_DEVICE_QUEUE_CREATE_PROTECTED_BIT = 0x00000001,
} VkDeviceQueueCreateFlagBits;

  • VK_DEVICE_QUEUE_CREATE_PROTECTED_BIT specifies that the device queue is a protected-capable queue.

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef VkFlags VkDeviceQueueCreateFlags;

VkDeviceQueueCreateFlags is a bitmask type for setting a mask of zero or more VkDeviceQueueCreateFlagBits.

To retrieve a handle to a VkQueue object, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
void vkGetDeviceQueue(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    uint32_t                                    queueFamilyIndex,
    uint32_t                                    queueIndex,
    VkQueue*                                    pQueue);

  • device is the logical device that owns the queue.

  • queueFamilyIndex is the index of the queue family to which the queue belongs.

  • queueIndex is the index within this queue family of the queue to retrieve.

  • pQueue is a pointer to a VkQueue object that will be filled with the handle for the requested queue.

vkGetDeviceQueue must only be used to get queues that were created with the flags parameter of VkDeviceQueueCreateInfo set to zero. To get queues that were created with a non-zero flags parameter use vkGetDeviceQueue2.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-vkGetDeviceQueue-queueFamilyIndex-00384
    queueFamilyIndex must be one of the queue family indices specified when device was created, via the VkDeviceQueueCreateInfo structure

  • VUID-vkGetDeviceQueue-queueIndex-00385
    queueIndex must be less than the number of queues created for the specified queue family index when device was created, via the queueCount member of the VkDeviceQueueCreateInfo structure

  • VUID-vkGetDeviceQueue-flags-01841
    VkDeviceQueueCreateInfo::flags must have been set to zero when device was created

Valid Usage (Implicit)

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

  • VUID-vkGetDeviceQueue-pQueue-parameter
    pQueue must be a valid pointer to a VkQueue handle

To retrieve a handle to a VkQueue object with specific VkDeviceQueueCreateFlags creation flags, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
void vkGetDeviceQueue2(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    const VkDeviceQueueInfo2*                   pQueueInfo,
    VkQueue*                                    pQueue);

  • device is the logical device that owns the queue.

  • pQueueInfo is a pointer to a VkDeviceQueueInfo2 structure, describing the parameters used to create the device queue.

  • pQueue is a pointer to a VkQueue object that will be filled with the handle for the requested queue.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-vkGetDeviceQueue2-device-parameter
    device must be a valid VkDevice handle

  • VUID-vkGetDeviceQueue2-pQueueInfo-parameter
    pQueueInfo must be a valid pointer to a valid VkDeviceQueueInfo2 structure

  • VUID-vkGetDeviceQueue2-pQueue-parameter
    pQueue must be a valid pointer to a VkQueue handle

The VkDeviceQueueInfo2 structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
typedef struct VkDeviceQueueInfo2 {
    VkStructureType             sType;
    const void*                 pNext;
    VkDeviceQueueCreateFlags    flags;
    uint32_t                    queueFamilyIndex;
    uint32_t                    queueIndex;
} VkDeviceQueueInfo2;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure. The pNext chain of VkDeviceQueueInfo2 is used to provide additional image parameters to vkGetDeviceQueue2.

  • flags is a VkDeviceQueueCreateFlags value indicating the flags used to create the device queue.

  • queueFamilyIndex is the index of the queue family to which the queue belongs.

  • queueIndex is the index within this queue family of the queue to retrieve.

The queue returned by vkGetDeviceQueue2 must have the same flags value from this structure as that used at device creation time in a VkDeviceQueueCreateInfo instance. If no matching flags were specified at device creation time, then the handle returned in pQueue must be NULL.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-VkDeviceQueueInfo2-queueFamilyIndex-01842
    queueFamilyIndex must be one of the queue family indices specified when device was created, via the VkDeviceQueueCreateInfo structure

  • VUID-VkDeviceQueueInfo2-queueIndex-01843
    queueIndex must be less than the number of queues created for the specified queue family index and VkDeviceQueueCreateFlags member flags equal to this flags value when device was created, via the queueCount member of the VkDeviceQueueCreateInfo structure

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkDeviceQueueInfo2-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DEVICE_QUEUE_INFO_2

  • VUID-VkDeviceQueueInfo2-pNext-pNext
    pNext must be NULL

  • VUID-VkDeviceQueueInfo2-flags-parameter
    flags must be a valid combination of VkDeviceQueueCreateFlagBits values

4.3.3. Queue Family Index

The queue family index is used in multiple places in Vulkan in order to tie operations to a specific family of queues.

When retrieving a handle to the queue via vkGetDeviceQueue, the queue family index is used to select which queue family to retrieve the VkQueue handle from as described in the previous section.

When creating a VkCommandPool object (see Command Pools), a queue family index is specified in the VkCommandPoolCreateInfo structure. Command buffers from this pool can only be submitted on queues corresponding to this queue family.

When creating VkImage (see Images) and VkBuffer (see Buffers) resources, a set of queue families is included in the VkImageCreateInfo and VkBufferCreateInfo structures to specify the queue families that can access the resource.

When inserting a VkBufferMemoryBarrier or VkImageMemoryBarrier (see Pipeline Barriers), a source and destination queue family index is specified to allow the ownership of a buffer or image to be transferred from one queue family to another. See the Resource Sharing section for details.

4.3.4. Queue Priority

Each queue is assigned a priority, as set in the VkDeviceQueueCreateInfo structures when creating the device. The priority of each queue is a normalized floating point value between 0.0 and 1.0, which is then translated to a discrete priority level by the implementation. Higher values indicate a higher priority, with 0.0 being the lowest priority and 1.0 being the highest.

Within the same device, queues with higher priority may be allotted more processing time than queues with lower priority. The implementation makes no guarantees with regards to ordering or scheduling among queues with the same priority, other than the constraints defined by any explicit synchronization primitives. The implementation make no guarantees with regards to queues across different devices.

An implementation may allow a higher-priority queue to starve a lower-priority queue on the same VkDevice until the higher-priority queue has no further commands to execute. The relationship of queue priorities must not cause queues on one VkDevice to starve queues on another VkDevice.

No specific guarantees are made about higher priority queues receiving more processing time or better quality of service than lower priority queues.

4.3.5. Queue Submission

Work is submitted to a queue via queue submission commands such as vkQueueSubmit. Queue submission commands define a set of queue operations to be executed by the underlying physical device, including synchronization with semaphores and fences.

Submission commands take as parameters a target queue, zero or more batches of work, and an optional fence to signal upon completion. Each batch consists of three distinct parts:

  1. Zero or more semaphores to wait on before execution of the rest of the batch.

  2. Zero or more work items to execute.

    • If present, these describe a queue operation matching the work described.

  3. Zero or more semaphores to signal upon completion of the work items.

If a fence is present in a queue submission, it describes a fence signal operation.

All work described by a queue submission command must be submitted to the queue before the command returns.

Sparse Memory Binding

In Vulkan it is possible to sparsely bind memory to buffers and images as described in the Sparse Resource chapter. Sparse memory binding is a queue operation. A queue whose flags include the VK_QUEUE_SPARSE_BINDING_BIT must be able to support the mapping of a virtual address to a physical address on the device. This causes an update to the page table mappings on the device. This update must be synchronized on a queue to avoid corrupting page table mappings during execution of graphics commands. By binding the sparse memory resources on queues, all commands that are dependent on the updated bindings are synchronized to only execute after the binding is updated. See the Synchronization and Cache Control chapter for how this synchronization is accomplished.

4.3.6. Queue Destruction

Queues are created along with a logical device during vkCreateDevice. All queues associated with a logical device are destroyed when vkDestroyDevice is called on that device.

5. Command Buffers

Command buffers are objects used to record commands which can be subsequently submitted to a device queue for execution. There are two levels of command buffers - primary command buffers, which can execute secondary command buffers, and which are submitted to queues, and secondary command buffers, which can be executed by primary command buffers, and which are not directly submitted to queues.

Command buffers are represented by VkCommandBuffer handles:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VK_DEFINE_HANDLE(VkCommandBuffer)

Recorded commands include commands to bind pipelines and descriptor sets to the command buffer, commands to modify dynamic state, commands to draw (for graphics rendering), commands to dispatch (for compute), commands to execute secondary command buffers (for primary command buffers only), commands to copy buffers and images, and other commands.

Each command buffer manages state independently of other command buffers. There is no inheritance of state across primary and secondary command buffers, or between secondary command buffers. When a command buffer begins recording, all state in that command buffer is undefined. When secondary command buffer(s) are recorded to execute on a primary command buffer, the secondary command buffer inherits no state from the primary command buffer, and all state of the primary command buffer is undefined after an execute secondary command buffer command is recorded. There is one exception to this rule - if the primary command buffer is inside a render pass instance, then the render pass and subpass state is not disturbed by executing secondary command buffers. For state dependent commands (such as draws and dispatches), any state consumed by those commands must not be undefined.

Unless otherwise specified, and without explicit synchronization, the various commands submitted to a queue via command buffers may execute in arbitrary order relative to each other, and/or concurrently. Also, the memory side-effects of those commands may not be directly visible to other commands without explicit memory dependencies. This is true within a command buffer, and across command buffers submitted to a given queue. See the synchronization chapter for information on implicit and explicit synchronization between commands.

5.1. Command Buffer Lifecycle

Each command buffer is always in one of the following states:

Initial

When a command buffer is allocated, it is in the initial state. Some commands are able to reset a command buffer (or a set of command buffers) back to this state from any of the executable, recording or invalid state. Command buffers in the initial state can only be moved to the recording state, or freed.

Recording

vkBeginCommandBuffer changes the state of a command buffer from the initial state to the recording state. Once a command buffer is in the recording state, vkCmd* commands can be used to record to the command buffer.

Executable

vkEndCommandBuffer ends the recording of a command buffer, and moves it from the recording state to the executable state. Executable command buffers can be submitted, reset, or recorded to another command buffer.

Pending

Queue submission of a command buffer changes the state of a command buffer from the executable state to the pending state. Whilst in the pending state, applications must not attempt to modify the command buffer in any way - as the device may be processing the commands recorded to it. Once execution of a command buffer completes, the command buffer either reverts back to the executable state, or if it was recorded with VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_USAGE_ONE_TIME_SUBMIT_BIT, it moves to the invalid state. A synchronization command should be used to detect when this occurs.

Invalid

Some operations, such as modifying or deleting a resource that was used in a command recorded to a command buffer, will transition the state of that command buffer into the invalid state. Command buffers in the invalid state can only be reset or freed.

image/svg+xml Initial Recording Pending Executable Invalid Allocate Begin End Submission Completion Completion withOne Time Submit Reset Reset Invalidate
Figure 1. Lifecycle of a command buffer

Any given command that operates on a command buffer has its own requirements on what state a command buffer must be in, which are detailed in the valid usage constraints for that command.

Resetting a command buffer is an operation that discards any previously recorded commands and puts a command buffer in the initial state. Resetting occurs as a result of vkResetCommandBuffer or vkResetCommandPool, or as part of vkBeginCommandBuffer (which additionally puts the command buffer in the recording state).

Secondary command buffers can be recorded to a primary command buffer via vkCmdExecuteCommands. This partially ties the lifecycle of the two command buffers together - if the primary is submitted to a queue, both the primary and any secondaries recorded to it move to the pending state. Once execution of the primary completes, so it does for any secondary recorded within it. After all executions of each command buffer complete, they each move to their appropriate completion state (either to the execution state or the invalid state, as specified above).

If a secondary moves to the invalid state or the initial state, then all primary buffers it is recorded in move to the invalid state. A primary moving to any other state does not affect the state of a secondary recorded in it.

Note

Resetting or freeing a primary command buffer removes the lifecycle linkage to all secondary command buffers that were recorded into it.

5.2. Command Pools

Command pools are opaque objects that command buffer memory is allocated from, and which allow the implementation to amortize the cost of resource creation across multiple command buffers. Command pools are externally synchronized, meaning that a command pool must not be used concurrently in multiple threads. That includes use via recording commands on any command buffers allocated from the pool, as well as operations that allocate, free, and reset command buffers or the pool itself.

Command pools are represented by VkCommandPool handles:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VK_DEFINE_NON_DISPATCHABLE_HANDLE(VkCommandPool)

To create a command pool, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VkResult vkCreateCommandPool(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    const VkCommandPoolCreateInfo*              pCreateInfo,
    const VkAllocationCallbacks*                pAllocator,
    VkCommandPool*                              pCommandPool);

  • device is the logical device that creates the command pool.

  • pCreateInfo is a pointer to a VkCommandPoolCreateInfo structure specifying the state of the command pool object.

  • pAllocator controls host memory allocation as described in the Memory Allocation chapter.

  • pCommandPool is a pointer to a VkCommandPool handle in which the created pool is returned.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-vkCreateCommandPool-queueFamilyIndex-01937
    pCreateInfo->queueFamilyIndex must be the index of a queue family available in the logical device device

Valid Usage (Implicit)

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

  • VUID-vkCreateCommandPool-pCreateInfo-parameter
    pCreateInfo must be a valid pointer to a valid VkCommandPoolCreateInfo structure

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

  • VUID-vkCreateCommandPool-pCommandPool-parameter
    pCommandPool must be a valid pointer to a VkCommandPool handle

Return Codes
Success

  • VK_SUCCESS

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

The VkCommandPoolCreateInfo structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkCommandPoolCreateInfo {
    VkStructureType             sType;
    const void*                 pNext;
    VkCommandPoolCreateFlags    flags;
    uint32_t                    queueFamilyIndex;
} VkCommandPoolCreateInfo;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • flags is a bitmask of VkCommandPoolCreateFlagBits indicating usage behavior for the pool and command buffers allocated from it.

  • queueFamilyIndex designates a queue family as described in section Queue Family Properties. All command buffers allocated from this command pool must be submitted on queues from the same queue family.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-VkCommandPoolCreateInfo-flags-02860
    If the protected memory feature is not enabled, the VK_COMMAND_POOL_CREATE_PROTECTED_BIT bit of flags must not be set

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkCommandPoolCreateInfo-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_COMMAND_POOL_CREATE_INFO

  • VUID-VkCommandPoolCreateInfo-pNext-pNext
    pNext must be NULL

  • VUID-VkCommandPoolCreateInfo-flags-parameter
    flags must be a valid combination of VkCommandPoolCreateFlagBits values

Bits which can be set in VkCommandPoolCreateInfo::flags to specify usage behavior for a command pool are:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef enum VkCommandPoolCreateFlagBits {
    VK_COMMAND_POOL_CREATE_TRANSIENT_BIT = 0x00000001,
    VK_COMMAND_POOL_CREATE_RESET_COMMAND_BUFFER_BIT = 0x00000002,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_COMMAND_POOL_CREATE_PROTECTED_BIT = 0x00000004,
} VkCommandPoolCreateFlagBits;

  • VK_COMMAND_POOL_CREATE_TRANSIENT_BIT specifies that command buffers allocated from the pool will be short-lived, meaning that they will be reset or freed in a relatively short timeframe. This flag may be used by the implementation to control memory allocation behavior within the pool.

  • VK_COMMAND_POOL_CREATE_RESET_COMMAND_BUFFER_BIT allows any command buffer allocated from a pool to be individually reset to the initial state; either by calling vkResetCommandBuffer, or via the implicit reset when calling vkBeginCommandBuffer. If this flag is not set on a pool, then vkResetCommandBuffer must not be called for any command buffer allocated from that pool.

  • VK_COMMAND_POOL_CREATE_PROTECTED_BIT specifies that command buffers allocated from the pool are protected command buffers.

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef VkFlags VkCommandPoolCreateFlags;

VkCommandPoolCreateFlags is a bitmask type for setting a mask of zero or more VkCommandPoolCreateFlagBits.

To trim a command pool, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
void vkTrimCommandPool(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    VkCommandPool                               commandPool,
    VkCommandPoolTrimFlags                      flags);

  • device is the logical device that owns the command pool.

  • commandPool is the command pool to trim.

  • flags is reserved for future use.

Trimming a command pool recycles unused memory from the command pool back to the system. Command buffers allocated from the pool are not affected by the command.

Note

This command provides applications with some control over the internal memory allocations used by command pools.

Unused memory normally arises from command buffers that have been recorded and later reset, such that they are no longer using the memory. On reset, a command buffer can return memory to its command pool, but the only way to release memory from a command pool to the system requires calling vkResetCommandPool, which cannot be executed while any command buffers from that pool are still in use. Subsequent recording operations into command buffers will re-use this memory but since total memory requirements fluctuate over time, unused memory can accumulate.

In this situation, trimming a command pool may be useful to return unused memory back to the system, returning the total outstanding memory allocated by the pool back to a more “average” value.

Implementations utilize many internal allocation strategies that make it impossible to guarantee that all unused memory is released back to the system. For instance, an implementation of a command pool may involve allocating memory in bulk from the system and sub-allocating from that memory. In such an implementation any live command buffer that holds a reference to a bulk allocation would prevent that allocation from being freed, even if only a small proportion of the bulk allocation is in use.

In most cases trimming will result in a reduction in allocated but unused memory, but it does not guarantee the “ideal” behavior.

Trimming may be an expensive operation, and should not be called frequently. Trimming should be treated as a way to relieve memory pressure after application-known points when there exists enough unused memory that the cost of trimming is “worth” it.
Valid Usage (Implicit)

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

  • VUID-vkTrimCommandPool-commandPool-parameter
    commandPool must be a valid VkCommandPool handle

  • VUID-vkTrimCommandPool-flags-zerobitmask
    flags must be 0

  • VUID-vkTrimCommandPool-commandPool-parent
    commandPool must have been created, allocated, or retrieved from device

Host Synchronization

  • Host access to commandPool must be externally synchronized

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
typedef VkFlags VkCommandPoolTrimFlags;

VkCommandPoolTrimFlags is a bitmask type for setting a mask, but is currently reserved for future use.

To reset a command pool, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VkResult vkResetCommandPool(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    VkCommandPool                               commandPool,
    VkCommandPoolResetFlags                     flags);

  • device is the logical device that owns the command pool.

  • commandPool is the command pool to reset.

  • flags is a bitmask of VkCommandPoolResetFlagBits controlling the reset operation.

Resetting a command pool recycles all of the resources from all of the command buffers allocated from the command pool back to the command pool. All command buffers that have been allocated from the command pool are put in the initial state.

Any primary command buffer allocated from another VkCommandPool that is in the recording or executable state and has a secondary command buffer allocated from commandPool recorded into it, becomes invalid.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-vkResetCommandPool-commandPool-00040
    All VkCommandBuffer objects allocated from commandPool must not be in the pending state

Valid Usage (Implicit)

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

  • VUID-vkResetCommandPool-commandPool-parameter
    commandPool must be a valid VkCommandPool handle

  • VUID-vkResetCommandPool-flags-parameter
    flags must be a valid combination of VkCommandPoolResetFlagBits values

  • VUID-vkResetCommandPool-commandPool-parent
    commandPool must have been created, allocated, or retrieved from device

Host Synchronization

  • Host access to commandPool must be externally synchronized

Return Codes
Success

  • VK_SUCCESS

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

Bits which can be set in vkResetCommandPool::flags to control the reset operation are:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef enum VkCommandPoolResetFlagBits {
    VK_COMMAND_POOL_RESET_RELEASE_RESOURCES_BIT = 0x00000001,
} VkCommandPoolResetFlagBits;

  • VK_COMMAND_POOL_RESET_RELEASE_RESOURCES_BIT specifies that resetting a command pool recycles all of the resources from the command pool back to the system.

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef VkFlags VkCommandPoolResetFlags;

VkCommandPoolResetFlags is a bitmask type for setting a mask of zero or more VkCommandPoolResetFlagBits.

To destroy a command pool, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
void vkDestroyCommandPool(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    VkCommandPool                               commandPool,
    const VkAllocationCallbacks*                pAllocator);

  • device is the logical device that destroys the command pool.

  • commandPool is the handle of the command pool to destroy.

  • pAllocator controls host memory allocation as described in the Memory Allocation chapter.

When a pool is destroyed, all command buffers allocated from the pool are freed.

Any primary command buffer allocated from another VkCommandPool that is in the recording or executable state and has a secondary command buffer allocated from commandPool recorded into it, becomes invalid.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-vkDestroyCommandPool-commandPool-00041
    All VkCommandBuffer objects allocated from commandPool must not be in the pending state

  • VUID-vkDestroyCommandPool-commandPool-00042
    If VkAllocationCallbacks were provided when commandPool was created, a compatible set of callbacks must be provided here

  • VUID-vkDestroyCommandPool-commandPool-00043
    If no VkAllocationCallbacks were provided when commandPool was created, pAllocator must be NULL

Valid Usage (Implicit)

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

  • VUID-vkDestroyCommandPool-commandPool-parameter
    If commandPool is not VK_NULL_HANDLE, commandPool must be a valid VkCommandPool handle

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

  • VUID-vkDestroyCommandPool-commandPool-parent
    If commandPool is a valid handle, it must have been created, allocated, or retrieved from device

Host Synchronization

  • Host access to commandPool must be externally synchronized

5.3. Command Buffer Allocation and Management

To allocate command buffers, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VkResult vkAllocateCommandBuffers(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    const VkCommandBufferAllocateInfo*          pAllocateInfo,
    VkCommandBuffer*                            pCommandBuffers);

  • device is the logical device that owns the command pool.

  • pAllocateInfo is a pointer to a VkCommandBufferAllocateInfo structure describing parameters of the allocation.

  • pCommandBuffers is a pointer to an array of VkCommandBuffer handles in which the resulting command buffer objects are returned. The array must be at least the length specified by the commandBufferCount member of pAllocateInfo. Each allocated command buffer begins in the initial state.

vkAllocateCommandBuffers can be used to create multiple command buffers. If the creation of any of those command buffers fails, the implementation must destroy all successfully created command buffer objects from this command, set all entries of the pCommandBuffers array to NULL and return the error.

When command buffers are first allocated, they are in the initial state.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

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

  • VUID-vkAllocateCommandBuffers-pAllocateInfo-parameter
    pAllocateInfo must be a valid pointer to a valid VkCommandBufferAllocateInfo structure

  • VUID-vkAllocateCommandBuffers-pCommandBuffers-parameter
    pCommandBuffers must be a valid pointer to an array of pAllocateInfo->commandBufferCount VkCommandBuffer handles

  • VUID-vkAllocateCommandBuffers-pAllocateInfo::commandBufferCount-arraylength
    pAllocateInfo->commandBufferCount must be greater than 0

Host Synchronization

  • Host access to pAllocateInfo->commandPool must be externally synchronized

Return Codes
Success

  • VK_SUCCESS

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

The VkCommandBufferAllocateInfo structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkCommandBufferAllocateInfo {
    VkStructureType         sType;
    const void*             pNext;
    VkCommandPool           commandPool;
    VkCommandBufferLevel    level;
    uint32_t                commandBufferCount;
} VkCommandBufferAllocateInfo;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • commandPool is the command pool from which the command buffers are allocated.

  • level is a VkCommandBufferLevel value specifying the command buffer level.

  • commandBufferCount is the number of command buffers to allocate from the pool.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-VkCommandBufferAllocateInfo-commandBufferCount-00044
    commandBufferCount must be greater than 0

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkCommandBufferAllocateInfo-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_COMMAND_BUFFER_ALLOCATE_INFO

  • VUID-VkCommandBufferAllocateInfo-pNext-pNext
    pNext must be NULL

  • VUID-VkCommandBufferAllocateInfo-commandPool-parameter
    commandPool must be a valid VkCommandPool handle

  • VUID-VkCommandBufferAllocateInfo-level-parameter
    level must be a valid VkCommandBufferLevel value

Possible values of VkCommandBufferAllocateInfo::level, specifying the command buffer level, are:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef enum VkCommandBufferLevel {
    VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_LEVEL_PRIMARY = 0,
    VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_LEVEL_SECONDARY = 1,
} VkCommandBufferLevel;

  • VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_LEVEL_PRIMARY specifies a primary command buffer.

  • VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_LEVEL_SECONDARY specifies a secondary command buffer.

To reset command buffers, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VkResult vkResetCommandBuffer(
    VkCommandBuffer                             commandBuffer,
    VkCommandBufferResetFlags                   flags);

Any primary command buffer that is in the recording or executable state and has commandBuffer recorded into it, becomes invalid.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-vkResetCommandBuffer-commandBuffer-00045
    commandBuffer must not be in the pending state

  • VUID-vkResetCommandBuffer-commandBuffer-00046
    commandBuffer must have been allocated from a pool that was created with the VK_COMMAND_POOL_CREATE_RESET_COMMAND_BUFFER_BIT

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-vkResetCommandBuffer-commandBuffer-parameter
    commandBuffer must be a valid VkCommandBuffer handle

  • VUID-vkResetCommandBuffer-flags-parameter
    flags must be a valid combination of VkCommandBufferResetFlagBits values

Host Synchronization

  • Host access to commandBuffer must be externally synchronized

Return Codes
Success

  • VK_SUCCESS

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

Bits which can be set in vkResetCommandBuffer::flags to control the reset operation are:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef enum VkCommandBufferResetFlagBits {
    VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_RESET_RELEASE_RESOURCES_BIT = 0x00000001,
} VkCommandBufferResetFlagBits;

  • VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_RESET_RELEASE_RESOURCES_BIT specifies that most or all memory resources currently owned by the command buffer should be returned to the parent command pool. If this flag is not set, then the command buffer may hold onto memory resources and reuse them when recording commands. commandBuffer is moved to the initial state.

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef VkFlags VkCommandBufferResetFlags;

VkCommandBufferResetFlags is a bitmask type for setting a mask of zero or more VkCommandBufferResetFlagBits.

To free command buffers, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
void vkFreeCommandBuffers(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    VkCommandPool                               commandPool,
    uint32_t                                    commandBufferCount,
    const VkCommandBuffer*                      pCommandBuffers);

  • device is the logical device that owns the command pool.

  • commandPool is the command pool from which the command buffers were allocated.

  • commandBufferCount is the length of the pCommandBuffers array.

  • pCommandBuffers is a pointer to an array of handles of command buffers to free.

Any primary command buffer that is in the recording or executable state and has any element of pCommandBuffers recorded into it, becomes invalid.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-vkFreeCommandBuffers-pCommandBuffers-00047
    All elements of pCommandBuffers must not be in the pending state

  • VUID-vkFreeCommandBuffers-pCommandBuffers-00048
    pCommandBuffers must be a valid pointer to an array of commandBufferCount VkCommandBuffer handles, each element of which must either be a valid handle or NULL

Valid Usage (Implicit)

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

  • VUID-vkFreeCommandBuffers-commandPool-parameter
    commandPool must be a valid VkCommandPool handle

  • VUID-vkFreeCommandBuffers-commandBufferCount-arraylength
    commandBufferCount must be greater than 0

  • VUID-vkFreeCommandBuffers-commandPool-parent
    commandPool must have been created, allocated, or retrieved from device

  • VUID-vkFreeCommandBuffers-pCommandBuffers-parent
    Each element of pCommandBuffers that is a valid handle must have been created, allocated, or retrieved from commandPool

Host Synchronization

  • Host access to commandPool must be externally synchronized

  • Host access to each member of pCommandBuffers must be externally synchronized

5.4. Command Buffer Recording

To begin recording a command buffer, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VkResult vkBeginCommandBuffer(
    VkCommandBuffer                             commandBuffer,
    const VkCommandBufferBeginInfo*             pBeginInfo);

  • commandBuffer is the handle of the command buffer which is to be put in the recording state.

  • pBeginInfo points to a VkCommandBufferBeginInfo structure defining additional information about how the command buffer begins recording.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-vkBeginCommandBuffer-commandBuffer-00049
    commandBuffer must not be in the recording or pending state

  • VUID-vkBeginCommandBuffer-commandBuffer-00050
    If commandBuffer was allocated from a VkCommandPool which did not have the VK_COMMAND_POOL_CREATE_RESET_COMMAND_BUFFER_BIT flag set, commandBuffer must be in the initial state

  • VUID-vkBeginCommandBuffer-commandBuffer-00051
    If commandBuffer is a secondary command buffer, the pInheritanceInfo member of pBeginInfo must be a valid VkCommandBufferInheritanceInfo structure

  • VUID-vkBeginCommandBuffer-commandBuffer-00052
    If commandBuffer is a secondary command buffer and either the occlusionQueryEnable member of the pInheritanceInfo member of pBeginInfo is VK_FALSE, or the precise occlusion queries feature is not enabled, the queryFlags member of the pInheritanceInfo member pBeginInfo must not contain VK_QUERY_CONTROL_PRECISE_BIT

  • VUID-vkBeginCommandBuffer-commandBuffer-02840
    If commandBuffer is a primary command buffer, then pBeginInfo->flags must not set both the VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_USAGE_ONE_TIME_SUBMIT_BIT and the VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_USAGE_SIMULTANEOUS_USE_BIT flags

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-vkBeginCommandBuffer-commandBuffer-parameter
    commandBuffer must be a valid VkCommandBuffer handle

  • VUID-vkBeginCommandBuffer-pBeginInfo-parameter
    pBeginInfo must be a valid pointer to a valid VkCommandBufferBeginInfo structure

Host Synchronization

  • Host access to commandBuffer must be externally synchronized

  • Host access to the VkCommandPool that commandBuffer was allocated from must be externally synchronized

Return Codes
Success

  • VK_SUCCESS

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

The VkCommandBufferBeginInfo structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkCommandBufferBeginInfo {
    VkStructureType                          sType;
    const void*                              pNext;
    VkCommandBufferUsageFlags                flags;
    const VkCommandBufferInheritanceInfo*    pInheritanceInfo;
} VkCommandBufferBeginInfo;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • flags is a bitmask of VkCommandBufferUsageFlagBits specifying usage behavior for the command buffer.

  • pInheritanceInfo is a pointer to a VkCommandBufferInheritanceInfo structure, used if commandBuffer is a secondary command buffer. If this is a primary command buffer, then this value is ignored.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-VkCommandBufferBeginInfo-flags-00053
    If flags contains VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_USAGE_RENDER_PASS_CONTINUE_BIT, the renderPass member of pInheritanceInfo must be a valid VkRenderPass

  • VUID-VkCommandBufferBeginInfo-flags-00054
    If flags contains VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_USAGE_RENDER_PASS_CONTINUE_BIT, the subpass member of pInheritanceInfo must be a valid subpass index within the renderPass member of pInheritanceInfo

  • VUID-VkCommandBufferBeginInfo-flags-00055
    If flags contains VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_USAGE_RENDER_PASS_CONTINUE_BIT, the framebuffer member of pInheritanceInfo must be either VK_NULL_HANDLE, or a valid VkFramebuffer that is compatible with the renderPass member of pInheritanceInfo

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkCommandBufferBeginInfo-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_COMMAND_BUFFER_BEGIN_INFO

  • VUID-VkCommandBufferBeginInfo-pNext-pNext
    pNext must be NULL or a pointer to a valid instance of VkDeviceGroupCommandBufferBeginInfo

  • VUID-VkCommandBufferBeginInfo-sType-unique
    The sType value of each struct in the pNext chain must be unique

  • VUID-VkCommandBufferBeginInfo-flags-parameter
    flags must be a valid combination of VkCommandBufferUsageFlagBits values

Bits which can be set in VkCommandBufferBeginInfo::flags to specify usage behavior for a command buffer are:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef enum VkCommandBufferUsageFlagBits {
    VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_USAGE_ONE_TIME_SUBMIT_BIT = 0x00000001,
    VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_USAGE_RENDER_PASS_CONTINUE_BIT = 0x00000002,
    VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_USAGE_SIMULTANEOUS_USE_BIT = 0x00000004,
} VkCommandBufferUsageFlagBits;

  • VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_USAGE_ONE_TIME_SUBMIT_BIT specifies that each recording of the command buffer will only be submitted once, and the command buffer will be reset and recorded again between each submission.

  • VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_USAGE_RENDER_PASS_CONTINUE_BIT specifies that a secondary command buffer is considered to be entirely inside a render pass. If this is a primary command buffer, then this bit is ignored.

  • VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_USAGE_SIMULTANEOUS_USE_BIT specifies that a command buffer can be resubmitted to a queue while it is in the pending state, and recorded into multiple primary command buffers.

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef VkFlags VkCommandBufferUsageFlags;

VkCommandBufferUsageFlags is a bitmask type for setting a mask of zero or more VkCommandBufferUsageFlagBits.

If the command buffer is a secondary command buffer, then the VkCommandBufferInheritanceInfo structure defines any state that will be inherited from the primary command buffer:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkCommandBufferInheritanceInfo {
    VkStructureType                  sType;
    const void*                      pNext;
    VkRenderPass                     renderPass;
    uint32_t                         subpass;
    VkFramebuffer                    framebuffer;
    VkBool32                         occlusionQueryEnable;
    VkQueryControlFlags              queryFlags;
    VkQueryPipelineStatisticFlags    pipelineStatistics;
} VkCommandBufferInheritanceInfo;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • renderPass is a VkRenderPass object defining which render passes the VkCommandBuffer will be compatible with and can be executed within. If the VkCommandBuffer will not be executed within a render pass instance, renderPass is ignored.

  • subpass is the index of the subpass within the render pass instance that the VkCommandBuffer will be executed within. If the VkCommandBuffer will not be executed within a render pass instance, subpass is ignored.

  • framebuffer optionally refers to the VkFramebuffer object that the VkCommandBuffer will be rendering to if it is executed within a render pass instance. It can be VK_NULL_HANDLE if the framebuffer is not known, or if the VkCommandBuffer will not be executed within a render pass instance.

    Note

    Specifying the exact framebuffer that the secondary command buffer will be executed with may result in better performance at command buffer execution time.

  • occlusionQueryEnable specifies whether the command buffer can be executed while an occlusion query is active in the primary command buffer. If this is VK_TRUE, then this command buffer can be executed whether the primary command buffer has an occlusion query active or not. If this is VK_FALSE, then the primary command buffer must not have an occlusion query active.

  • queryFlags specifies the query flags that can be used by an active occlusion query in the primary command buffer when this secondary command buffer is executed. If this value includes the VK_QUERY_CONTROL_PRECISE_BIT bit, then the active query can return boolean results or actual sample counts. If this bit is not set, then the active query must not use the VK_QUERY_CONTROL_PRECISE_BIT bit.

  • pipelineStatistics is a bitmask of VkQueryPipelineStatisticFlagBits specifying the set of pipeline statistics that can be counted by an active query in the primary command buffer when this secondary command buffer is executed. If this value includes a given bit, then this command buffer can be executed whether the primary command buffer has a pipeline statistics query active that includes this bit or not. If this value excludes a given bit, then the active pipeline statistics query must not be from a query pool that counts that statistic.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-VkCommandBufferInheritanceInfo-occlusionQueryEnable-00056
    If the inherited queries feature is not enabled, occlusionQueryEnable must be VK_FALSE

  • VUID-VkCommandBufferInheritanceInfo-queryFlags-00057
    If the inherited queries feature is enabled, queryFlags must be a valid combination of VkQueryControlFlagBits values

  • VUID-VkCommandBufferInheritanceInfo-queryFlags-02788
    If the inherited queries feature is not enabled, queryFlags must be 0

  • VUID-VkCommandBufferInheritanceInfo-pipelineStatistics-02789
    If the pipeline statistics queries feature is enabled, pipelineStatistics must be a valid combination of VkQueryPipelineStatisticFlagBits values

  • VUID-VkCommandBufferInheritanceInfo-pipelineStatistics-00058
    If the pipeline statistics queries feature is not enabled, pipelineStatistics must be 0

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkCommandBufferInheritanceInfo-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_COMMAND_BUFFER_INHERITANCE_INFO

  • VUID-VkCommandBufferInheritanceInfo-pNext-pNext
    pNext must be NULL

  • VUID-VkCommandBufferInheritanceInfo-commonparent
    Both of framebuffer, and renderPass that are valid handles of non-ignored parameters must have been created, allocated, or retrieved from the same VkDevice

Note

On some implementations, not using the VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_USAGE_SIMULTANEOUS_USE_BIT bit enables command buffers to be patched in-place if needed, rather than creating a copy of the command buffer.

If a command buffer is in the invalid, or executable state, and the command buffer was allocated from a command pool with the VK_COMMAND_POOL_CREATE_RESET_COMMAND_BUFFER_BIT flag set, then vkBeginCommandBuffer implicitly resets the command buffer, behaving as if vkResetCommandBuffer had been called with VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_RESET_RELEASE_RESOURCES_BIT not set. After the implicit reset, commandBuffer is moved to the recording state.

Once recording starts, an application records a sequence of commands (vkCmd*) to set state in the command buffer, draw, dispatch, and other commands.

To complete recording of a command buffer, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VkResult vkEndCommandBuffer(
    VkCommandBuffer                             commandBuffer);

  • commandBuffer is the command buffer to complete recording.

If there was an error during recording, the application will be notified by an unsuccessful return code returned by vkEndCommandBuffer. If the application wishes to further use the command buffer, the command buffer must be reset. The command buffer must have been in the recording state, and is moved to the executable state.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-vkEndCommandBuffer-commandBuffer-00059
    commandBuffer must be in the recording state

  • VUID-vkEndCommandBuffer-commandBuffer-00060
    If commandBuffer is a primary command buffer, there must not be an active render pass instance

  • VUID-vkEndCommandBuffer-commandBuffer-00061
    All queries made active during the recording of commandBuffer must have been made inactive

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-vkEndCommandBuffer-commandBuffer-parameter
    commandBuffer must be a valid VkCommandBuffer handle

Host Synchronization

  • Host access to commandBuffer must be externally synchronized

  • Host access to the VkCommandPool that commandBuffer was allocated from must be externally synchronized

Return Codes
Success

  • VK_SUCCESS

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

When a command buffer is in the executable state, it can be submitted to a queue for execution.

5.5. Command Buffer Submission

Note

Submission can be a high overhead operation, and applications should attempt to batch work together into as few calls to vkQueueSubmit as possible.

To submit command buffers to a queue, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VkResult vkQueueSubmit(
    VkQueue                                     queue,
    uint32_t                                    submitCount,
    const VkSubmitInfo*                         pSubmits,
    VkFence                                     fence);

  • queue is the queue that the command buffers will be submitted to.

  • submitCount is the number of elements in the pSubmits array.

  • pSubmits is a pointer to an array of VkSubmitInfo structures, each specifying a command buffer submission batch.

  • fence is an optional handle to a fence to be signaled once all submitted command buffers have completed execution. If fence is not VK_NULL_HANDLE, it defines a fence signal operation.

vkQueueSubmit is a queue submission command, with each batch defined by an element of pSubmits. Batches begin execution in the order they appear in pSubmits, but may complete out of order.

Fence and semaphore operations submitted with vkQueueSubmit have additional ordering constraints compared to other submission commands, with dependencies involving previous and subsequent queue operations. Information about these additional constraints can be found in the semaphore and fence sections of the synchronization chapter.

Details on the interaction of pWaitDstStageMask with synchronization are described in the semaphore wait operation section of the synchronization chapter.

The order that batches appear in pSubmits is used to determine submission order, and thus all the implicit ordering guarantees that respect it. Other than these implicit ordering guarantees and any explicit synchronization primitives, these batches may overlap or otherwise execute out of order.

If any command buffer submitted to this queue is in the executable state, it is moved to the pending state. Once execution of all submissions of a command buffer complete, it moves from the pending state, back to the executable state. If a command buffer was recorded with the VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_USAGE_ONE_TIME_SUBMIT_BIT flag, it instead moves to the invalid state.

If vkQueueSubmit fails, it may return VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY or VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY. If it does, the implementation must ensure that the state and contents of any resources or synchronization primitives referenced by the submitted command buffers and any semaphores referenced by pSubmits is unaffected by the call or its failure. If vkQueueSubmit fails in such a way that the implementation is unable to make that guarantee, the implementation must return VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST. See Lost Device.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-vkQueueSubmit-fence-00063
    If fence is not VK_NULL_HANDLE, fence must be unsignaled

  • VUID-vkQueueSubmit-fence-00064
    If fence is not VK_NULL_HANDLE, fence must not be associated with any other queue command that has not yet completed execution on that queue

  • VUID-vkQueueSubmit-pCommandBuffers-00065
    Any calls to vkCmdSetEvent, vkCmdResetEvent or vkCmdWaitEvents that have been recorded into any of the command buffer elements of the pCommandBuffers member of any element of pSubmits, must not reference any VkEvent that is referenced by any of those commands in a command buffer that has been submitted to another queue and is still in the pending state

  • VUID-vkQueueSubmit-pWaitDstStageMask-00066
    Any stage flag included in any element of the pWaitDstStageMask member of any element of pSubmits must be a pipeline stage supported by one of the capabilities of queue, as specified in the table of supported pipeline stages

  • VUID-vkQueueSubmit-pSignalSemaphores-00067
    Each element of the pSignalSemaphores member of any element of pSubmits must be unsignaled when the semaphore signal operation it defines is executed on the device

  • VUID-vkQueueSubmit-pWaitSemaphores-00068
    When a semaphore wait operation referring to a binary semaphore defined by any element of the pWaitSemaphores member of any element of pSubmits executes on queue, there must be no other queues waiting on the same semaphore

  • VUID-vkQueueSubmit-pWaitSemaphores-00069
    All elements of the pWaitSemaphores member of all elements of pSubmits must be semaphores that are signaled, or have semaphore signal operations previously submitted for execution

  • VUID-vkQueueSubmit-pWaitSemaphores-03238
    All elements of the pWaitSemaphores member of all elements of pSubmits created with a VkSemaphoreType of VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_BINARY must reference a semaphore signal operation that has been submitted for execution and any semaphore signal operations on which it depends (if any) must have also been submitted for execution

  • VUID-vkQueueSubmit-pCommandBuffers-00070
    Each element of the pCommandBuffers member of each element of pSubmits must be in the pending or executable state

  • VUID-vkQueueSubmit-pCommandBuffers-00071
    If any element of the pCommandBuffers member of any element of pSubmits was not recorded with the VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_USAGE_SIMULTANEOUS_USE_BIT, it must not be in the pending state

  • VUID-vkQueueSubmit-pCommandBuffers-00072
    Any secondary command buffers recorded into any element of the pCommandBuffers member of any element of pSubmits must be in the pending or executable state

  • VUID-vkQueueSubmit-pCommandBuffers-00073
    If any secondary command buffers recorded into any element of the pCommandBuffers member of any element of pSubmits was not recorded with the VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_USAGE_SIMULTANEOUS_USE_BIT, it must not be in the pending state

  • VUID-vkQueueSubmit-pCommandBuffers-00074
    Each element of the pCommandBuffers member of each element of pSubmits must have been allocated from a VkCommandPool that was created for the same queue family queue belongs to

  • VUID-vkQueueSubmit-pSubmits-02207
    If any element of pSubmits->pCommandBuffers includes a Queue Family Transfer Acquire Operation, there must exist a previously submitted Queue Family Transfer Release Operation on a queue in the queue family identified by the acquire operation, with parameters matching the acquire operation as defined in the definition of such acquire operations, and which happens-before the acquire operation

  • VUID-vkQueueSubmit-pSubmits-02808
    Any resource created with VK_SHARING_MODE_EXCLUSIVE that is read by an operation specified by pSubmits must not be owned by any queue family other than the one which queue belongs to, at the time it is executed

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-vkQueueSubmit-queue-parameter
    queue must be a valid VkQueue handle

  • VUID-vkQueueSubmit-pSubmits-parameter
    If submitCount is not 0, pSubmits must be a valid pointer to an array of submitCount valid VkSubmitInfo structures

  • VUID-vkQueueSubmit-fence-parameter
    If fence is not VK_NULL_HANDLE, fence must be a valid VkFence handle

  • VUID-vkQueueSubmit-commonparent
    Both of fence, and queue that are valid handles of non-ignored parameters must have been created, allocated, or retrieved from the same VkDevice

Host Synchronization

  • Host access to queue must be externally synchronized

  • Host access to fence must be externally synchronized

Command Properties
Command Buffer Levels Render Pass Scope Supported Queue Types Pipeline Type

-

-

Any

-
Return Codes
Success

  • VK_SUCCESS

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST

The VkSubmitInfo structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkSubmitInfo {
    VkStructureType                sType;
    const void*                    pNext;
    uint32_t                       waitSemaphoreCount;
    const VkSemaphore*             pWaitSemaphores;
    const VkPipelineStageFlags*    pWaitDstStageMask;
    uint32_t                       commandBufferCount;
    const VkCommandBuffer*         pCommandBuffers;
    uint32_t                       signalSemaphoreCount;
    const VkSemaphore*             pSignalSemaphores;
} VkSubmitInfo;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • waitSemaphoreCount is the number of semaphores upon which to wait before executing the command buffers for the batch.

  • pWaitSemaphores is a pointer to an array of VkSemaphore handles upon which to wait before the command buffers for this batch begin execution. If semaphores to wait on are provided, they define a semaphore wait operation.

  • pWaitDstStageMask is a pointer to an array of pipeline stages at which each corresponding semaphore wait will occur.

  • commandBufferCount is the number of command buffers to execute in the batch.

  • pCommandBuffers is a pointer to an array of VkCommandBuffer handles to execute in the batch.

  • signalSemaphoreCount is the number of semaphores to be signaled once the commands specified in pCommandBuffers have completed execution.

  • pSignalSemaphores is a pointer to an array of VkSemaphore handles which will be signaled when the command buffers for this batch have completed execution. If semaphores to be signaled are provided, they define a semaphore signal operation.

The order that command buffers appear in pCommandBuffers is used to determine submission order, and thus all the implicit ordering guarantees that respect it. Other than these implicit ordering guarantees and any explicit synchronization primitives, these command buffers may overlap or otherwise execute out of order.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-VkSubmitInfo-pCommandBuffers-00075
    Each element of pCommandBuffers must not have been allocated with VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_LEVEL_SECONDARY

  • VUID-VkSubmitInfo-pWaitDstStageMask-00076
    If the geometry shaders feature is not enabled, each element of pWaitDstStageMask must not contain VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_GEOMETRY_SHADER_BIT

  • VUID-VkSubmitInfo-pWaitDstStageMask-00077
    If the tessellation shaders feature is not enabled, each element of pWaitDstStageMask must not contain VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_SHADER_BIT or VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_SHADER_BIT

  • VUID-VkSubmitInfo-pWaitDstStageMask-00078
    Each element of pWaitDstStageMask must not include VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_HOST_BIT

  • VUID-VkSubmitInfo-pWaitSemaphores-03239
    If any element of pWaitSemaphores or pSignalSemaphores was created with a VkSemaphoreType of VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_TIMELINE, then the pNext chain must include a VkTimelineSemaphoreSubmitInfo structure

  • VUID-VkSubmitInfo-pNext-03240
    If the pNext chain of this structure includes a VkTimelineSemaphoreSubmitInfo structure and any element of pWaitSemaphores was created with a VkSemaphoreType of VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_TIMELINE, then its waitSemaphoreValueCount member must equal waitSemaphoreCount

  • VUID-VkSubmitInfo-pNext-03241
    If the pNext chain of this structure includes a VkTimelineSemaphoreSubmitInfo structure and any element of pSignalSemaphores was created with a VkSemaphoreType of VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_TIMELINE, then its signalSemaphoreValueCount member must equal signalSemaphoreCount

  • VUID-VkSubmitInfo-pSignalSemaphores-03242
    For each element of pSignalSemaphores created with a VkSemaphoreType of VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_TIMELINE the corresponding element of VkTimelineSemaphoreSubmitInfo::pSignalSemaphoreValues must have a value greater than the current value of the semaphore when the semaphore signal operation is executed

  • VUID-VkSubmitInfo-pWaitSemaphores-03243
    For each element of pWaitSemaphores created with a VkSemaphoreType of VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_TIMELINE the corresponding element of VkTimelineSemaphoreSubmitInfo::pWaitSemaphoreValues must have a value which does not differ from the current value of the semaphore or the value of any outstanding semaphore wait or signal operation on that semaphore by more than maxTimelineSemaphoreValueDifference

  • VUID-VkSubmitInfo-pSignalSemaphores-03244
    For each element of pSignalSemaphores created with a VkSemaphoreType of VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_TIMELINE the corresponding element of VkTimelineSemaphoreSubmitInfo::pSignalSemaphoreValues must have a value which does not differ from the current value of the semaphore or the value of any outstanding semaphore wait or signal operation on that semaphore by more than maxTimelineSemaphoreValueDifference

  • VUID-VkSubmitInfo-pNext-04120
    If the pNext chain of this structure does not include a VkProtectedSubmitInfo structure with protectedSubmit set to VK_TRUE, then each element of the pCommandBuffers array must be an unprotected command buffer

  • VUID-VkSubmitInfo-pNext-04148
    If the pNext chain of this structure includes a VkProtectedSubmitInfo structure with protectedSubmit set to VK_TRUE, then each element of the pCommandBuffers array must be an protected command buffer

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkSubmitInfo-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_SUBMIT_INFO

  • VUID-VkSubmitInfo-pNext-pNext
    Each pNext member of any structure (including this one) in the pNext chain must be either NULL or a pointer to a valid instance of VkDeviceGroupSubmitInfo, VkProtectedSubmitInfo, or VkTimelineSemaphoreSubmitInfo

  • VUID-VkSubmitInfo-sType-unique
    The sType value of each struct in the pNext chain must be unique

  • VUID-VkSubmitInfo-pWaitSemaphores-parameter
    If waitSemaphoreCount is not 0, pWaitSemaphores must be a valid pointer to an array of waitSemaphoreCount valid VkSemaphore handles

  • VUID-VkSubmitInfo-pWaitDstStageMask-parameter
    If waitSemaphoreCount is not 0, pWaitDstStageMask must be a valid pointer to an array of waitSemaphoreCount valid combinations of VkPipelineStageFlagBits values

  • VUID-VkSubmitInfo-pWaitDstStageMask-requiredbitmask
    Each element of pWaitDstStageMask must not be 0

  • VUID-VkSubmitInfo-pCommandBuffers-parameter
    If commandBufferCount is not 0, pCommandBuffers must be a valid pointer to an array of commandBufferCount valid VkCommandBuffer handles

  • VUID-VkSubmitInfo-pSignalSemaphores-parameter
    If signalSemaphoreCount is not 0, pSignalSemaphores must be a valid pointer to an array of signalSemaphoreCount valid VkSemaphore handles

  • VUID-VkSubmitInfo-commonparent
    Each of the elements of pCommandBuffers, the elements of pSignalSemaphores, and the elements of pWaitSemaphores that are valid handles of non-ignored parameters must have been created, allocated, or retrieved from the same VkDevice

To specify the values to use when waiting for and signaling semaphores created with a VkSemaphoreType of VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_TIMELINE, add a VkTimelineSemaphoreSubmitInfo structure to the pNext chain of the VkSubmitInfo structure when using vkQueueSubmit or the VkBindSparseInfo structure when using vkQueueBindSparse. The VkTimelineSemaphoreSubmitInfo structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
typedef struct VkTimelineSemaphoreSubmitInfo {
    VkStructureType    sType;
    const void*        pNext;
    uint32_t           waitSemaphoreValueCount;
    const uint64_t*    pWaitSemaphoreValues;
    uint32_t           signalSemaphoreValueCount;
    const uint64_t*    pSignalSemaphoreValues;
} VkTimelineSemaphoreSubmitInfo;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • waitSemaphoreValueCount is the number of semaphore wait values specified in pWaitSemaphoreValues.

  • pWaitSemaphoreValues is an array of length waitSemaphoreValueCount containing values for the corresponding semaphores in VkSubmitInfo::pWaitSemaphores to wait for.

  • signalSemaphoreValueCount is the number of semaphore signal values specified in pSignalSemaphoreValues.

  • pSignalSemaphoreValues is an array of length signalSemaphoreValueCount containing values for the corresponding semaphores in VkSubmitInfo::pSignalSemaphores to set when signaled.

If the semaphore in VkSubmitInfo::pWaitSemaphores or VkSubmitInfo::pSignalSemaphores corresponding to an entry in pWaitSemaphoreValues or pSignalSemaphoreValues respectively was not created with a VkSemaphoreType of VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_TIMELINE, the implementation must ignore the value in the pWaitSemaphoreValues or pSignalSemaphoreValues entry.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkTimelineSemaphoreSubmitInfo-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_TIMELINE_SEMAPHORE_SUBMIT_INFO

  • VUID-VkTimelineSemaphoreSubmitInfo-pWaitSemaphoreValues-parameter
    If waitSemaphoreValueCount is not 0, and pWaitSemaphoreValues is not NULL, pWaitSemaphoreValues must be a valid pointer to an array of waitSemaphoreValueCount uint64_t values

  • VUID-VkTimelineSemaphoreSubmitInfo-pSignalSemaphoreValues-parameter
    If signalSemaphoreValueCount is not 0, and pSignalSemaphoreValues is not NULL, pSignalSemaphoreValues must be a valid pointer to an array of signalSemaphoreValueCount uint64_t values

If the pNext chain of VkSubmitInfo includes a VkProtectedSubmitInfo structure, then the structure indicates whether the batch is protected. The VkProtectedSubmitInfo structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
typedef struct VkProtectedSubmitInfo {
    VkStructureType    sType;
    const void*        pNext;
    VkBool32           protectedSubmit;
} VkProtectedSubmitInfo;

  • protectedSubmit specifies whether the batch is protected. If protectedSubmit is VK_TRUE, the batch is protected. If protectedSubmit is VK_FALSE, the batch is unprotected. If the VkSubmitInfo::pNext chain does not include this structure, the batch is unprotected.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-VkProtectedSubmitInfo-protectedSubmit-01816
    If the protected memory feature is not enabled, protectedSubmit must not be VK_TRUE

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkProtectedSubmitInfo-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PROTECTED_SUBMIT_INFO

If the pNext chain of VkSubmitInfo includes a VkDeviceGroupSubmitInfo structure, then that structure includes device indices and masks specifying which physical devices execute semaphore operations and command buffers.

The VkDeviceGroupSubmitInfo structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
typedef struct VkDeviceGroupSubmitInfo {
    VkStructureType    sType;
    const void*        pNext;
    uint32_t           waitSemaphoreCount;
    const uint32_t*    pWaitSemaphoreDeviceIndices;
    uint32_t           commandBufferCount;
    const uint32_t*    pCommandBufferDeviceMasks;
    uint32_t           signalSemaphoreCount;
    const uint32_t*    pSignalSemaphoreDeviceIndices;
} VkDeviceGroupSubmitInfo;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • waitSemaphoreCount is the number of elements in the pWaitSemaphoreDeviceIndices array.

  • pWaitSemaphoreDeviceIndices is a pointer to an array of waitSemaphoreCount device indices indicating which physical device executes the semaphore wait operation in the corresponding element of VkSubmitInfo::pWaitSemaphores.

  • commandBufferCount is the number of elements in the pCommandBufferDeviceMasks array.

  • pCommandBufferDeviceMasks is a pointer to an array of commandBufferCount device masks indicating which physical devices execute the command buffer in the corresponding element of VkSubmitInfo::pCommandBuffers. A physical device executes the command buffer if the corresponding bit is set in the mask.

  • signalSemaphoreCount is the number of elements in the pSignalSemaphoreDeviceIndices array.

  • pSignalSemaphoreDeviceIndices is a pointer to an array of signalSemaphoreCount device indices indicating which physical device executes the semaphore signal operation in the corresponding element of VkSubmitInfo::pSignalSemaphores.

If this structure is not present, semaphore operations and command buffers execute on device index zero.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-VkDeviceGroupSubmitInfo-waitSemaphoreCount-00082
    waitSemaphoreCount must equal VkSubmitInfo::waitSemaphoreCount

  • VUID-VkDeviceGroupSubmitInfo-commandBufferCount-00083
    commandBufferCount must equal VkSubmitInfo::commandBufferCount

  • VUID-VkDeviceGroupSubmitInfo-signalSemaphoreCount-00084
    signalSemaphoreCount must equal VkSubmitInfo::signalSemaphoreCount

  • VUID-VkDeviceGroupSubmitInfo-pWaitSemaphoreDeviceIndices-00085
    All elements of pWaitSemaphoreDeviceIndices and pSignalSemaphoreDeviceIndices must be valid device indices

  • VUID-VkDeviceGroupSubmitInfo-pCommandBufferDeviceMasks-00086
    All elements of pCommandBufferDeviceMasks must be valid device masks

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkDeviceGroupSubmitInfo-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DEVICE_GROUP_SUBMIT_INFO

  • VUID-VkDeviceGroupSubmitInfo-pWaitSemaphoreDeviceIndices-parameter
    If waitSemaphoreCount is not 0, pWaitSemaphoreDeviceIndices must be a valid pointer to an array of waitSemaphoreCount uint32_t values

  • VUID-VkDeviceGroupSubmitInfo-pCommandBufferDeviceMasks-parameter
    If commandBufferCount is not 0, pCommandBufferDeviceMasks must be a valid pointer to an array of commandBufferCount uint32_t values

  • VUID-VkDeviceGroupSubmitInfo-pSignalSemaphoreDeviceIndices-parameter
    If signalSemaphoreCount is not 0, pSignalSemaphoreDeviceIndices must be a valid pointer to an array of signalSemaphoreCount uint32_t values

5.6. Queue Forward Progress

When using binary semaphores, the application must ensure that command buffer submissions will be able to complete without any subsequent operations by the application on any queue. After any call to vkQueueSubmit (or other queue operation), for every queued wait on a semaphore created with a VkSemaphoreType of VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_BINARY there must be a prior signal of that semaphore that will not be consumed by a different wait on the semaphore.

When using timeline semaphores, wait-before-signal behavior is well-defined and applications can submit work via vkQueueSubmit which defines a timeline semaphore wait operation before submitting a corresponding semaphore signal operation. For each timeline semaphore wait operation defined by a call to vkQueueSubmit, the application must ensure that a corresponding semaphore signal operation is executed before forward progress can be made.

Command buffers in the submission can include vkCmdWaitEvents commands that wait on events that will not be signaled by earlier commands in the queue. Such events must be signaled by the application using vkSetEvent, and the vkCmdWaitEvents commands that wait upon them must not be inside a render pass instance. The event must be set before the vkCmdWaitEvents command is executed.

Note

Implementations may have some tolerance for waiting on events to be set, but this is defined outside of the scope of Vulkan.

5.7. Secondary Command Buffer Execution

A secondary command buffer must not be directly submitted to a queue. Instead, secondary command buffers are recorded to execute as part of a primary command buffer with the command:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
void vkCmdExecuteCommands(
    VkCommandBuffer                             commandBuffer,
    uint32_t                                    commandBufferCount,
    const VkCommandBuffer*                      pCommandBuffers);

  • commandBuffer is a handle to a primary command buffer that the secondary command buffers are executed in.

  • commandBufferCount is the length of the pCommandBuffers array.

  • pCommandBuffers is a pointer to an array of commandBufferCount secondary command buffer handles, which are recorded to execute in the primary command buffer in the order they are listed in the array.

If any element of pCommandBuffers was not recorded with the VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_USAGE_SIMULTANEOUS_USE_BIT flag, and it was recorded into any other primary command buffer which is currently in the executable or recording state, that primary command buffer becomes invalid.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-vkCmdExecuteCommands-pCommandBuffers-00088
    Each element of pCommandBuffers must have been allocated with a level of VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_LEVEL_SECONDARY

  • VUID-vkCmdExecuteCommands-pCommandBuffers-00089
    Each element of pCommandBuffers must be in the pending or executable state

  • VUID-vkCmdExecuteCommands-pCommandBuffers-00091
    If any element of pCommandBuffers was not recorded with the VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_USAGE_SIMULTANEOUS_USE_BIT flag, it must not be in the pending state

  • VUID-vkCmdExecuteCommands-pCommandBuffers-00092
    If any element of pCommandBuffers was not recorded with the VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_USAGE_SIMULTANEOUS_USE_BIT flag, it must not have already been recorded to commandBuffer

  • VUID-vkCmdExecuteCommands-pCommandBuffers-00093
    If any element of pCommandBuffers was not recorded with the VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_USAGE_SIMULTANEOUS_USE_BIT flag, it must not appear more than once in pCommandBuffers

  • VUID-vkCmdExecuteCommands-pCommandBuffers-00094
    Each element of pCommandBuffers must have been allocated from a VkCommandPool that was created for the same queue family as the VkCommandPool from which commandBuffer was allocated

  • VUID-vkCmdExecuteCommands-contents-00095
    If vkCmdExecuteCommands is being called within a render pass instance, that render pass instance must have been begun with the contents parameter of vkCmdBeginRenderPass set to VK_SUBPASS_CONTENTS_SECONDARY_COMMAND_BUFFERS

  • VUID-vkCmdExecuteCommands-pCommandBuffers-00096
    If vkCmdExecuteCommands is being called within a render pass instance, each element of pCommandBuffers must have been recorded with the VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_USAGE_RENDER_PASS_CONTINUE_BIT

  • VUID-vkCmdExecuteCommands-pCommandBuffers-00097
    If vkCmdExecuteCommands is being called within a render pass instance, each element of pCommandBuffers must have been recorded with VkCommandBufferInheritanceInfo::subpass set to the index of the subpass which the given command buffer will be executed in

  • VUID-vkCmdExecuteCommands-pInheritanceInfo-00098
    If vkCmdExecuteCommands is being called within a render pass instance, the render passes specified in the pBeginInfo->pInheritanceInfo->renderPass members of the vkBeginCommandBuffer commands used to begin recording each element of pCommandBuffers must be compatible with the current render pass

  • VUID-vkCmdExecuteCommands-pCommandBuffers-00099
    If vkCmdExecuteCommands is being called within a render pass instance, and any element of pCommandBuffers was recorded with VkCommandBufferInheritanceInfo::framebuffer not equal to VK_NULL_HANDLE, that VkFramebuffer must match the VkFramebuffer used in the current render pass instance

  • VUID-vkCmdExecuteCommands-pCommandBuffers-00100
    If vkCmdExecuteCommands is not being called within a render pass instance, each element of pCommandBuffers must not have been recorded with the VK_COMMAND_BUFFER_USAGE_RENDER_PASS_CONTINUE_BIT

  • VUID-vkCmdExecuteCommands-commandBuffer-00101
    If the inherited queries feature is not enabled, commandBuffer must not have any queries active

  • VUID-vkCmdExecuteCommands-commandBuffer-00102
    If commandBuffer has a VK_QUERY_TYPE_OCCLUSION query active, then each element of pCommandBuffers must have been recorded with VkCommandBufferInheritanceInfo::occlusionQueryEnable set to VK_TRUE

  • VUID-vkCmdExecuteCommands-commandBuffer-00103
    If commandBuffer has a VK_QUERY_TYPE_OCCLUSION query active, then each element of pCommandBuffers must have been recorded with VkCommandBufferInheritanceInfo::queryFlags having all bits set that are set for the query

  • VUID-vkCmdExecuteCommands-commandBuffer-00104
    If commandBuffer has a VK_QUERY_TYPE_PIPELINE_STATISTICS query active, then each element of pCommandBuffers must have been recorded with VkCommandBufferInheritanceInfo::pipelineStatistics having all bits set that are set in the VkQueryPool the query uses

  • VUID-vkCmdExecuteCommands-pCommandBuffers-00105
    Each element of pCommandBuffers must not begin any query types that are active in commandBuffer

  • VUID-vkCmdExecuteCommands-commandBuffer-01820
    If commandBuffer is a protected command buffer, then each element of pCommandBuffers must be a protected command buffer

  • VUID-vkCmdExecuteCommands-commandBuffer-01821
    If commandBuffer is an unprotected command buffer, then each element of pCommandBuffers must be an unprotected command buffer

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-vkCmdExecuteCommands-commandBuffer-parameter
    commandBuffer must be a valid VkCommandBuffer handle

  • VUID-vkCmdExecuteCommands-pCommandBuffers-parameter
    pCommandBuffers must be a valid pointer to an array of commandBufferCount valid VkCommandBuffer handles

  • VUID-vkCmdExecuteCommands-commandBuffer-recording
    commandBuffer must be in the recording state

  • VUID-vkCmdExecuteCommands-commandBuffer-cmdpool
    The VkCommandPool that commandBuffer was allocated from must support transfer, graphics, or compute operations

  • VUID-vkCmdExecuteCommands-bufferlevel
    commandBuffer must be a primary VkCommandBuffer

  • VUID-vkCmdExecuteCommands-commandBufferCount-arraylength
    commandBufferCount must be greater than 0

  • VUID-vkCmdExecuteCommands-commonparent
    Both of commandBuffer, and the elements of pCommandBuffers must have been created, allocated, or retrieved from the same VkDevice

Host Synchronization

  • Host access to commandBuffer must be externally synchronized

  • Host access to the VkCommandPool that commandBuffer was allocated from must be externally synchronized

Command Properties
Command Buffer Levels Render Pass Scope Supported Queue Types Pipeline Type

Primary

Both

Transfer
Graphics
Compute

5.8. Command Buffer Device Mask

Each command buffer has a piece of state storing the current device mask of the command buffer. This mask controls which physical devices within the logical device all subsequent commands will execute on, including state-setting commands, action commands, and synchronization commands.

Scissor and viewport state can be set to different values on each physical device (only when set as dynamic state), and each physical device will render using its local copy of the state. Other state is shared between physical devices, such that all physical devices use the most recently set values for the state. However, when recording an action command that uses a piece of state, the most recent command that set that state must have included all physical devices that execute the action command in its current device mask.

The command buffer’s device mask is orthogonal to the pCommandBufferDeviceMasks member of VkDeviceGroupSubmitInfo. Commands only execute on a physical device if the device index is set in both device masks.

If the pNext chain of VkCommandBufferBeginInfo includes a VkDeviceGroupCommandBufferBeginInfo structure, then that structure includes an initial device mask for the command buffer.

The VkDeviceGroupCommandBufferBeginInfo structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
typedef struct VkDeviceGroupCommandBufferBeginInfo {
    VkStructureType    sType;
    const void*        pNext;
    uint32_t           deviceMask;
} VkDeviceGroupCommandBufferBeginInfo;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • deviceMask is the initial value of the command buffer’s device mask.

The initial device mask also acts as an upper bound on the set of devices that can ever be in the device mask in the command buffer.

If this structure is not present, the initial value of a command buffer’s device mask is set to include all physical devices in the logical device when the command buffer begins recording.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-VkDeviceGroupCommandBufferBeginInfo-deviceMask-00106
    deviceMask must be a valid device mask value

  • VUID-VkDeviceGroupCommandBufferBeginInfo-deviceMask-00107
    deviceMask must not be zero

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkDeviceGroupCommandBufferBeginInfo-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_DEVICE_GROUP_COMMAND_BUFFER_BEGIN_INFO

To update the current device mask of a command buffer, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
void vkCmdSetDeviceMask(
    VkCommandBuffer                             commandBuffer,
    uint32_t                                    deviceMask);

  • commandBuffer is command buffer whose current device mask is modified.

  • deviceMask is the new value of the current device mask.

deviceMask is used to filter out subsequent commands from executing on all physical devices whose bit indices are not set in the mask, except commands beginning a render pass instance, commands transitioning to the next subpass in the render pass instance, and commands ending a render pass instance, which always execute on the set of physical devices whose bit indices are included in the deviceMask member of the VkDeviceGroupRenderPassBeginInfo structure passed to the command beginning the corresponding render pass instance.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-vkCmdSetDeviceMask-deviceMask-00108
    deviceMask must be a valid device mask value

  • VUID-vkCmdSetDeviceMask-deviceMask-00109
    deviceMask must not be zero

  • VUID-vkCmdSetDeviceMask-deviceMask-00110
    deviceMask must not include any set bits that were not in the VkDeviceGroupCommandBufferBeginInfo::deviceMask value when the command buffer began recording

  • VUID-vkCmdSetDeviceMask-deviceMask-00111
    If vkCmdSetDeviceMask is called inside a render pass instance, deviceMask must not include any set bits that were not in the VkDeviceGroupRenderPassBeginInfo::deviceMask value when the render pass instance began recording

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-vkCmdSetDeviceMask-commandBuffer-parameter
    commandBuffer must be a valid VkCommandBuffer handle

  • VUID-vkCmdSetDeviceMask-commandBuffer-recording
    commandBuffer must be in the recording state

  • VUID-vkCmdSetDeviceMask-commandBuffer-cmdpool
    The VkCommandPool that commandBuffer was allocated from must support graphics, compute, or transfer operations

Host Synchronization

  • Host access to commandBuffer must be externally synchronized

  • Host access to the VkCommandPool that commandBuffer was allocated from must be externally synchronized

Command Properties
Command Buffer Levels Render Pass Scope Supported Queue Types Pipeline Type

Primary
Secondary

Both

Graphics
Compute
Transfer

6. Synchronization and Cache Control

Synchronization of access to resources is primarily the responsibility of the application in Vulkan. The order of execution of commands with respect to the host and other commands on the device has few implicit guarantees, and needs to be explicitly specified. Memory caches and other optimizations are also explicitly managed, requiring that the flow of data through the system is largely under application control.

Whilst some implicit guarantees exist between commands, five explicit synchronization mechanisms are exposed by Vulkan:

Fences

Fences can be used to communicate to the host that execution of some task on the device has completed.

Semaphores

Semaphores can be used to control resource access across multiple queues.

Events

Events provide a fine-grained synchronization primitive which can be signaled either within a command buffer or by the host, and can be waited upon within a command buffer or queried on the host.

Pipeline Barriers

Pipeline barriers also provide synchronization control within a command buffer, but at a single point, rather than with separate signal and wait operations.

Render Passes

Render passes provide a useful synchronization framework for most rendering tasks, built upon the concepts in this chapter. Many cases that would otherwise need an application to use other synchronization primitives can be expressed more efficiently as part of a render pass.

6.1. Execution and Memory Dependencies

An operation is an arbitrary amount of work to be executed on the host, a device, or an external entity such as a presentation engine. Synchronization commands introduce explicit execution dependencies, and memory dependencies between two sets of operations defined by the command’s two synchronization scopes.

The synchronization scopes define which other operations a synchronization command is able to create execution dependencies with. Any type of operation that is not in a synchronization command’s synchronization scopes will not be included in the resulting dependency. For example, for many synchronization commands, the synchronization scopes can be limited to just operations executing in specific pipeline stages, which allows other pipeline stages to be excluded from a dependency. Other scoping options are possible, depending on the particular command.

An execution dependency is a guarantee that for two sets of operations, the first set must happen-before the second set. If an operation happens-before another operation, then the first operation must complete before the second operation is initiated. More precisely:

  • Let A and B be separate sets of operations.

  • Let S be a synchronization command.

  • Let AS and BS be the synchronization scopes of S.

  • Let A' be the intersection of sets A and AS.

  • Let B' be the intersection of sets B and BS.

  • Submitting A, S and B for execution, in that order, will result in execution dependency E between A' and B'.

  • Execution dependency E guarantees that A' happens-before B'.

An execution dependency chain is a sequence of execution dependencies that form a happens-before relation between the first dependency’s A' and the final dependency’s B'. For each consecutive pair of execution dependencies, a chain exists if the intersection of BS in the first dependency and AS in the second dependency is not an empty set. The formation of a single execution dependency from an execution dependency chain can be described by substituting the following in the description of execution dependencies:

  • Let S be a set of synchronization commands that generate an execution dependency chain.

  • Let AS be the first synchronization scope of the first command in S.

  • Let BS be the second synchronization scope of the last command in S.

Execution dependencies alone are not sufficient to guarantee that values resulting from writes in one set of operations can be read from another set of operations.

Three additional types of operation are used to control memory access. Availability operations cause the values generated by specified memory write accesses to become available to a memory domain for future access. Any available value remains available until a subsequent write to the same memory location occurs (whether it is made available or not) or the memory is freed. Memory domain operations cause writes that are available to a source memory domain to become available to a destination memory domain (an example of this is making writes available to the host domain available to the device domain). Visibility operations cause values available to a memory domain to become visible to specified memory accesses.

Availability, visibility, memory domains, and memory domain operations are formally defined in the Availability and Visibility section of the Memory Model chapter. Which API operations perform each of these operations is defined in Availability, Visibility, and Domain Operations.

A memory dependency is an execution dependency which includes availability and visibility operations such that:

  • The first set of operations happens-before the availability operation.

  • The availability operation happens-before the visibility operation.

  • The visibility operation happens-before the second set of operations.

Once written values are made visible to a particular type of memory access, they can be read or written by that type of memory access. Most synchronization commands in Vulkan define a memory dependency.

The specific memory accesses that are made available and visible are defined by the access scopes of a memory dependency. Any type of access that is in a memory dependency’s first access scope and occurs in A' is made available. Any type of access that is in a memory dependency’s second access scope and occurs in B' has any available writes made visible to it. Any type of operation that is not in a synchronization command’s access scopes will not be included in the resulting dependency.

A memory dependency enforces availability and visibility of memory accesses and execution order between two sets of operations. Adding to the description of execution dependency chains:

  • Let a be the set of memory accesses performed by A'.

  • Let b be the set of memory accesses performed by B'.

  • Let aS be the first access scope of the first command in S.

  • Let bS be the second access scope of the last command in S.

  • Let a' be the intersection of sets a and aS.

  • Let b' be the intersection of sets b and bS.

  • Submitting A, S and B for execution, in that order, will result in a memory dependency m between A' and B'.

  • Memory dependency m guarantees that:

    • Memory writes in a' are made available.

    • Available memory writes, including those from a', are made visible to b'.

Note

Execution and memory dependencies are used to solve data hazards, i.e. to ensure that read and write operations occur in a well-defined order. Write-after-read hazards can be solved with just an execution dependency, but read-after-write and write-after-write hazards need appropriate memory dependencies to be included between them. If an application does not include dependencies to solve these hazards, the results and execution orders of memory accesses are undefined.

6.1.1. Image Layout Transitions

Image subresources can be transitioned from one layout to another as part of a memory dependency (e.g. by using an image memory barrier). When a layout transition is specified in a memory dependency, it happens-after the availability operations in the memory dependency, and happens-before the visibility operations. Image layout transitions may perform read and write accesses on all memory bound to the image subresource range, so applications must ensure that all memory writes have been made available before a layout transition is executed. Available memory is automatically made visible to a layout transition, and writes performed by a layout transition are automatically made available.

Layout transitions always apply to a particular image subresource range, and specify both an old layout and new layout. The old layout must either be VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_UNDEFINED, or match the current layout of the image subresource range. If the old layout matches the current layout of the image subresource range, the transition preserves the contents of that range. If the old layout is VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_UNDEFINED, the contents of that range may be discarded.

As image layout transitions may perform read and write accesses on the memory bound to the image, if the image subresource affected by the layout transition is bound to peer memory for any device in the current device mask then the memory heap the bound memory comes from must support the VK_PEER_MEMORY_FEATURE_GENERIC_SRC_BIT and VK_PEER_MEMORY_FEATURE_GENERIC_DST_BIT capabilities as returned by vkGetDeviceGroupPeerMemoryFeatures.

Note

Applications must ensure that layout transitions happen-after all operations accessing the image with the old layout, and happen-before any operations that will access the image with the new layout. Layout transitions are potentially read/write operations, so not defining appropriate memory dependencies to guarantee this will result in a data race.

Image layout transitions interact with memory aliasing.

Layout transitions that are performed via image memory barriers execute in their entirety in submission order, relative to other image layout transitions submitted to the same queue, including those performed by render passes. In effect there is an implicit execution dependency from each such layout transition to all layout transitions previously submitted to the same queue.

6.1.2. Pipeline Stages

The work performed by an action or synchronization command consists of multiple operations, which are performed as a sequence of logically independent steps known as pipeline stages. The exact pipeline stages executed depend on the particular command that is used, and current command buffer state when the command was recorded. Drawing commands, dispatching commands, copy commands, clear commands, and synchronization commands all execute in different sets of pipeline stages. Synchronization commands do not execute in a defined pipeline.

Note

Operations performed by synchronization commands (e.g. availability and visibility operations) are not executed by a defined pipeline stage. However other commands can still synchronize with them by using the synchronization scopes to create a dependency chain.

Execution of operations across pipeline stages must adhere to implicit ordering guarantees, particularly including pipeline stage order. Otherwise, execution across pipeline stages may overlap or execute out of order with regards to other stages, unless otherwise enforced by an execution dependency.

Several of the synchronization commands include pipeline stage parameters, restricting the synchronization scopes for that command to just those stages. This allows fine grained control over the exact execution dependencies and accesses performed by action commands. Implementations should use these pipeline stages to avoid unnecessary stalls or cache flushing.

The VkPipelineStageFlagBits enum is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef enum VkPipelineStageFlagBits {
    VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TOP_OF_PIPE_BIT = 0x00000001,
    VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_DRAW_INDIRECT_BIT = 0x00000002,
    VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_VERTEX_INPUT_BIT = 0x00000004,
    VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_VERTEX_SHADER_BIT = 0x00000008,
    VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_SHADER_BIT = 0x00000010,
    VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_SHADER_BIT = 0x00000020,
    VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_GEOMETRY_SHADER_BIT = 0x00000040,
    VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_FRAGMENT_SHADER_BIT = 0x00000080,
    VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_EARLY_FRAGMENT_TESTS_BIT = 0x00000100,
    VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_LATE_FRAGMENT_TESTS_BIT = 0x00000200,
    VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_OUTPUT_BIT = 0x00000400,
    VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_COMPUTE_SHADER_BIT = 0x00000800,
    VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TRANSFER_BIT = 0x00001000,
    VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_BOTTOM_OF_PIPE_BIT = 0x00002000,
    VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_HOST_BIT = 0x00004000,
    VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_ALL_GRAPHICS_BIT = 0x00008000,
    VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_ALL_COMMANDS_BIT = 0x00010000,
} VkPipelineStageFlagBits;

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TOP_OF_PIPE_BIT is equivalent to VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_ALL_COMMANDS_BIT with VkAccessFlags set to 0 when specified in the second synchronization scope, but specifies no stages in the first scope.

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_DRAW_INDIRECT_BIT specifies the stage of the pipeline where Draw/DispatchIndirect data structures are consumed.

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_VERTEX_INPUT_BIT specifies the stage of the pipeline where vertex and index buffers are consumed.

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_VERTEX_SHADER_BIT specifies the vertex shader stage.

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_SHADER_BIT specifies the tessellation control shader stage.

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_SHADER_BIT specifies the tessellation evaluation shader stage.

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_GEOMETRY_SHADER_BIT specifies the geometry shader stage.

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_FRAGMENT_SHADER_BIT specifies the fragment shader stage.

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_EARLY_FRAGMENT_TESTS_BIT specifies the stage of the pipeline where early fragment tests (depth and stencil tests before fragment shading) are performed. This stage also includes subpass load operations for framebuffer attachments with a depth/stencil format.

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_LATE_FRAGMENT_TESTS_BIT specifies the stage of the pipeline where late fragment tests (depth and stencil tests after fragment shading) are performed. This stage also includes subpass store operations for framebuffer attachments with a depth/stencil format.

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_OUTPUT_BIT specifies the stage of the pipeline after blending where the final color values are output from the pipeline. This stage also includes subpass load and store operations and multisample resolve operations for framebuffer attachments with a color or depth/stencil format.

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_COMPUTE_SHADER_BIT specifies the execution of a compute shader.

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TRANSFER_BIT specifies the following commands:

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_BOTTOM_OF_PIPE_BIT is equivalent to VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_ALL_COMMANDS_BIT with VkAccessFlags set to 0 when specified in the first synchronization scope, but specifies no stages in the second scope.

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_HOST_BIT specifies a pseudo-stage indicating execution on the host of reads/writes of device memory. This stage is not invoked by any commands recorded in a command buffer.

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_ALL_GRAPHICS_BIT specifies the execution of all graphics pipeline stages, and is equivalent to the logical OR of:

    • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_DRAW_INDIRECT_BIT

    • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_VERTEX_INPUT_BIT

    • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_VERTEX_SHADER_BIT

    • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_SHADER_BIT

    • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_SHADER_BIT

    • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_GEOMETRY_SHADER_BIT

    • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_FRAGMENT_SHADER_BIT

    • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_EARLY_FRAGMENT_TESTS_BIT

    • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_LATE_FRAGMENT_TESTS_BIT

    • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_OUTPUT_BIT

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_ALL_COMMANDS_BIT specifies all commands supported on the queue it is used with.

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef VkFlags VkPipelineStageFlags;

VkPipelineStageFlags is a bitmask type for setting a mask of zero or more VkPipelineStageFlagBits.

If a synchronization command includes a source stage mask, its first synchronization scope only includes execution of the pipeline stages specified in that mask, and its first access scope only includes memory access performed by pipeline stages specified in that mask. If a synchronization command includes a destination stage mask, its second synchronization scope only includes execution of the pipeline stages specified in that mask, and its second access scope only includes memory access performed by pipeline stages specified in that mask.

Note

Including a particular pipeline stage in the first synchronization scope of a command implicitly includes logically earlier pipeline stages in the synchronization scope. Similarly, the second synchronization scope includes logically later pipeline stages.

However, note that access scopes are not affected in this way - only the precise stages specified are considered part of each access scope.

Certain pipeline stages are only available on queues that support a particular set of operations. The following table lists, for each pipeline stage flag, which queue capability flag must be supported by the queue. When multiple flags are enumerated in the second column of the table, it means that the pipeline stage is supported on the queue if it supports any of the listed capability flags. For further details on queue capabilities see Physical Device Enumeration and Queues.

Table 3. Supported pipeline stage flags
Pipeline stage flag Required queue capability flag

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TOP_OF_PIPE_BIT

None required

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_DRAW_INDIRECT_BIT

VK_QUEUE_GRAPHICS_BIT or VK_QUEUE_COMPUTE_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_VERTEX_INPUT_BIT

VK_QUEUE_GRAPHICS_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_VERTEX_SHADER_BIT

VK_QUEUE_GRAPHICS_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_SHADER_BIT

VK_QUEUE_GRAPHICS_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_SHADER_BIT

VK_QUEUE_GRAPHICS_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_GEOMETRY_SHADER_BIT

VK_QUEUE_GRAPHICS_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_FRAGMENT_SHADER_BIT

VK_QUEUE_GRAPHICS_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_EARLY_FRAGMENT_TESTS_BIT

VK_QUEUE_GRAPHICS_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_LATE_FRAGMENT_TESTS_BIT

VK_QUEUE_GRAPHICS_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_OUTPUT_BIT

VK_QUEUE_GRAPHICS_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_COMPUTE_SHADER_BIT

VK_QUEUE_COMPUTE_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TRANSFER_BIT

VK_QUEUE_GRAPHICS_BIT, VK_QUEUE_COMPUTE_BIT or VK_QUEUE_TRANSFER_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_BOTTOM_OF_PIPE_BIT

None required

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_HOST_BIT

None required

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_ALL_GRAPHICS_BIT

VK_QUEUE_GRAPHICS_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_ALL_COMMANDS_BIT

None required

Pipeline stages that execute as a result of a command logically complete execution in a specific order, such that completion of a logically later pipeline stage must not happen-before completion of a logically earlier stage. This means that including any stage in the source stage mask for a particular synchronization command also implies that any logically earlier stages are included in AS for that command.

Similarly, initiation of a logically earlier pipeline stage must not happen-after initiation of a logically later pipeline stage. Including any given stage in the destination stage mask for a particular synchronization command also implies that any logically later stages are included in BS for that command.

Note

Implementations may not support synchronization at every pipeline stage for every synchronization operation. If a pipeline stage that an implementation does not support synchronization for appears in a source stage mask, it may substitute any logically later stage in its place for the first synchronization scope. If a pipeline stage that an implementation does not support synchronization for appears in a destination stage mask, it may substitute any logically earlier stage in its place for the second synchronization scope.

For example, if an implementation is unable to signal an event immediately after vertex shader execution is complete, it may instead signal the event after color attachment output has completed.

If an implementation makes such a substitution, it must not affect the semantics of execution or memory dependencies or image and buffer memory barriers.

Graphics pipelines are executable on queues supporting VK_QUEUE_GRAPHICS_BIT. Stages executed by graphics pipelines can only be specified in commands recorded for queues supporting VK_QUEUE_GRAPHICS_BIT.

The graphics pipeline executes the following stages, with the logical ordering of the stages matching the order specified here:

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_DRAW_INDIRECT_BIT

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_VERTEX_INPUT_BIT

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_VERTEX_SHADER_BIT

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_SHADER_BIT

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_SHADER_BIT

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_GEOMETRY_SHADER_BIT

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_EARLY_FRAGMENT_TESTS_BIT

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_FRAGMENT_SHADER_BIT

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_LATE_FRAGMENT_TESTS_BIT

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_OUTPUT_BIT

For the compute pipeline, the following stages occur in this order:

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_DRAW_INDIRECT_BIT

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_COMPUTE_SHADER_BIT

For the transfer pipeline, the following stages occur in this order:

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TRANSFER_BIT

For host operations, only one pipeline stage occurs, so no order is guaranteed:

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_HOST_BIT

6.1.3. Access Types

Memory in Vulkan can be accessed from within shader invocations and via some fixed-function stages of the pipeline. The access type is a function of the descriptor type used, or how a fixed-function stage accesses memory.

Some synchronization commands take sets of access types as parameters to define the access scopes of a memory dependency. If a synchronization command includes a source access mask, its first access scope only includes accesses via the access types specified in that mask. Similarly, if a synchronization command includes a destination access mask, its second access scope only includes accesses via the access types specified in that mask.

The VkAccessFlagBits enums is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef enum VkAccessFlagBits {
    VK_ACCESS_INDIRECT_COMMAND_READ_BIT = 0x00000001,
    VK_ACCESS_INDEX_READ_BIT = 0x00000002,
    VK_ACCESS_VERTEX_ATTRIBUTE_READ_BIT = 0x00000004,
    VK_ACCESS_UNIFORM_READ_BIT = 0x00000008,
    VK_ACCESS_INPUT_ATTACHMENT_READ_BIT = 0x00000010,
    VK_ACCESS_SHADER_READ_BIT = 0x00000020,
    VK_ACCESS_SHADER_WRITE_BIT = 0x00000040,
    VK_ACCESS_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_READ_BIT = 0x00000080,
    VK_ACCESS_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_WRITE_BIT = 0x00000100,
    VK_ACCESS_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_READ_BIT = 0x00000200,
    VK_ACCESS_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_WRITE_BIT = 0x00000400,
    VK_ACCESS_TRANSFER_READ_BIT = 0x00000800,
    VK_ACCESS_TRANSFER_WRITE_BIT = 0x00001000,
    VK_ACCESS_HOST_READ_BIT = 0x00002000,
    VK_ACCESS_HOST_WRITE_BIT = 0x00004000,
    VK_ACCESS_MEMORY_READ_BIT = 0x00008000,
    VK_ACCESS_MEMORY_WRITE_BIT = 0x00010000,
} VkAccessFlagBits;

Certain access types are only performed by a subset of pipeline stages. Any synchronization command that takes both stage masks and access masks uses both to define the access scopes - only the specified access types performed by the specified stages are included in the access scope. An application must not specify an access flag in a synchronization command if it does not include a pipeline stage in the corresponding stage mask that is able to perform accesses of that type. The following table lists, for each access flag, which pipeline stages can perform that type of access.

Table 4. Supported access types
Access flag Supported pipeline stages

VK_ACCESS_INDIRECT_COMMAND_READ_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_DRAW_INDIRECT_BIT

VK_ACCESS_INDEX_READ_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_VERTEX_INPUT_BIT

VK_ACCESS_VERTEX_ATTRIBUTE_READ_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_VERTEX_INPUT_BIT

VK_ACCESS_UNIFORM_READ_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_VERTEX_SHADER_BIT, VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_SHADER_BIT, VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_SHADER_BIT, VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_GEOMETRY_SHADER_BIT, VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_FRAGMENT_SHADER_BIT, or VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_COMPUTE_SHADER_BIT

VK_ACCESS_SHADER_READ_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_VERTEX_SHADER_BIT, VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_SHADER_BIT, VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_SHADER_BIT, VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_GEOMETRY_SHADER_BIT, VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_FRAGMENT_SHADER_BIT, or VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_COMPUTE_SHADER_BIT

VK_ACCESS_SHADER_WRITE_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_VERTEX_SHADER_BIT, VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_SHADER_BIT, VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_SHADER_BIT, VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_GEOMETRY_SHADER_BIT, VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_FRAGMENT_SHADER_BIT, or VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_COMPUTE_SHADER_BIT

VK_ACCESS_INPUT_ATTACHMENT_READ_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_FRAGMENT_SHADER_BIT

VK_ACCESS_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_READ_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_OUTPUT_BIT

VK_ACCESS_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_WRITE_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_OUTPUT_BIT

VK_ACCESS_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_READ_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_EARLY_FRAGMENT_TESTS_BIT, or VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_LATE_FRAGMENT_TESTS_BIT

VK_ACCESS_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_WRITE_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_EARLY_FRAGMENT_TESTS_BIT, or VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_LATE_FRAGMENT_TESTS_BIT

VK_ACCESS_TRANSFER_READ_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TRANSFER_BIT

VK_ACCESS_TRANSFER_WRITE_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TRANSFER_BIT

VK_ACCESS_HOST_READ_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_HOST_BIT

VK_ACCESS_HOST_WRITE_BIT

VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_HOST_BIT

VK_ACCESS_MEMORY_READ_BIT

Any

VK_ACCESS_MEMORY_WRITE_BIT

Any

 
// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef VkFlags VkAccessFlags;

VkAccessFlags is a bitmask type for setting a mask of zero or more VkAccessFlagBits.

If a memory object does not have the VK_MEMORY_PROPERTY_HOST_COHERENT_BIT property, then vkFlushMappedMemoryRanges must be called in order to guarantee that writes to the memory object from the host are made available to the host domain, where they can be further made available to the device domain via a domain operation. Similarly, vkInvalidateMappedMemoryRanges must be called to guarantee that writes which are available to the host domain are made visible to host operations.

If the memory object does have the VK_MEMORY_PROPERTY_HOST_COHERENT_BIT property flag, writes to the memory object from the host are automatically made available to the host domain. Similarly, writes made available to the host domain are automatically made visible to the host.

Note

Queue submission commands automatically perform a domain operation from host to device for all writes performed before the command executes, so in most cases an explicit memory barrier is not needed for this case. In the few circumstances where a submit does not occur between the host write and the device read access, writes can be made available by using an explicit memory barrier.

6.1.4. Framebuffer Region Dependencies

Pipeline stages that operate on, or with respect to, the framebuffer are collectively the framebuffer-space pipeline stages. These stages are:

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_FRAGMENT_SHADER_BIT

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_EARLY_FRAGMENT_TESTS_BIT

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_LATE_FRAGMENT_TESTS_BIT

  • VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_OUTPUT_BIT

For these pipeline stages, an execution or memory dependency from the first set of operations to the second set can either be a single framebuffer-global dependency, or split into multiple framebuffer-local dependencies. A dependency with non-framebuffer-space pipeline stages is neither framebuffer-global nor framebuffer-local.

A framebuffer region is a set of sample (x, y, layer, sample) coordinates that is a subset of the entire framebuffer.

Both synchronization scopes of a framebuffer-local dependency include only the operations performed within corresponding framebuffer regions (as defined below). No ordering guarantees are made between different framebuffer regions for a framebuffer-local dependency.

Both synchronization scopes of a framebuffer-global dependency include operations on all framebuffer-regions.

If the first synchronization scope includes operations on pixels/fragments with N samples and the second synchronization scope includes operations on pixels/fragments with M samples, where N does not equal M, then a framebuffer region containing all samples at a given (x, y, layer) coordinate in the first synchronization scope corresponds to a region containing all samples at the same coordinate in the second synchronization scope. In other words, it is a pixel granularity dependency. If N equals M, then a framebuffer region containing a single (x, y, layer, sample) coordinate in the first synchronization scope corresponds to a region containing the same sample at the same coordinate in the second synchronization scope. In other words, it is a sample granularity dependency.

Note

Since fragment invocations are not specified to run in any particular groupings, the size of a framebuffer region is implementation-dependent, not known to the application, and must be assumed to be no larger than specified above.
Note

Practically, the pixel vs sample granularity dependency means that if an input attachment has a different number of samples than the pipeline’s rasterizationSamples, then a fragment can access any sample in the input attachment’s pixel even if it only uses framebuffer-local dependencies. If the input attachment has the same number of samples, then the fragment can only access the covered samples in its input SampleMask (i.e. the fragment operations happen-after a framebuffer-local dependency for each sample the fragment covers). To access samples that are not covered, a framebuffer-global dependency is required.

If a synchronization command includes a dependencyFlags parameter, and specifies the VK_DEPENDENCY_BY_REGION_BIT flag, then it defines framebuffer-local dependencies for the framebuffer-space pipeline stages in that synchronization command, for all framebuffer regions. If no dependencyFlags parameter is included, or the VK_DEPENDENCY_BY_REGION_BIT flag is not specified, then a framebuffer-global dependency is specified for those stages. The VK_DEPENDENCY_BY_REGION_BIT flag does not affect the dependencies between non-framebuffer-space pipeline stages, nor does it affect the dependencies between framebuffer-space and non-framebuffer-space pipeline stages.

Note

Framebuffer-local dependencies are more optimal for most architectures; particularly tile-based architectures - which can keep framebuffer-regions entirely in on-chip registers and thus avoid external bandwidth across such a dependency. Including a framebuffer-global dependency in your rendering will usually force all implementations to flush data to memory, or to a higher level cache, breaking any potential locality optimizations.

6.1.5. View-Local Dependencies

In a render pass instance that has multiview enabled, dependencies can be either view-local or view-global.

A view-local dependency only includes operations from a single source view from the source subpass in the first synchronization scope, and only includes operations from a single destination view from the destination subpass in the second synchronization scope. A view-global dependency includes all views in the view mask of the source and destination subpasses in the corresponding synchronization scopes.

If a synchronization command includes a dependencyFlags parameter and specifies the VK_DEPENDENCY_VIEW_LOCAL_BIT flag, then it defines view-local dependencies for that synchronization command, for all views. If no dependencyFlags parameter is included or the VK_DEPENDENCY_VIEW_LOCAL_BIT flag is not specified, then a view-global dependency is specified.

6.1.6. Device-Local Dependencies

Dependencies can be either device-local or non-device-local. A device-local dependency acts as multiple separate dependencies, one for each physical device that executes the synchronization command, where each dependency only includes operations from that physical device in both synchronization scopes. A non-device-local dependency is a single dependency where both synchronization scopes include operations from all physical devices that participate in the synchronization command. For subpass dependencies, all physical devices in the VkDeviceGroupRenderPassBeginInfo::deviceMask participate in the dependency, and for pipeline barriers all physical devices that are set in the command buffer’s current device mask participate in the dependency.

If a synchronization command includes a dependencyFlags parameter and specifies the VK_DEPENDENCY_DEVICE_GROUP_BIT flag, then it defines a non-device-local dependency for that synchronization command. If no dependencyFlags parameter is included or the VK_DEPENDENCY_DEVICE_GROUP_BIT flag is not specified, then it defines device-local dependencies for that synchronization command, for all participating physical devices.

Semaphore and event dependencies are device-local and only execute on the one physical device that performs the dependency.

6.2. Implicit Synchronization Guarantees

A small number of implicit ordering guarantees are provided by Vulkan, ensuring that the order in which commands are submitted is meaningful, and avoiding unnecessary complexity in common operations.

Submission order is a fundamental ordering in Vulkan, giving meaning to the order in which action and synchronization commands are recorded and submitted to a single queue. Explicit and implicit ordering guarantees between commands in Vulkan all work on the premise that this ordering is meaningful. This order does not itself define any execution or memory dependencies; synchronization commands and other orderings within the API use this ordering to define their scopes.

Submission order for any given set of commands is based on the order in which they were recorded to command buffers and then submitted. This order is determined as follows:

  1. The initial order is determined by the order in which vkQueueSubmit commands are executed on the host, for a single queue, from first to last.

  2. The order in which VkSubmitInfo structures are specified in the pSubmits parameter of vkQueueSubmit, from lowest index to highest.

  3. The order in which command buffers are specified in the pCommandBuffers member of VkSubmitInfo, from lowest index to highest.

  4. The order in which commands were recorded to a command buffer on the host, from first to last:

    • For commands recorded outside a render pass, this includes all other commands recorded outside a render pass, including vkCmdBeginRenderPass and vkCmdEndRenderPass commands; it does not directly include commands inside a render pass.

    • For commands recorded inside a render pass, this includes all other commands recorded inside the same subpass, including the vkCmdBeginRenderPass and vkCmdEndRenderPass commands that delimit the same render pass instance; it does not include commands recorded to other subpasses.

State commands do not execute any operations on the device, instead they set the state of the command buffer when they execute on the host, in the order that they are recorded. Action commands consume the current state of the command buffer when they are recorded, and will execute state changes on the device as required to match the recorded state.

Query commands, the order of primitives passing through the graphics pipeline and image layout transitions as part of an image memory barrier provide additional guarantees based on submission order.

Execution of pipeline stages within a given command also has a loose ordering, dependent only on a single command.

Signal operation order is a fundamental ordering in Vulkan, giving meaning to the order in which semaphore and fence signal operations occur when submitted to a single queue. The signal operation order for queue operations is determined as follows:

  1. The initial order is determined by the order in which vkQueueSubmit commands are executed on the host, for a single queue, from first to last.

  2. The order in which VkSubmitInfo structures are specified in the pSubmits parameter of vkQueueSubmit, from lowest index to highest.

  3. The fence signal operation defined by the fence parameter of a vkQueueSubmit or vkQueueBindSparse command is ordered after all semaphore signal operations defined by that command.

Semaphore signal operations defined by a single VkSubmitInfo or VkBindSparseInfo structure are unordered with respect to other semaphore signal operations defined within the same VkSubmitInfo or VkBindSparseInfo structure.

The vkSignalSemaphore command does not execute on a queue but instead performs the signal operation from the host. The semaphore signal operation defined by executing a vkSignalSemaphore command happens-after the vkSignalSemaphore command is invoked and happens-before the command returns.

Note

When signaling timeline semaphores, it is the responsibility of the application to ensure that they are ordered such that the semaphore value is strictly increasing. Because the first synchronization scope for a semaphore signal operation contains all semaphore signal operations which occur earlier in submission order, all semaphore signal operations contained in any given batch are guaranteed to happen-after all semaphore signal operations contained in any previous batches. However, no ordering guarantee is provided between the semaphore signal operations defined within a single batch. This, combined with the requirement that timeline semaphore values strictly increase, means that it is invalid to signal the same timeline semaphore twice within a single batch.

If an application wishes to ensure that some semaphore signal operation happens-after some other semaphore signal operation, it can submit a separate batch containing only semaphore signal operations, which will happen-after the semaphore signal operations in any earlier batches.

When signaling a semaphore from the host, the only ordering guarantee is that the signal operation happens-after when vkSignalSemaphore is called and happens-before it returns. Therefore, it is invalid to call vkSignalSemaphore while there are any outstanding signal operations on that semaphore from any queue submissions unless those queue submissions have some dependency which ensures that they happen-after the host signal operation. One example of this would be if the pending signal operation is, itself, waiting on the same semaphore at a lower value and the call to vkSignalSemaphore signals that lower value. Furthermore, if there are two or more processes or threads signaling the same timeline semaphore from the host, the application must ensure that the vkSignalSemaphore with the lower semaphore value returns before vkSignalSemaphore is called with the higher value.

6.3. Fences

Fences are a synchronization primitive that can be used to insert a dependency from a queue to the host. Fences have two states - signaled and unsignaled. A fence can be signaled as part of the execution of a queue submission command. Fences can be unsignaled on the host with vkResetFences. Fences can be waited on by the host with the vkWaitForFences command, and the current state can be queried with vkGetFenceStatus.

As with most objects in Vulkan, fences are an interface to internal data which is typically opaque to applications. This internal data is referred to as a fence’s payload.

However, in order to enable communication with agents outside of the current device, it is necessary to be able to export that payload to a commonly understood format, and subsequently import from that format as well.

The internal data of a fence may include a reference to any resources and pending work associated with signal or unsignal operations performed on that fence object. Mechanisms to import and export that internal data to and from fences are provided below. These mechanisms indirectly enable applications to share fence state between two or more fences and other synchronization primitives across process and API boundaries.

Fences are represented by VkFence handles:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VK_DEFINE_NON_DISPATCHABLE_HANDLE(VkFence)

To create a fence, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VkResult vkCreateFence(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    const VkFenceCreateInfo*                    pCreateInfo,
    const VkAllocationCallbacks*                pAllocator,
    VkFence*                                    pFence);

  • device is the logical device that creates the fence.

  • pCreateInfo is a pointer to a VkFenceCreateInfo structure containing information about how the fence is to be created.

  • pAllocator controls host memory allocation as described in the Memory Allocation chapter.

  • pFence is a pointer to a handle in which the resulting fence object is returned.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

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

  • VUID-vkCreateFence-pCreateInfo-parameter
    pCreateInfo must be a valid pointer to a valid VkFenceCreateInfo structure

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

  • VUID-vkCreateFence-pFence-parameter
    pFence must be a valid pointer to a VkFence handle

Return Codes
Success

  • VK_SUCCESS

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

The VkFenceCreateInfo structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkFenceCreateInfo {
    VkStructureType       sType;
    const void*           pNext;
    VkFenceCreateFlags    flags;
} VkFenceCreateInfo;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • flags is a bitmask of VkFenceCreateFlagBits specifying the initial state and behavior of the fence.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkFenceCreateInfo-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_FENCE_CREATE_INFO

  • VUID-VkFenceCreateInfo-pNext-pNext
    pNext must be NULL or a pointer to a valid instance of VkExportFenceCreateInfo

  • VUID-VkFenceCreateInfo-sType-unique
    The sType value of each struct in the pNext chain must be unique

  • VUID-VkFenceCreateInfo-flags-parameter
    flags must be a valid combination of VkFenceCreateFlagBits values

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef enum VkFenceCreateFlagBits {
    VK_FENCE_CREATE_SIGNALED_BIT = 0x00000001,
} VkFenceCreateFlagBits;

  • VK_FENCE_CREATE_SIGNALED_BIT specifies that the fence object is created in the signaled state. Otherwise, it is created in the unsignaled state.

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef VkFlags VkFenceCreateFlags;

VkFenceCreateFlags is a bitmask type for setting a mask of zero or more VkFenceCreateFlagBits.

To create a fence whose payload can be exported to external handles, add a VkExportFenceCreateInfo structure to the pNext chain of the VkFenceCreateInfo structure. The VkExportFenceCreateInfo structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
typedef struct VkExportFenceCreateInfo {
    VkStructureType                   sType;
    const void*                       pNext;
    VkExternalFenceHandleTypeFlags    handleTypes;
} VkExportFenceCreateInfo;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • handleTypes is a bitmask of VkExternalFenceHandleTypeFlagBits specifying one or more fence handle types the application can export from the resulting fence. The application can request multiple handle types for the same fence.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-VkExportFenceCreateInfo-handleTypes-01446
    The bits in handleTypes must be supported and compatible, as reported by VkExternalFenceProperties

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkExportFenceCreateInfo-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_EXPORT_FENCE_CREATE_INFO

  • VUID-VkExportFenceCreateInfo-handleTypes-parameter
    handleTypes must be a valid combination of VkExternalFenceHandleTypeFlagBits values

To destroy a fence, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
void vkDestroyFence(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    VkFence                                     fence,
    const VkAllocationCallbacks*                pAllocator);

  • device is the logical device that destroys the fence.

  • fence is the handle of the fence to destroy.

  • pAllocator controls host memory allocation as described in the Memory Allocation chapter.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-vkDestroyFence-fence-01120
    All queue submission commands that refer to fence must have completed execution

  • VUID-vkDestroyFence-fence-01121
    If VkAllocationCallbacks were provided when fence was created, a compatible set of callbacks must be provided here

  • VUID-vkDestroyFence-fence-01122
    If no VkAllocationCallbacks were provided when fence was created, pAllocator must be NULL

Valid Usage (Implicit)

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

  • VUID-vkDestroyFence-fence-parameter
    If fence is not VK_NULL_HANDLE, fence must be a valid VkFence handle

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

  • VUID-vkDestroyFence-fence-parent
    If fence is a valid handle, it must have been created, allocated, or retrieved from device

Host Synchronization

  • Host access to fence must be externally synchronized

To query the status of a fence from the host, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VkResult vkGetFenceStatus(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    VkFence                                     fence);

  • device is the logical device that owns the fence.

  • fence is the handle of the fence to query.

Upon success, vkGetFenceStatus returns the status of the fence object, with the following return codes:

Table 5. Fence Object Status Codes
Status Meaning

VK_SUCCESS

The fence specified by fence is signaled.

VK_NOT_READY

The fence specified by fence is unsignaled.

VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST

The device has been lost. See Lost Device.

If a queue submission command is pending execution, then the value returned by this command may immediately be out of date.

If the device has been lost (see Lost Device), vkGetFenceStatus may return any of the above status codes. If the device has been lost and vkGetFenceStatus is called repeatedly, it will eventually return either VK_SUCCESS or VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

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

  • VUID-vkGetFenceStatus-fence-parameter
    fence must be a valid VkFence handle

  • VUID-vkGetFenceStatus-fence-parent
    fence must have been created, allocated, or retrieved from device

Return Codes
Success

  • VK_SUCCESS

  • VK_NOT_READY

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST

To set the state of fences to unsignaled from the host, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VkResult vkResetFences(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    uint32_t                                    fenceCount,
    const VkFence*                              pFences);

  • device is the logical device that owns the fences.

  • fenceCount is the number of fences to reset.

  • pFences is a pointer to an array of fence handles to reset.

If any member of pFences currently has its payload imported with temporary permanence, that fence’s prior permanent payload is first restored. The remaining operations described therefore operate on the restored payload.

When vkResetFences is executed on the host, it defines a fence unsignal operation for each fence, which resets the fence to the unsignaled state.

If any member of pFences is already in the unsignaled state when vkResetFences is executed, then vkResetFences has no effect on that fence.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-vkResetFences-pFences-01123
    Each element of pFences must not be currently associated with any queue command that has not yet completed execution on that queue

Valid Usage (Implicit)

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

  • VUID-vkResetFences-pFences-parameter
    pFences must be a valid pointer to an array of fenceCount valid VkFence handles

  • VUID-vkResetFences-fenceCount-arraylength
    fenceCount must be greater than 0

  • VUID-vkResetFences-pFences-parent
    Each element of pFences must have been created, allocated, or retrieved from device

Host Synchronization

  • Host access to each member of pFences must be externally synchronized

Return Codes
Success

  • VK_SUCCESS

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

When a fence is submitted to a queue as part of a queue submission command, it defines a memory dependency on the batches that were submitted as part of that command, and defines a fence signal operation which sets the fence to the signaled state.

The first synchronization scope includes every batch submitted in the same queue submission command. Fence signal operations that are defined by vkQueueSubmit additionally include in the first synchronization scope all commands that occur earlier in submission order. Fence signal operations that are defined by vkQueueSubmit or vkQueueBindSparse additionally include in the first synchronization scope any semaphore and fence signal operations that occur earlier in signal operation order.

The second synchronization scope only includes the fence signal operation.

The first access scope includes all memory access performed by the device.

The second access scope is empty.

To wait for one or more fences to enter the signaled state on the host, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VkResult vkWaitForFences(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    uint32_t                                    fenceCount,
    const VkFence*                              pFences,
    VkBool32                                    waitAll,
    uint64_t                                    timeout);

  • device is the logical device that owns the fences.

  • fenceCount is the number of fences to wait on.

  • pFences is a pointer to an array of fenceCount fence handles.

  • waitAll is the condition that must be satisfied to successfully unblock the wait. If waitAll is VK_TRUE, then the condition is that all fences in pFences are signaled. Otherwise, the condition is that at least one fence in pFences is signaled.

  • timeout is the timeout period in units of nanoseconds. timeout is adjusted to the closest value allowed by the implementation-dependent timeout accuracy, which may be substantially longer than one nanosecond, and may be longer than the requested period.

If the condition is satisfied when vkWaitForFences is called, then vkWaitForFences returns immediately. If the condition is not satisfied at the time vkWaitForFences is called, then vkWaitForFences will block and wait until the condition is satisfied or the timeout has expired, whichever is sooner.

If timeout is zero, then vkWaitForFences does not wait, but simply returns the current state of the fences. VK_TIMEOUT will be returned in this case if the condition is not satisfied, even though no actual wait was performed.

If the condition is satisfied before the timeout has expired, vkWaitForFences returns VK_SUCCESS. Otherwise, vkWaitForFences returns VK_TIMEOUT after the timeout has expired.

If device loss occurs (see Lost Device) before the timeout has expired, vkWaitForFences must return in finite time with either VK_SUCCESS or VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST.

Note

While we guarantee that vkWaitForFences must return in finite time, no guarantees are made that it returns immediately upon device loss. However, the client can reasonably expect that the delay will be on the order of seconds and that calling vkWaitForFences will not result in a permanently (or seemingly permanently) dead process.
Valid Usage (Implicit)

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

  • VUID-vkWaitForFences-pFences-parameter
    pFences must be a valid pointer to an array of fenceCount valid VkFence handles

  • VUID-vkWaitForFences-fenceCount-arraylength
    fenceCount must be greater than 0

  • VUID-vkWaitForFences-pFences-parent
    Each element of pFences must have been created, allocated, or retrieved from device

Return Codes
Success

  • VK_SUCCESS

  • VK_TIMEOUT

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST

An execution dependency is defined by waiting for a fence to become signaled, either via vkWaitForFences or by polling on vkGetFenceStatus.

The first synchronization scope includes only the fence signal operation.

The second synchronization scope includes the host operations of vkWaitForFences or vkGetFenceStatus indicating that the fence has become signaled.

Note

Signaling a fence and waiting on the host does not guarantee that the results of memory accesses will be visible to the host, as the access scope of a memory dependency defined by a fence only includes device access. A memory barrier or other memory dependency must be used to guarantee this. See the description of host access types for more information.

6.3.1. Importing Fence Payloads

Applications can import a fence payload into an existing fence using an external fence handle. The effects of the import operation will be either temporary or permanent, as specified by the application. If the import is temporary, the fence will be restored to its permanent state the next time that fence is passed to vkResetFences.

Note

Restoring a fence to its prior permanent payload is a distinct operation from resetting a fence payload. See vkResetFences for more detail.

Performing a subsequent temporary import on a fence before resetting it has no effect on this requirement; the next unsignal of the fence must still restore its last permanent state. A permanent payload import behaves as if the target fence was destroyed, and a new fence was created with the same handle but the imported payload. Because importing a fence payload temporarily or permanently detaches the existing payload from a fence, similar usage restrictions to those applied to vkDestroyFence are applied to any command that imports a fence payload. Which of these import types is used is referred to as the import operation’s permanence. Each handle type supports either one or both types of permanence.

The implementation must perform the import operation by either referencing or copying the payload referred to by the specified external fence handle, depending on the handle’s type. The import method used is referred to as the handle type’s transference. When using handle types with reference transference, importing a payload to a fence adds the fence to the set of all fences sharing that payload. This set includes the fence from which the payload was exported. Fence signaling, waiting, and resetting operations performed on any fence in the set must behave as if the set were a single fence. Importing a payload using handle types with copy transference creates a duplicate copy of the payload at the time of import, but makes no further reference to it. Fence signaling, waiting, and resetting operations performed on the target of copy imports must not affect any other fence or payload.

Export operations have the same transference as the specified handle type’s import operations. Additionally, exporting a fence payload to a handle with copy transference has the same side effects on the source fence’s payload as executing a fence reset operation. If the fence was using a temporarily imported payload, the fence’s prior permanent payload will be restored.

External synchronization allows implementations to modify an object’s internal state, i.e. payload, without internal synchronization. However, for fences sharing a payload across processes, satisfying the external synchronization requirements of VkFence parameters as if all fences in the set were the same object is sometimes infeasible. Satisfying valid usage constraints on the state of a fence would similarly require impractical coordination or levels of trust between processes. Therefore, these constraints only apply to a specific fence handle, not to its payload. For distinct fence objects which share a payload:

  • If multiple commands which queue a signal operation, or which unsignal a fence, are called concurrently, behavior will be as if the commands were called in an arbitrary sequential order.

  • If a queue submission command is called with a fence that is sharing a payload, and the payload is already associated with another queue command that has not yet completed execution, either one or both of the commands will cause the fence to become signaled when they complete execution.

  • If a fence payload is reset while it is associated with a queue command that has not yet completed execution, the payload will become unsignaled, but may become signaled again when the command completes execution.

  • In the preceding cases, any of the devices associated with the fences sharing the payload may be lost, or any of the queue submission or fence reset commands may return VK_ERROR_INITIALIZATION_FAILED.

Other than these non-deterministic results, behavior is well defined. In particular:

  • The implementation must not crash or enter an internally inconsistent state where future valid Vulkan commands might cause undefined results,

  • Timeouts on future wait commands on fences sharing the payload must be effective.

Note

These rules allow processes to synchronize access to shared memory without trusting each other. However, such processes must still be cautious not to use the shared fence for more than synchronizing access to the shared memory. For example, a process should not use a fence with shared payload to tell when commands it submitted to a queue have completed and objects used by those commands may be destroyed, since the other process can accidentally or maliciously cause the fence to signal before the commands actually complete.

When a fence is using an imported payload, its VkExportFenceCreateInfo::handleTypes value is that specified when creating the fence from which the payload was exported, rather than that specified when creating the fence. Additionally, VkExternalFenceProperties::exportFromImportedHandleTypes restricts which handle types can be exported from such a fence based on the specific handle type used to import the current payload.

When importing a fence payload, it is the responsibility of the application to ensure the external handles meet all valid usage requirements. However, implementations must perform sufficient validation of external handles to ensure that the operation results in a valid fence which will not cause program termination, device loss, queue stalls, host thread stalls, or corruption of other resources when used as allowed according to its import parameters. If the external handle provided does not meet these requirements, the implementation must fail the fence payload import operation with the error code VK_ERROR_INVALID_EXTERNAL_HANDLE.

6.4. Semaphores

Semaphores are a synchronization primitive that can be used to insert a dependency between queue operations or between a queue operation and the host. Binary semaphores have two states - signaled and unsignaled. Timeline semaphores have a monotonically increasing 64-bit unsigned integer payload and are signaled with respect to a particular reference value. A semaphore can be signaled after execution of a queue operation is completed, and a queue operation can wait for a semaphore to become signaled before it begins execution. A timeline semaphore can additionally be signaled from the host with the vkSignalSemaphore command and waited on from the host with the vkWaitSemaphores command.

As with most objects in Vulkan, semaphores are an interface to internal data which is typically opaque to applications. This internal data is referred to as a semaphore’s payload.

However, in order to enable communication with agents outside of the current device, it is necessary to be able to export that payload to a commonly understood format, and subsequently import from that format as well.

The internal data of a semaphore may include a reference to any resources and pending work associated with signal or unsignal operations performed on that semaphore object. Mechanisms to import and export that internal data to and from semaphores are provided below. These mechanisms indirectly enable applications to share semaphore state between two or more semaphores and other synchronization primitives across process and API boundaries.

Semaphores are represented by VkSemaphore handles:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VK_DEFINE_NON_DISPATCHABLE_HANDLE(VkSemaphore)

To create a semaphore, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VkResult vkCreateSemaphore(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    const VkSemaphoreCreateInfo*                pCreateInfo,
    const VkAllocationCallbacks*                pAllocator,
    VkSemaphore*                                pSemaphore);

  • device is the logical device that creates the semaphore.

  • pCreateInfo is a pointer to a VkSemaphoreCreateInfo structure containing information about how the semaphore is to be created.

  • pAllocator controls host memory allocation as described in the Memory Allocation chapter.

  • pSemaphore is a pointer to a handle in which the resulting semaphore object is returned.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

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

  • VUID-vkCreateSemaphore-pCreateInfo-parameter
    pCreateInfo must be a valid pointer to a valid VkSemaphoreCreateInfo structure

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

  • VUID-vkCreateSemaphore-pSemaphore-parameter
    pSemaphore must be a valid pointer to a VkSemaphore handle

Return Codes
Success

  • VK_SUCCESS

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

The VkSemaphoreCreateInfo structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkSemaphoreCreateInfo {
    VkStructureType           sType;
    const void*               pNext;
    VkSemaphoreCreateFlags    flags;
} VkSemaphoreCreateInfo;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • flags is reserved for future use.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkSemaphoreCreateInfo-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_SEMAPHORE_CREATE_INFO

  • VUID-VkSemaphoreCreateInfo-pNext-pNext
    Each pNext member of any structure (including this one) in the pNext chain must be either NULL or a pointer to a valid instance of VkExportSemaphoreCreateInfo or VkSemaphoreTypeCreateInfo

  • VUID-VkSemaphoreCreateInfo-sType-unique
    The sType value of each struct in the pNext chain must be unique

  • VUID-VkSemaphoreCreateInfo-flags-zerobitmask
    flags must be 0

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef VkFlags VkSemaphoreCreateFlags;

VkSemaphoreCreateFlags is a bitmask type for setting a mask, but is currently reserved for future use.

To create a semaphore of a specific type, add a VkSemaphoreTypeCreateInfo structure to the pNext chain of the VkSemaphoreCreateInfo structure. The VkSemaphoreTypeCreateInfo structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
typedef struct VkSemaphoreTypeCreateInfo {
    VkStructureType    sType;
    const void*        pNext;
    VkSemaphoreType    semaphoreType;
    uint64_t           initialValue;
} VkSemaphoreTypeCreateInfo;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • semaphoreType is a VkSemaphoreType value specifying the type of the semaphore.

  • initialValue is the initial payload value if semaphoreType is VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_TIMELINE.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkSemaphoreTypeCreateInfo-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_CREATE_INFO

  • VUID-VkSemaphoreTypeCreateInfo-semaphoreType-parameter
    semaphoreType must be a valid VkSemaphoreType value

Valid Usage

  • VUID-VkSemaphoreTypeCreateInfo-timelineSemaphore-03252
    If the timelineSemaphore feature is not enabled, semaphoreType must not equal VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_TIMELINE

  • VUID-VkSemaphoreTypeCreateInfo-semaphoreType-03279
    If semaphoreType is VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_BINARY, initialValue must be zero

If no VkSemaphoreTypeCreateInfo structure is included in the pNext chain of VkSemaphoreCreateInfo, then the created semaphore will have a default VkSemaphoreType of VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_BINARY.

Possible values of VkSemaphoreTypeCreateInfo::semaphoreType, specifying the type of a semaphore, are:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
typedef enum VkSemaphoreType {
    VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_BINARY = 0,
    VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_TIMELINE = 1,
} VkSemaphoreType;

  • VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_BINARY specifies a binary semaphore type that has a boolean payload indicating whether the semaphore is currently signaled or unsignaled. When created, the semaphore is in the unsignaled state.

  • VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_TIMELINE specifies a timeline semaphore type that has a monotonically increasing 64-bit unsigned integer payload indicating whether the semaphore is signaled with respect to a particular reference value. When created, the semaphore payload has the value given by the initialValue field of VkSemaphoreTypeCreateInfo.

To create a semaphore whose payload can be exported to external handles, add a VkExportSemaphoreCreateInfo structure to the pNext chain of the VkSemaphoreCreateInfo structure. The VkExportSemaphoreCreateInfo structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
typedef struct VkExportSemaphoreCreateInfo {
    VkStructureType                       sType;
    const void*                           pNext;
    VkExternalSemaphoreHandleTypeFlags    handleTypes;
} VkExportSemaphoreCreateInfo;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • handleTypes is a bitmask of VkExternalSemaphoreHandleTypeFlagBits specifying one or more semaphore handle types the application can export from the resulting semaphore. The application can request multiple handle types for the same semaphore.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-VkExportSemaphoreCreateInfo-handleTypes-01124
    The bits in handleTypes must be supported and compatible, as reported by VkExternalSemaphoreProperties

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkExportSemaphoreCreateInfo-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_EXPORT_SEMAPHORE_CREATE_INFO

  • VUID-VkExportSemaphoreCreateInfo-handleTypes-parameter
    handleTypes must be a valid combination of VkExternalSemaphoreHandleTypeFlagBits values

To destroy a semaphore, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
void vkDestroySemaphore(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    VkSemaphore                                 semaphore,
    const VkAllocationCallbacks*                pAllocator);

  • device is the logical device that destroys the semaphore.

  • semaphore is the handle of the semaphore to destroy.

  • pAllocator controls host memory allocation as described in the Memory Allocation chapter.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-vkDestroySemaphore-semaphore-01137
    All submitted batches that refer to semaphore must have completed execution

  • VUID-vkDestroySemaphore-semaphore-01138
    If VkAllocationCallbacks were provided when semaphore was created, a compatible set of callbacks must be provided here

  • VUID-vkDestroySemaphore-semaphore-01139
    If no VkAllocationCallbacks were provided when semaphore was created, pAllocator must be NULL

Valid Usage (Implicit)

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

  • VUID-vkDestroySemaphore-semaphore-parameter
    If semaphore is not VK_NULL_HANDLE, semaphore must be a valid VkSemaphore handle

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

  • VUID-vkDestroySemaphore-semaphore-parent
    If semaphore is a valid handle, it must have been created, allocated, or retrieved from device

Host Synchronization

  • Host access to semaphore must be externally synchronized

6.4.1. Semaphore Signaling

When a batch is submitted to a queue via a queue submission, and it includes semaphores to be signaled, it defines a memory dependency on the batch, and defines semaphore signal operations which set the semaphores to the signaled state.

In case of semaphores created with a VkSemaphoreType of VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_TIMELINE the semaphore is considered signaled with respect to the counter value set to be signaled as specified in VkTimelineSemaphoreSubmitInfo or VkSemaphoreSignalInfo.

The first synchronization scope includes every command submitted in the same batch. Semaphore signal operations that are defined by vkQueueSubmit additionally include all commands that occur earlier in submission order. Semaphore signal operations that are defined by vkQueueSubmit or vkQueueBindSparse additionally include in the first synchronization scope any semaphore and fence signal operations that occur earlier in signal operation order.

The second synchronization scope includes only the semaphore signal operation.

The first access scope includes all memory access performed by the device.

The second access scope is empty.

6.4.2. Semaphore Waiting

When a batch is submitted to a queue via a queue submission, and it includes semaphores to be waited on, it defines a memory dependency between prior semaphore signal operations and the batch, and defines semaphore wait operations.

Such semaphore wait operations set the semaphores created with a VkSemaphoreType of VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_BINARY to the unsignaled state. In case of semaphores created with a VkSemaphoreType of VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_TIMELINE a prior semaphore signal operation defines a memory dependency with a semaphore wait operation if the value the semaphore is signaled with is greater than or equal to the value the semaphore is waited with, thus the semaphore will continue to be considered signaled with respect to the counter value waited on as specified in VkTimelineSemaphoreSubmitInfo.

The first synchronization scope includes all semaphore signal operations that operate on semaphores waited on in the same batch, and that happen-before the wait completes.

The second synchronization scope includes every command submitted in the same batch. In the case of vkQueueSubmit, the second synchronization scope is limited to operations on the pipeline stages determined by the destination stage mask specified by the corresponding element of pWaitDstStageMask. Also, in the case of vkQueueSubmit, the second synchronization scope additionally includes all commands that occur later in submission order.

The first access scope is empty.

The second access scope includes all memory access performed by the device.

The semaphore wait operation happens-after the first set of operations in the execution dependency, and happens-before the second set of operations in the execution dependency.

Note

Unlike timeline semaphores, fences or events, the act of waiting for a binary semaphore also unsignals that semaphore. Applications must ensure that between two such wait operations, the semaphore is signaled again, with execution dependencies used to ensure these occur in order. Binary semaphore waits and signals should thus occur in discrete 1:1 pairs.

6.4.3. Semaphore State Requirements For Wait Operations

Before waiting on a semaphore, the application must ensure the semaphore is in a valid state for a wait operation. Specifically, when a semaphore wait operation is submitted to a queue:

  • A binary semaphore must be signaled, or have an associated semaphore signal operation that is pending execution.

  • Any semaphore signal operations on which the pending binary semaphore signal operation depends must also be completed or pending execution.

  • There must be no other queue waiting on the same binary semaphore when the operation executes.

6.4.4. Host Operations on Semaphores

In addition to semaphore signal operations and semaphore wait operations submitted to device queues, timeline semaphores support the following host operations:

  • Query the current counter value of the semaphore using the vkGetSemaphoreCounterValue command.

  • Wait for a set of semaphores to reach particular counter values using the vkWaitSemaphores command.

  • Signal the semaphore with a particular counter value from the host using the vkSignalSemaphore command.

To query the current counter value of a semaphore created with a VkSemaphoreType of VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_TIMELINE from the host, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
VkResult vkGetSemaphoreCounterValue(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    VkSemaphore                                 semaphore,
    uint64_t*                                   pValue);

  • device is the logical device that owns the semaphore.

  • semaphore is the handle of the semaphore to query.

  • pValue is a pointer to a 64-bit integer value in which the current counter value of the semaphore is returned.

Note

If a queue submission command is pending execution, then the value returned by this command may immediately be out of date.
Valid Usage

  • VUID-vkGetSemaphoreCounterValue-semaphore-03255
    semaphore must have been created with a VkSemaphoreType of VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_TIMELINE

Valid Usage (Implicit)

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

  • VUID-vkGetSemaphoreCounterValue-semaphore-parameter
    semaphore must be a valid VkSemaphore handle

  • VUID-vkGetSemaphoreCounterValue-pValue-parameter
    pValue must be a valid pointer to a uint64_t value

  • VUID-vkGetSemaphoreCounterValue-semaphore-parent
    semaphore must have been created, allocated, or retrieved from device

Return Codes
Success

  • VK_SUCCESS

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST

To wait for a set of semaphores created with a VkSemaphoreType of VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_TIMELINE to reach particular counter values on the host, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
VkResult vkWaitSemaphores(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    const VkSemaphoreWaitInfo*                  pWaitInfo,
    uint64_t                                    timeout);

  • device is the logical device that owns the semaphore.

  • pWaitInfo is a pointer to a VkSemaphoreWaitInfo structure containing information about the wait condition.

  • timeout is the timeout period in units of nanoseconds. timeout is adjusted to the closest value allowed by the implementation-dependent timeout accuracy, which may be substantially longer than one nanosecond, and may be longer than the requested period.

If the condition is satisfied when vkWaitSemaphores is called, then vkWaitSemaphores returns immediately. If the condition is not satisfied at the time vkWaitSemaphores is called, then vkWaitSemaphores will block and wait until the condition is satisfied or the timeout has expired, whichever is sooner.

If timeout is zero, then vkWaitSemaphores does not wait, but simply returns information about the current state of the semaphore. VK_TIMEOUT will be returned in this case if the condition is not satisfied, even though no actual wait was performed.

If the condition is satisfied before the timeout has expired, vkWaitSemaphores returns VK_SUCCESS. Otherwise, vkWaitSemaphores returns VK_TIMEOUT after the timeout has expired.

If device loss occurs (see Lost Device) before the timeout has expired, vkWaitSemaphores must return in finite time with either VK_SUCCESS or VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

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

  • VUID-vkWaitSemaphores-pWaitInfo-parameter
    pWaitInfo must be a valid pointer to a valid VkSemaphoreWaitInfo structure

Return Codes
Success

  • VK_SUCCESS

  • VK_TIMEOUT

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST

The VkSemaphoreWaitInfo structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
typedef struct VkSemaphoreWaitInfo {
    VkStructureType         sType;
    const void*             pNext;
    VkSemaphoreWaitFlags    flags;
    uint32_t                semaphoreCount;
    const VkSemaphore*      pSemaphores;
    const uint64_t*         pValues;
} VkSemaphoreWaitInfo;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • flags is a bitmask of VkSemaphoreWaitFlagBits specifying additional parameters for the semaphore wait operation.

  • semaphoreCount is the number of semaphores to wait on.

  • pSemaphores is a pointer to an array of semaphoreCount semaphore handles to wait on.

  • pValues is a pointer to an array of semaphoreCount timeline semaphore values.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-VkSemaphoreWaitInfo-pSemaphores-03256
    All of the elements of pSemaphores must reference a semaphore that was created with a VkSemaphoreType of VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_TIMELINE

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkSemaphoreWaitInfo-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_SEMAPHORE_WAIT_INFO

  • VUID-VkSemaphoreWaitInfo-pNext-pNext
    pNext must be NULL

  • VUID-VkSemaphoreWaitInfo-flags-parameter
    flags must be a valid combination of VkSemaphoreWaitFlagBits values

  • VUID-VkSemaphoreWaitInfo-pSemaphores-parameter
    pSemaphores must be a valid pointer to an array of semaphoreCount valid VkSemaphore handles

  • VUID-VkSemaphoreWaitInfo-pValues-parameter
    pValues must be a valid pointer to an array of semaphoreCount uint64_t values

  • VUID-VkSemaphoreWaitInfo-semaphoreCount-arraylength
    semaphoreCount must be greater than 0

Bits which can be set in VkSemaphoreWaitInfo::flags, specifying additional parameters of a semaphore wait operation, are:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
typedef enum VkSemaphoreWaitFlagBits {
    VK_SEMAPHORE_WAIT_ANY_BIT = 0x00000001,
} VkSemaphoreWaitFlagBits;

  • VK_SEMAPHORE_WAIT_ANY_BIT specifies that the semaphore wait condition is that at least one of the semaphores in VkSemaphoreWaitInfo::pSemaphores has reached the value specified by the corresponding element of VkSemaphoreWaitInfo::pValues. If VK_SEMAPHORE_WAIT_ANY_BIT is not set, the semaphore wait condition is that all of the semaphores in VkSemaphoreWaitInfo::pSemaphores have reached the value specified by the corresponding element of VkSemaphoreWaitInfo::pValues.

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
typedef VkFlags VkSemaphoreWaitFlags;

VkSemaphoreWaitFlags is a bitmask type for setting a mask of zero or more VkSemaphoreWaitFlagBits.

To signal a semaphore created with a VkSemaphoreType of VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_TIMELINE with a particular counter value, on the host, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
VkResult vkSignalSemaphore(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    const VkSemaphoreSignalInfo*                pSignalInfo);

  • device is the logical device that owns the semaphore.

  • pSignalInfo is a pointer to a VkSemaphoreSignalInfo structure containing information about the signal operation.

When vkSignalSemaphore is executed on the host, it defines and immediately executes a semaphore signal operation which sets the timeline semaphore to the given value.

The first synchronization scope is defined by the host execution model, but includes execution of vkSignalSemaphore on the host and anything that happened-before it.

The second synchronization scope is empty.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

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

  • VUID-vkSignalSemaphore-pSignalInfo-parameter
    pSignalInfo must be a valid pointer to a valid VkSemaphoreSignalInfo structure

Return Codes
Success

  • VK_SUCCESS

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

The VkSemaphoreSignalInfo structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
typedef struct VkSemaphoreSignalInfo {
    VkStructureType    sType;
    const void*        pNext;
    VkSemaphore        semaphore;
    uint64_t           value;
} VkSemaphoreSignalInfo;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • semaphore is the handle of the semaphore to signal.

  • value is the value to signal.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-VkSemaphoreSignalInfo-semaphore-03257
    semaphore must have been created with a VkSemaphoreType of VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_TIMELINE

  • VUID-VkSemaphoreSignalInfo-value-03258
    value must have a value greater than the current value of the semaphore

  • VUID-VkSemaphoreSignalInfo-value-03259
    value must be less than the value of any pending semaphore signal operations

  • VUID-VkSemaphoreSignalInfo-value-03260
    value must have a value which does not differ from the current value of the semaphore or the value of any outstanding semaphore wait or signal operation on semaphore by more than maxTimelineSemaphoreValueDifference

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkSemaphoreSignalInfo-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_SEMAPHORE_SIGNAL_INFO

  • VUID-VkSemaphoreSignalInfo-pNext-pNext
    pNext must be NULL

  • VUID-VkSemaphoreSignalInfo-semaphore-parameter
    semaphore must be a valid VkSemaphore handle

6.4.5. Importing Semaphore Payloads

Applications can import a semaphore payload into an existing semaphore using an external semaphore handle. The effects of the import operation will be either temporary or permanent, as specified by the application. If the import is temporary, the implementation must restore the semaphore to its prior permanent state after submitting the next semaphore wait operation. Performing a subsequent temporary import on a semaphore before performing a semaphore wait has no effect on this requirement; the next wait submitted on the semaphore must still restore its last permanent state. A permanent payload import behaves as if the target semaphore was destroyed, and a new semaphore was created with the same handle but the imported payload. Because importing a semaphore payload temporarily or permanently detaches the existing payload from a semaphore, similar usage restrictions to those applied to vkDestroySemaphore are applied to any command that imports a semaphore payload. Which of these import types is used is referred to as the import operation’s permanence. Each handle type supports either one or both types of permanence.

The implementation must perform the import operation by either referencing or copying the payload referred to by the specified external semaphore handle, depending on the handle’s type. The import method used is referred to as the handle type’s transference. When using handle types with reference transference, importing a payload to a semaphore adds the semaphore to the set of all semaphores sharing that payload. This set includes the semaphore from which the payload was exported. Semaphore signaling and waiting operations performed on any semaphore in the set must behave as if the set were a single semaphore. Importing a payload using handle types with copy transference creates a duplicate copy of the payload at the time of import, but makes no further reference to it. Semaphore signaling and waiting operations performed on the target of copy imports must not affect any other semaphore or payload.

Export operations have the same transference as the specified handle type’s import operations. Additionally, exporting a semaphore payload to a handle with copy transference has the same side effects on the source semaphore’s payload as executing a semaphore wait operation. If the semaphore was using a temporarily imported payload, the semaphore’s prior permanent payload will be restored.

External synchronization allows implementations to modify an object’s internal state, i.e. payload, without internal synchronization. However, for semaphores sharing a payload across processes, satisfying the external synchronization requirements of VkSemaphore parameters as if all semaphores in the set were the same object is sometimes infeasible. Satisfying the wait operation state requirements would similarly require impractical coordination or levels of trust between processes. Therefore, these constraints only apply to a specific semaphore handle, not to its payload. For distinct semaphore objects which share a payload, if the semaphores are passed to separate queue submission commands concurrently, behavior will be as if the commands were called in an arbitrary sequential order. If the wait operation state requirements are violated for the shared payload by a queue submission command, or if a signal operation is queued for a shared payload that is already signaled or has a pending signal operation, effects must be limited to one or more of the following:

  • Returning VK_ERROR_INITIALIZATION_FAILED from the command which resulted in the violation.

  • Losing the logical device on which the violation occurred immediately or at a future time, resulting in a VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST error from subsequent commands, including the one causing the violation.

  • Continuing execution of the violating command or operation as if the semaphore wait completed successfully after an implementation-dependent timeout. In this case, the state of the payload becomes undefined, and future operations on semaphores sharing the payload will be subject to these same rules. The semaphore must be destroyed or have its payload replaced by an import operation to again have a well-defined state.

Note

These rules allow processes to synchronize access to shared memory without trusting each other. However, such processes must still be cautious not to use the shared semaphore for more than synchronizing access to the shared memory. For example, a process should not use a shared semaphore as part of an execution dependency chain that, when complete, leads to objects being destroyed, if it does not trust other processes sharing the semaphore payload.

When a semaphore is using an imported payload, its VkExportSemaphoreCreateInfo::handleTypes value is that specified when creating the semaphore from which the payload was exported, rather than that specified when creating the semaphore. Additionally, VkExternalSemaphoreProperties::exportFromImportedHandleTypes restricts which handle types can be exported from such a semaphore based on the specific handle type used to import the current payload.

When importing a semaphore payload, it is the responsibility of the application to ensure the external handles meet all valid usage requirements. However, implementations must perform sufficient validation of external handles to ensure that the operation results in a valid semaphore which will not cause program termination, device loss, queue stalls, or corruption of other resources when used as allowed according to its import parameters, and excepting those side effects allowed for violations of the valid semaphore state for wait operations rules. If the external handle provided does not meet these requirements, the implementation must fail the semaphore payload import operation with the error code VK_ERROR_INVALID_EXTERNAL_HANDLE.

In addition, when importing a semaphore payload that is not compatible with the payload type corresponding to the VkSemaphoreType the semaphore was created with, the implementation may fail the semaphore payload import operation with the error code VK_ERROR_INVALID_EXTERNAL_HANDLE.

Note

As the introduction of the external semaphore handle type VK_EXTERNAL_SEMAPHORE_HANDLE_TYPE_D3D12_FENCE_BIT predates that of timeline semaphores, support for importing semaphore payloads from external handles of that type into semaphores created (implicitly or explicitly) with a VkSemaphoreType of VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_BINARY is preserved for backwards compatibility. However, applications should prefer importing such handle types into semaphores created with a VkSemaphoreType of VK_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_TIMELINE.

6.5. Events

Events are a synchronization primitive that can be used to insert a fine-grained dependency between commands submitted to the same queue, or between the host and a queue. Events must not be used to insert a dependency between commands submitted to different queues. Events have two states - signaled and unsignaled. An application can signal or unsignal an event either on the host or on the device. A device can be made to wait for an event to become signaled before executing further operations. No command exists to wait for an event to become signaled on the host, but the current state of an event can be queried.

Events are represented by VkEvent handles:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VK_DEFINE_NON_DISPATCHABLE_HANDLE(VkEvent)

To create an event, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VkResult vkCreateEvent(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    const VkEventCreateInfo*                    pCreateInfo,
    const VkAllocationCallbacks*                pAllocator,
    VkEvent*                                    pEvent);

  • device is the logical device that creates the event.

  • pCreateInfo is a pointer to a VkEventCreateInfo structure containing information about how the event is to be created.

  • pAllocator controls host memory allocation as described in the Memory Allocation chapter.

  • pEvent is a pointer to a handle in which the resulting event object is returned.

When created, the event object is in the unsignaled state.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

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

  • VUID-vkCreateEvent-pCreateInfo-parameter
    pCreateInfo must be a valid pointer to a valid VkEventCreateInfo structure

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

  • VUID-vkCreateEvent-pEvent-parameter
    pEvent must be a valid pointer to a VkEvent handle

Return Codes
Success

  • VK_SUCCESS

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

The VkEventCreateInfo structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkEventCreateInfo {
    VkStructureType       sType;
    const void*           pNext;
    VkEventCreateFlags    flags;
} VkEventCreateInfo;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • flags is reserved for future use.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkEventCreateInfo-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_EVENT_CREATE_INFO

  • VUID-VkEventCreateInfo-pNext-pNext
    pNext must be NULL

  • VUID-VkEventCreateInfo-flags-zerobitmask
    flags must be 0

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef VkFlags VkEventCreateFlags;

VkEventCreateFlags is a bitmask type for setting a mask, but is currently reserved for future use.

To destroy an event, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
void vkDestroyEvent(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    VkEvent                                     event,
    const VkAllocationCallbacks*                pAllocator);

  • device is the logical device that destroys the event.

  • event is the handle of the event to destroy.

  • pAllocator controls host memory allocation as described in the Memory Allocation chapter.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-vkDestroyEvent-event-01145
    All submitted commands that refer to event must have completed execution

  • VUID-vkDestroyEvent-event-01146
    If VkAllocationCallbacks were provided when event was created, a compatible set of callbacks must be provided here

  • VUID-vkDestroyEvent-event-01147
    If no VkAllocationCallbacks were provided when event was created, pAllocator must be NULL

Valid Usage (Implicit)

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

  • VUID-vkDestroyEvent-event-parameter
    If event is not VK_NULL_HANDLE, event must be a valid VkEvent handle

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

  • VUID-vkDestroyEvent-event-parent
    If event is a valid handle, it must have been created, allocated, or retrieved from device

Host Synchronization

  • Host access to event must be externally synchronized

To query the state of an event from the host, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VkResult vkGetEventStatus(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    VkEvent                                     event);

  • device is the logical device that owns the event.

  • event is the handle of the event to query.

Upon success, vkGetEventStatus returns the state of the event object with the following return codes:

Table 6. Event Object Status Codes
Status Meaning

VK_EVENT_SET

The event specified by event is signaled.

VK_EVENT_RESET

The event specified by event is unsignaled.

If a vkCmdSetEvent or vkCmdResetEvent command is in a command buffer that is in the pending state, then the value returned by this command may immediately be out of date.

The state of an event can be updated by the host. The state of the event is immediately changed, and subsequent calls to vkGetEventStatus will return the new state. If an event is already in the requested state, then updating it to the same state has no effect.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

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

  • VUID-vkGetEventStatus-event-parameter
    event must be a valid VkEvent handle

  • VUID-vkGetEventStatus-event-parent
    event must have been created, allocated, or retrieved from device

Return Codes
Success

  • VK_EVENT_SET

  • VK_EVENT_RESET

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST

To set the state of an event to signaled from the host, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VkResult vkSetEvent(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    VkEvent                                     event);

  • device is the logical device that owns the event.

  • event is the event to set.

When vkSetEvent is executed on the host, it defines an event signal operation which sets the event to the signaled state.

If event is already in the signaled state when vkSetEvent is executed, then vkSetEvent has no effect, and no event signal operation occurs.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

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

  • VUID-vkSetEvent-event-parameter
    event must be a valid VkEvent handle

  • VUID-vkSetEvent-event-parent
    event must have been created, allocated, or retrieved from device

Host Synchronization

  • Host access to event must be externally synchronized

Return Codes
Success

  • VK_SUCCESS

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

To set the state of an event to unsignaled from the host, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VkResult vkResetEvent(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    VkEvent                                     event);

  • device is the logical device that owns the event.

  • event is the event to reset.

When vkResetEvent is executed on the host, it defines an event unsignal operation which resets the event to the unsignaled state.

If event is already in the unsignaled state when vkResetEvent is executed, then vkResetEvent has no effect, and no event unsignal operation occurs.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-vkResetEvent-event-01148
    event must not be waited on by a vkCmdWaitEvents command that is currently executing

Valid Usage (Implicit)

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

  • VUID-vkResetEvent-event-parameter
    event must be a valid VkEvent handle

  • VUID-vkResetEvent-event-parent
    event must have been created, allocated, or retrieved from device

Host Synchronization

  • Host access to event must be externally synchronized

Return Codes
Success

  • VK_SUCCESS

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

The state of an event can also be updated on the device by commands inserted in command buffers.

To set the state of an event to signaled from a device, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
void vkCmdSetEvent(
    VkCommandBuffer                             commandBuffer,
    VkEvent                                     event,
    VkPipelineStageFlags                        stageMask);

  • commandBuffer is the command buffer into which the command is recorded.

  • event is the event that will be signaled.

  • stageMask specifies the source stage mask used to determine the first synchronization scope.

When vkCmdSetEvent is submitted to a queue, it defines an execution dependency on commands that were submitted before it, and defines an event signal operation which sets the event to the signaled state.

The first synchronization scope includes all commands that occur earlier in submission order. The synchronization scope is limited to operations on the pipeline stages determined by the source stage mask specified by stageMask.

The second synchronization scope includes only the event signal operation.

If event is already in the signaled state when vkCmdSetEvent is executed on the device, then vkCmdSetEvent has no effect, no event signal operation occurs, and no execution dependency is generated.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-vkCmdSetEvent-stageMask-04090
    If the geometry shaders feature is not enabled, stageMask must not contain VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_GEOMETRY_SHADER_BIT

  • VUID-vkCmdSetEvent-stageMask-04091
    If the tessellation shaders feature is not enabled, stageMask must not contain VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_SHADER_BIT or VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_SHADER_BIT

  • VUID-vkCmdSetEvent-stageMask-4098
    Any pipeline stage included in stageMask must be supported by the capabilities of the queue family specified by the queueFamilyIndex member of the VkCommandPoolCreateInfo structure that was used to create the VkCommandPool that commandBuffer was allocated from, as specified in the table of supported pipeline stages

  • VUID-vkCmdSetEvent-stageMask-01149
    stageMask must not include VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_HOST_BIT

  • VUID-vkCmdSetEvent-commandBuffer-01152
    commandBuffer’s current device mask must include exactly one physical device

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-vkCmdSetEvent-commandBuffer-parameter
    commandBuffer must be a valid VkCommandBuffer handle

  • VUID-vkCmdSetEvent-event-parameter
    event must be a valid VkEvent handle

  • VUID-vkCmdSetEvent-stageMask-parameter
    stageMask must be a valid combination of VkPipelineStageFlagBits values

  • VUID-vkCmdSetEvent-stageMask-requiredbitmask
    stageMask must not be 0

  • VUID-vkCmdSetEvent-commandBuffer-recording
    commandBuffer must be in the recording state

  • VUID-vkCmdSetEvent-commandBuffer-cmdpool
    The VkCommandPool that commandBuffer was allocated from must support graphics, or compute operations

  • VUID-vkCmdSetEvent-renderpass
    This command must only be called outside of a render pass instance

  • VUID-vkCmdSetEvent-commonparent
    Both of commandBuffer, and event must have been created, allocated, or retrieved from the same VkDevice

Host Synchronization

  • Host access to commandBuffer must be externally synchronized

  • Host access to the VkCommandPool that commandBuffer was allocated from must be externally synchronized

Command Properties
Command Buffer Levels Render Pass Scope Supported Queue Types Pipeline Type

Primary
Secondary

Outside

Graphics
Compute

To set the state of an event to unsignaled from a device, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
void vkCmdResetEvent(
    VkCommandBuffer                             commandBuffer,
    VkEvent                                     event,
    VkPipelineStageFlags                        stageMask);

  • commandBuffer is the command buffer into which the command is recorded.

  • event is the event that will be unsignaled.

  • stageMask is a bitmask of VkPipelineStageFlagBits specifying the source stage mask used to determine when the event is unsignaled.

When vkCmdResetEvent is submitted to a queue, it defines an execution dependency on commands that were submitted before it, and defines an event unsignal operation which resets the event to the unsignaled state.

The first synchronization scope includes all commands that occur earlier in submission order. The synchronization scope is limited to operations on the pipeline stages determined by the source stage mask specified by stageMask.

The second synchronization scope includes only the event unsignal operation.

If event is already in the unsignaled state when vkCmdResetEvent is executed on the device, then vkCmdResetEvent has no effect, no event unsignal operation occurs, and no execution dependency is generated.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-vkCmdResetEvent-stageMask-04090
    If the geometry shaders feature is not enabled, stageMask must not contain VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_GEOMETRY_SHADER_BIT

  • VUID-vkCmdResetEvent-stageMask-04091
    If the tessellation shaders feature is not enabled, stageMask must not contain VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_SHADER_BIT or VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_SHADER_BIT

  • VUID-vkCmdResetEvent-stageMask-4098
    Any pipeline stage included in stageMask must be supported by the capabilities of the queue family specified by the queueFamilyIndex member of the VkCommandPoolCreateInfo structure that was used to create the VkCommandPool that commandBuffer was allocated from, as specified in the table of supported pipeline stages

  • VUID-vkCmdResetEvent-stageMask-01153
    stageMask must not include VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_HOST_BIT

  • VUID-vkCmdResetEvent-event-01156
    When this command executes, event must not be waited on by a vkCmdWaitEvents command that is currently executing

  • VUID-vkCmdResetEvent-commandBuffer-01157
    commandBuffer’s current device mask must include exactly one physical device

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-vkCmdResetEvent-commandBuffer-parameter
    commandBuffer must be a valid VkCommandBuffer handle

  • VUID-vkCmdResetEvent-event-parameter
    event must be a valid VkEvent handle

  • VUID-vkCmdResetEvent-stageMask-parameter
    stageMask must be a valid combination of VkPipelineStageFlagBits values

  • VUID-vkCmdResetEvent-stageMask-requiredbitmask
    stageMask must not be 0

  • VUID-vkCmdResetEvent-commandBuffer-recording
    commandBuffer must be in the recording state

  • VUID-vkCmdResetEvent-commandBuffer-cmdpool
    The VkCommandPool that commandBuffer was allocated from must support graphics, or compute operations

  • VUID-vkCmdResetEvent-renderpass
    This command must only be called outside of a render pass instance

  • VUID-vkCmdResetEvent-commonparent
    Both of commandBuffer, and event must have been created, allocated, or retrieved from the same VkDevice

Host Synchronization

  • Host access to commandBuffer must be externally synchronized

  • Host access to the VkCommandPool that commandBuffer was allocated from must be externally synchronized

Command Properties
Command Buffer Levels Render Pass Scope Supported Queue Types Pipeline Type

Primary
Secondary

Outside

Graphics
Compute

To wait for one or more events to enter the signaled state on a device, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
void vkCmdWaitEvents(
    VkCommandBuffer                             commandBuffer,
    uint32_t                                    eventCount,
    const VkEvent*                              pEvents,
    VkPipelineStageFlags                        srcStageMask,
    VkPipelineStageFlags                        dstStageMask,
    uint32_t                                    memoryBarrierCount,
    const VkMemoryBarrier*                      pMemoryBarriers,
    uint32_t                                    bufferMemoryBarrierCount,
    const VkBufferMemoryBarrier*                pBufferMemoryBarriers,
    uint32_t                                    imageMemoryBarrierCount,
    const VkImageMemoryBarrier*                 pImageMemoryBarriers);

  • commandBuffer is the command buffer into which the command is recorded.

  • eventCount is the length of the pEvents array.

  • pEvents is a pointer to an array of event object handles to wait on.

  • srcStageMask is a bitmask of VkPipelineStageFlagBits specifying the source stage mask.

  • dstStageMask is a bitmask of VkPipelineStageFlagBits specifying the destination stage mask.

  • memoryBarrierCount is the length of the pMemoryBarriers array.

  • pMemoryBarriers is a pointer to an array of VkMemoryBarrier structures.

  • bufferMemoryBarrierCount is the length of the pBufferMemoryBarriers array.

  • pBufferMemoryBarriers is a pointer to an array of VkBufferMemoryBarrier structures.

  • imageMemoryBarrierCount is the length of the pImageMemoryBarriers array.

  • pImageMemoryBarriers is a pointer to an array of VkImageMemoryBarrier structures.

When vkCmdWaitEvents is submitted to a queue, it defines a memory dependency between prior event signal operations on the same queue or the host, and subsequent commands. vkCmdWaitEvents must not be used to wait on event signal operations occurring on other queues.

The first synchronization scope only includes event signal operations that operate on members of pEvents, and the operations that happened-before the event signal operations. Event signal operations performed by vkCmdSetEvent that occur earlier in submission order are included in the first synchronization scope, if the logically latest pipeline stage in their stageMask parameter is logically earlier than or equal to the logically latest pipeline stage in srcStageMask. Event signal operations performed by vkSetEvent are only included in the first synchronization scope if VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_HOST_BIT is included in srcStageMask.

The second synchronization scope includes all commands that occur later in submission order. The second synchronization scope is limited to operations on the pipeline stages determined by the destination stage mask specified by dstStageMask.

The first access scope is limited to access in the pipeline stages determined by the source stage mask specified by srcStageMask. Within that, the first access scope only includes the first access scopes defined by elements of the pMemoryBarriers, pBufferMemoryBarriers and pImageMemoryBarriers arrays, which each define a set of memory barriers. If no memory barriers are specified, then the first access scope includes no accesses.

The second access scope is limited to access in the pipeline stages determined by the destination stage mask specified by dstStageMask. Within that, the second access scope only includes the second access scopes defined by elements of the pMemoryBarriers, pBufferMemoryBarriers and pImageMemoryBarriers arrays, which each define a set of memory barriers. If no memory barriers are specified, then the second access scope includes no accesses.

Note

vkCmdWaitEvents is used with vkCmdSetEvent to define a memory dependency between two sets of action commands, roughly in the same way as pipeline barriers, but split into two commands such that work between the two may execute unhindered.

Unlike vkCmdPipelineBarrier, a queue family ownership transfer cannot be performed using vkCmdWaitEvents.
Note

Applications should be careful to avoid race conditions when using events. There is no direct ordering guarantee between a vkCmdResetEvent command and a vkCmdWaitEvents command submitted after it, so some other execution dependency must be included between these commands (e.g. a semaphore).
Valid Usage

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-srcStageMask-04090
    If the geometry shaders feature is not enabled, srcStageMask must not contain VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_GEOMETRY_SHADER_BIT

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-srcStageMask-04091
    If the tessellation shaders feature is not enabled, srcStageMask must not contain VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_SHADER_BIT or VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_SHADER_BIT

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-srcStageMask-4098
    Any pipeline stage included in srcStageMask must be supported by the capabilities of the queue family specified by the queueFamilyIndex member of the VkCommandPoolCreateInfo structure that was used to create the VkCommandPool that commandBuffer was allocated from, as specified in the table of supported pipeline stages

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-dstStageMask-04090
    If the geometry shaders feature is not enabled, dstStageMask must not contain VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_GEOMETRY_SHADER_BIT

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-dstStageMask-04091
    If the tessellation shaders feature is not enabled, dstStageMask must not contain VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_SHADER_BIT or VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_SHADER_BIT

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-dstStageMask-4098
    Any pipeline stage included in dstStageMask must be supported by the capabilities of the queue family specified by the queueFamilyIndex member of the VkCommandPoolCreateInfo structure that was used to create the VkCommandPool that commandBuffer was allocated from, as specified in the table of supported pipeline stages

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-srcAccessMask-02815
    The srcAccessMask member of each element of pMemoryBarriers must only include access flags that are supported by one or more of the pipeline stages in srcStageMask, as specified in the table of supported access types

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-dstAccessMask-02816
    The dstAccessMask member of each element of pMemoryBarriers must only include access flags that are supported by one or more of the pipeline stages in dstStageMask, as specified in the table of supported access types

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-pBufferMemoryBarriers-02817
    For any element of pBufferMemoryBarriers, if its srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex members are equal, or if its srcQueueFamilyIndex is the queue family index that was used to create the command pool that commandBuffer was allocated from, then its srcAccessMask member must only contain access flags that are supported by one or more of the pipeline stages in srcStageMask, as specified in the table of supported access types

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-pBufferMemoryBarriers-02818
    For any element of pBufferMemoryBarriers, if its srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex members are equal, or if its dstQueueFamilyIndex is the queue family index that was used to create the command pool that commandBuffer was allocated from, then its dstAccessMask member must only contain access flags that are supported by one or more of the pipeline stages in dstStageMask, as specified in the table of supported access types

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-pImageMemoryBarriers-02819
    For any element of pImageMemoryBarriers, if its srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex members are equal, or if its srcQueueFamilyIndex is the queue family index that was used to create the command pool that commandBuffer was allocated from, then its srcAccessMask member must only contain access flags that are supported by one or more of the pipeline stages in srcStageMask, as specified in the table of supported access types

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-pImageMemoryBarriers-02820
    For any element of pImageMemoryBarriers, if its srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex members are equal, or if its dstQueueFamilyIndex is the queue family index that was used to create the command pool that commandBuffer was allocated from, then its dstAccessMask member must only contain access flags that are supported by one or more of the pipeline stages in dstStageMask, as specified in the table of supported access types

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-srcStageMask-01158
    srcStageMask must be the bitwise OR of the stageMask parameter used in previous calls to vkCmdSetEvent with any of the members of pEvents and VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_HOST_BIT if any of the members of pEvents was set using vkSetEvent

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-pEvents-01163
    If pEvents includes one or more events that will be signaled by vkSetEvent after commandBuffer has been submitted to a queue, then vkCmdWaitEvents must not be called inside a render pass instance

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-srcQueueFamilyIndex-02803
    The srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex members of any element of pBufferMemoryBarriers or pImageMemoryBarriers must be equal

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-commandBuffer-01167
    commandBuffer’s current device mask must include exactly one physical device

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-commandBuffer-parameter
    commandBuffer must be a valid VkCommandBuffer handle

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-pEvents-parameter
    pEvents must be a valid pointer to an array of eventCount valid VkEvent handles

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-srcStageMask-parameter
    srcStageMask must be a valid combination of VkPipelineStageFlagBits values

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-srcStageMask-requiredbitmask
    srcStageMask must not be 0

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-dstStageMask-parameter
    dstStageMask must be a valid combination of VkPipelineStageFlagBits values

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-dstStageMask-requiredbitmask
    dstStageMask must not be 0

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-pMemoryBarriers-parameter
    If memoryBarrierCount is not 0, pMemoryBarriers must be a valid pointer to an array of memoryBarrierCount valid VkMemoryBarrier structures

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-pBufferMemoryBarriers-parameter
    If bufferMemoryBarrierCount is not 0, pBufferMemoryBarriers must be a valid pointer to an array of bufferMemoryBarrierCount valid VkBufferMemoryBarrier structures

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-pImageMemoryBarriers-parameter
    If imageMemoryBarrierCount is not 0, pImageMemoryBarriers must be a valid pointer to an array of imageMemoryBarrierCount valid VkImageMemoryBarrier structures

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-commandBuffer-recording
    commandBuffer must be in the recording state

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-commandBuffer-cmdpool
    The VkCommandPool that commandBuffer was allocated from must support graphics, or compute operations

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-eventCount-arraylength
    eventCount must be greater than 0

  • VUID-vkCmdWaitEvents-commonparent
    Both of commandBuffer, and the elements of pEvents must have been created, allocated, or retrieved from the same VkDevice

Host Synchronization

  • Host access to commandBuffer must be externally synchronized

  • Host access to the VkCommandPool that commandBuffer was allocated from must be externally synchronized

Command Properties
Command Buffer Levels Render Pass Scope Supported Queue Types Pipeline Type

Primary
Secondary

Both

Graphics
Compute

6.6. Pipeline Barriers

To record a pipeline barrier, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
void vkCmdPipelineBarrier(
    VkCommandBuffer                             commandBuffer,
    VkPipelineStageFlags                        srcStageMask,
    VkPipelineStageFlags                        dstStageMask,
    VkDependencyFlags                           dependencyFlags,
    uint32_t                                    memoryBarrierCount,
    const VkMemoryBarrier*                      pMemoryBarriers,
    uint32_t                                    bufferMemoryBarrierCount,
    const VkBufferMemoryBarrier*                pBufferMemoryBarriers,
    uint32_t                                    imageMemoryBarrierCount,
    const VkImageMemoryBarrier*                 pImageMemoryBarriers);

  • commandBuffer is the command buffer into which the command is recorded.

  • srcStageMask is a bitmask of VkPipelineStageFlagBits specifying the source stage mask.

  • dstStageMask is a bitmask of VkPipelineStageFlagBits specifying the destination stage mask.

  • dependencyFlags is a bitmask of VkDependencyFlagBits specifying how execution and memory dependencies are formed.

  • memoryBarrierCount is the length of the pMemoryBarriers array.

  • pMemoryBarriers is a pointer to an array of VkMemoryBarrier structures.

  • bufferMemoryBarrierCount is the length of the pBufferMemoryBarriers array.

  • pBufferMemoryBarriers is a pointer to an array of VkBufferMemoryBarrier structures.

  • imageMemoryBarrierCount is the length of the pImageMemoryBarriers array.

  • pImageMemoryBarriers is a pointer to an array of VkImageMemoryBarrier structures.

When vkCmdPipelineBarrier is submitted to a queue, it defines a memory dependency between commands that were submitted before it, and those submitted after it.

If vkCmdPipelineBarrier was recorded outside a render pass instance, the first synchronization scope includes all commands that occur earlier in submission order. If vkCmdPipelineBarrier was recorded inside a render pass instance, the first synchronization scope includes only commands that occur earlier in submission order within the same subpass. In either case, the first synchronization scope is limited to operations on the pipeline stages determined by the source stage mask specified by srcStageMask.

If vkCmdPipelineBarrier was recorded outside a render pass instance, the second synchronization scope includes all commands that occur later in submission order. If vkCmdPipelineBarrier was recorded inside a render pass instance, the second synchronization scope includes only commands that occur later in submission order within the same subpass. In either case, the second synchronization scope is limited to operations on the pipeline stages determined by the destination stage mask specified by dstStageMask.

The first access scope is limited to access in the pipeline stages determined by the source stage mask specified by srcStageMask. Within that, the first access scope only includes the first access scopes defined by elements of the pMemoryBarriers, pBufferMemoryBarriers and pImageMemoryBarriers arrays, which each define a set of memory barriers. If no memory barriers are specified, then the first access scope includes no accesses.

The second access scope is limited to access in the pipeline stages determined by the destination stage mask specified by dstStageMask. Within that, the second access scope only includes the second access scopes defined by elements of the pMemoryBarriers, pBufferMemoryBarriers and pImageMemoryBarriers arrays, which each define a set of memory barriers. If no memory barriers are specified, then the second access scope includes no accesses.

If dependencyFlags includes VK_DEPENDENCY_BY_REGION_BIT, then any dependency between framebuffer-space pipeline stages is framebuffer-local - otherwise it is framebuffer-global.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-srcStageMask-04090
    If the geometry shaders feature is not enabled, srcStageMask must not contain VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_GEOMETRY_SHADER_BIT

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-srcStageMask-04091
    If the tessellation shaders feature is not enabled, srcStageMask must not contain VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_SHADER_BIT or VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_SHADER_BIT

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-srcStageMask-4098
    Any pipeline stage included in srcStageMask must be supported by the capabilities of the queue family specified by the queueFamilyIndex member of the VkCommandPoolCreateInfo structure that was used to create the VkCommandPool that commandBuffer was allocated from, as specified in the table of supported pipeline stages

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-dstStageMask-04090
    If the geometry shaders feature is not enabled, dstStageMask must not contain VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_GEOMETRY_SHADER_BIT

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-dstStageMask-04091
    If the tessellation shaders feature is not enabled, dstStageMask must not contain VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_SHADER_BIT or VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_SHADER_BIT

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-dstStageMask-4098
    Any pipeline stage included in dstStageMask must be supported by the capabilities of the queue family specified by the queueFamilyIndex member of the VkCommandPoolCreateInfo structure that was used to create the VkCommandPool that commandBuffer was allocated from, as specified in the table of supported pipeline stages

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-srcAccessMask-02815
    The srcAccessMask member of each element of pMemoryBarriers must only include access flags that are supported by one or more of the pipeline stages in srcStageMask, as specified in the table of supported access types

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-dstAccessMask-02816
    The dstAccessMask member of each element of pMemoryBarriers must only include access flags that are supported by one or more of the pipeline stages in dstStageMask, as specified in the table of supported access types

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-pBufferMemoryBarriers-02817
    For any element of pBufferMemoryBarriers, if its srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex members are equal, or if its srcQueueFamilyIndex is the queue family index that was used to create the command pool that commandBuffer was allocated from, then its srcAccessMask member must only contain access flags that are supported by one or more of the pipeline stages in srcStageMask, as specified in the table of supported access types

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-pBufferMemoryBarriers-02818
    For any element of pBufferMemoryBarriers, if its srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex members are equal, or if its dstQueueFamilyIndex is the queue family index that was used to create the command pool that commandBuffer was allocated from, then its dstAccessMask member must only contain access flags that are supported by one or more of the pipeline stages in dstStageMask, as specified in the table of supported access types

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-pImageMemoryBarriers-02819
    For any element of pImageMemoryBarriers, if its srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex members are equal, or if its srcQueueFamilyIndex is the queue family index that was used to create the command pool that commandBuffer was allocated from, then its srcAccessMask member must only contain access flags that are supported by one or more of the pipeline stages in srcStageMask, as specified in the table of supported access types

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-pImageMemoryBarriers-02820
    For any element of pImageMemoryBarriers, if its srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex members are equal, or if its dstQueueFamilyIndex is the queue family index that was used to create the command pool that commandBuffer was allocated from, then its dstAccessMask member must only contain access flags that are supported by one or more of the pipeline stages in dstStageMask, as specified in the table of supported access types

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-pDependencies-02285
    If vkCmdPipelineBarrier is called within a render pass instance, the render pass must have been created with at least one VkSubpassDependency instance in VkRenderPassCreateInfo::pDependencies that expresses a dependency from the current subpass to itself, with synchronization scopes and access scopes that are all supersets of the scopes defined in this command

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-bufferMemoryBarrierCount-01178
    If vkCmdPipelineBarrier is called within a render pass instance, it must not include any buffer memory barriers

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-image-04073
    If vkCmdPipelineBarrier is called within a render pass instance, the image member of any image memory barrier included in this command must be an attachment used in the current subpass both as an input attachment, and as either a color or depth/stencil attachment

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-oldLayout-01181
    If vkCmdPipelineBarrier is called within a render pass instance, the oldLayout and newLayout members of any image memory barrier included in this command must be equal

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-srcQueueFamilyIndex-01182
    If vkCmdPipelineBarrier is called within a render pass instance, the srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex members of any image memory barrier included in this command must be equal

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-dependencyFlags-01186
    If vkCmdPipelineBarrier is called outside of a render pass instance, VK_DEPENDENCY_VIEW_LOCAL_BIT must not be included in the dependency flags

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-commandBuffer-parameter
    commandBuffer must be a valid VkCommandBuffer handle

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-srcStageMask-parameter
    srcStageMask must be a valid combination of VkPipelineStageFlagBits values

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-srcStageMask-requiredbitmask
    srcStageMask must not be 0

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-dstStageMask-parameter
    dstStageMask must be a valid combination of VkPipelineStageFlagBits values

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-dstStageMask-requiredbitmask
    dstStageMask must not be 0

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-dependencyFlags-parameter
    dependencyFlags must be a valid combination of VkDependencyFlagBits values

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-pMemoryBarriers-parameter
    If memoryBarrierCount is not 0, pMemoryBarriers must be a valid pointer to an array of memoryBarrierCount valid VkMemoryBarrier structures

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-pBufferMemoryBarriers-parameter
    If bufferMemoryBarrierCount is not 0, pBufferMemoryBarriers must be a valid pointer to an array of bufferMemoryBarrierCount valid VkBufferMemoryBarrier structures

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-pImageMemoryBarriers-parameter
    If imageMemoryBarrierCount is not 0, pImageMemoryBarriers must be a valid pointer to an array of imageMemoryBarrierCount valid VkImageMemoryBarrier structures

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-commandBuffer-recording
    commandBuffer must be in the recording state

  • VUID-vkCmdPipelineBarrier-commandBuffer-cmdpool
    The VkCommandPool that commandBuffer was allocated from must support transfer, graphics, or compute operations

Host Synchronization

  • Host access to commandBuffer must be externally synchronized

  • Host access to the VkCommandPool that commandBuffer was allocated from must be externally synchronized

Command Properties
Command Buffer Levels Render Pass Scope Supported Queue Types Pipeline Type

Primary
Secondary

Both

Transfer
Graphics
Compute

Bits which can be set in vkCmdPipelineBarrier::dependencyFlags, specifying how execution and memory dependencies are formed, are:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef enum VkDependencyFlagBits {
    VK_DEPENDENCY_BY_REGION_BIT = 0x00000001,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_DEPENDENCY_DEVICE_GROUP_BIT = 0x00000004,
  // Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
    VK_DEPENDENCY_VIEW_LOCAL_BIT = 0x00000002,
} VkDependencyFlagBits;
// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef VkFlags VkDependencyFlags;

VkDependencyFlags is a bitmask type for setting a mask of zero or more VkDependencyFlagBits.

6.6.1. Subpass Self-dependency

If vkCmdPipelineBarrier is called inside a render pass instance, the following restrictions apply. For a given subpass to allow a pipeline barrier, the render pass must declare a self-dependency from that subpass to itself. That is, there must exist a subpass dependency with srcSubpass and dstSubpass both equal to that subpass index. More than one self-dependency can be declared for each subpass.

Self-dependencies must only include pipeline stage bits that are graphics stages. If any of the stages in srcStages are framebuffer-space stages, dstStages must only contain framebuffer-space stages. This means that pseudo-stages like VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_ALL_COMMANDS_BIT which include the execution of both framebuffer-space stages and non-framebuffer-space stages must not be used.

If the source and destination stage masks both include framebuffer-space stages, then dependencyFlags must include VK_DEPENDENCY_BY_REGION_BIT. If the subpass has more than one view, then dependencyFlags must include VK_DEPENDENCY_VIEW_LOCAL_BIT.

Each of the synchronization scopes and access scopes of a vkCmdPipelineBarrier command inside a render pass instance must be a subset of the scopes of one of the self-dependencies for the current subpass.

If the self-dependency has VK_DEPENDENCY_BY_REGION_BIT or VK_DEPENDENCY_VIEW_LOCAL_BIT set, then so must the pipeline barrier. Pipeline barriers within a render pass instance must not include buffer memory barriers. Image memory barriers must only specify image subresources that are used as attachments within the subpass, and must not define an image layout transition or queue family ownership transfer.

6.7. Memory Barriers

Memory barriers are used to explicitly control access to buffer and image subresource ranges. Memory barriers are used to transfer ownership between queue families, change image layouts, and define availability and visibility operations. They explicitly define the access types and buffer and image subresource ranges that are included in the access scopes of a memory dependency that is created by a synchronization command that includes them.

6.7.1. Global Memory Barriers

Global memory barriers apply to memory accesses involving all memory objects that exist at the time of its execution.

The VkMemoryBarrier structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkMemoryBarrier {
    VkStructureType    sType;
    const void*        pNext;
    VkAccessFlags      srcAccessMask;
    VkAccessFlags      dstAccessMask;
} VkMemoryBarrier;

The first access scope is limited to access types in the source access mask specified by srcAccessMask.

The second access scope is limited to access types in the destination access mask specified by dstAccessMask.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkMemoryBarrier-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_MEMORY_BARRIER

  • VUID-VkMemoryBarrier-pNext-pNext
    pNext must be NULL

  • VUID-VkMemoryBarrier-srcAccessMask-parameter
    srcAccessMask must be a valid combination of VkAccessFlagBits values

  • VUID-VkMemoryBarrier-dstAccessMask-parameter
    dstAccessMask must be a valid combination of VkAccessFlagBits values

6.7.2. Buffer Memory Barriers

Buffer memory barriers only apply to memory accesses involving a specific buffer range. That is, a memory dependency formed from a buffer memory barrier is scoped to access via the specified buffer range. Buffer memory barriers can also be used to define a queue family ownership transfer for the specified buffer range.

The VkBufferMemoryBarrier structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkBufferMemoryBarrier {
    VkStructureType    sType;
    const void*        pNext;
    VkAccessFlags      srcAccessMask;
    VkAccessFlags      dstAccessMask;
    uint32_t           srcQueueFamilyIndex;
    uint32_t           dstQueueFamilyIndex;
    VkBuffer           buffer;
    VkDeviceSize       offset;
    VkDeviceSize       size;
} VkBufferMemoryBarrier;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • srcAccessMask is a bitmask of VkAccessFlagBits specifying a source access mask.

  • dstAccessMask is a bitmask of VkAccessFlagBits specifying a destination access mask.

  • srcQueueFamilyIndex is the source queue family for a queue family ownership transfer.

  • dstQueueFamilyIndex is the destination queue family for a queue family ownership transfer.

  • buffer is a handle to the buffer whose backing memory is affected by the barrier.

  • offset is an offset in bytes into the backing memory for buffer; this is relative to the base offset as bound to the buffer (see vkBindBufferMemory).

  • size is a size in bytes of the affected area of backing memory for buffer, or VK_WHOLE_SIZE to use the range from offset to the end of the buffer.

The first access scope is limited to access to memory through the specified buffer range, via access types in the source access mask specified by srcAccessMask. If srcAccessMask includes VK_ACCESS_HOST_WRITE_BIT, memory writes performed by that access type are also made visible, as that access type is not performed through a resource.

The second access scope is limited to access to memory through the specified buffer range, via access types in the destination access mask specified by dstAccessMask. If dstAccessMask includes VK_ACCESS_HOST_WRITE_BIT or VK_ACCESS_HOST_READ_BIT, available memory writes are also made visible to accesses of those types, as those access types are not performed through a resource.

If srcQueueFamilyIndex is not equal to dstQueueFamilyIndex, and srcQueueFamilyIndex is equal to the current queue family, then the memory barrier defines a queue family release operation for the specified buffer range, and the second access scope includes no access, as if dstAccessMask was 0.

If dstQueueFamilyIndex is not equal to srcQueueFamilyIndex, and dstQueueFamilyIndex is equal to the current queue family, then the memory barrier defines a queue family acquire operation for the specified buffer range, and the first access scope includes no access, as if srcAccessMask was 0.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-VkBufferMemoryBarrier-offset-01187
    offset must be less than the size of buffer

  • VUID-VkBufferMemoryBarrier-size-01188
    If size is not equal to VK_WHOLE_SIZE, size must be greater than 0

  • VUID-VkBufferMemoryBarrier-size-01189
    If size is not equal to VK_WHOLE_SIZE, size must be less than or equal to than the size of buffer minus offset

  • VUID-VkBufferMemoryBarrier-buffer-01931
    If buffer is non-sparse then it must be bound completely and contiguously to a single VkDeviceMemory object

  • VUID-VkBufferMemoryBarrier-srcQueueFamilyIndex-04087
    If srcQueueFamilyIndex is not equal to dstQueueFamilyIndex, at least one must not be a special queue family reserved for external memory ownership transfers, as described in Queue Family Ownership Transfer

  • VUID-VkBufferMemoryBarrier-buffer-04088
    If buffer was created with a sharing mode of VK_SHARING_MODE_CONCURRENT, srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex are not equal, and one of srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex is a special queue family values reserved for external memory transfers, the other must be VK_QUEUE_FAMILY_IGNORED

  • VUID-VkBufferMemoryBarrier-buffer-04089
    If buffer was created with a sharing mode of VK_SHARING_MODE_EXCLUSIVE, and srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex are not equal, srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex must both be valid queue families, or one of the special queue family values reserved for external memory transfers, as described in Queue Family Ownership Transfer

  • VUID-VkBufferMemoryBarrier-buffer-01191
    If buffer was created with a sharing mode of VK_SHARING_MODE_CONCURRENT, at least one of srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex must be VK_QUEUE_FAMILY_IGNORED

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkBufferMemoryBarrier-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_BUFFER_MEMORY_BARRIER

  • VUID-VkBufferMemoryBarrier-pNext-pNext
    pNext must be NULL

  • VUID-VkBufferMemoryBarrier-buffer-parameter
    buffer must be a valid VkBuffer handle

6.7.3. Image Memory Barriers

Image memory barriers only apply to memory accesses involving a specific image subresource range. That is, a memory dependency formed from an image memory barrier is scoped to access via the specified image subresource range. Image memory barriers can also be used to define image layout transitions or a queue family ownership transfer for the specified image subresource range.

The VkImageMemoryBarrier structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkImageMemoryBarrier {
    VkStructureType            sType;
    const void*                pNext;
    VkAccessFlags              srcAccessMask;
    VkAccessFlags              dstAccessMask;
    VkImageLayout              oldLayout;
    VkImageLayout              newLayout;
    uint32_t                   srcQueueFamilyIndex;
    uint32_t                   dstQueueFamilyIndex;
    VkImage                    image;
    VkImageSubresourceRange    subresourceRange;
} VkImageMemoryBarrier;

The first access scope is limited to access to memory through the specified image subresource range, via access types in the source access mask specified by srcAccessMask. If srcAccessMask includes VK_ACCESS_HOST_WRITE_BIT, memory writes performed by that access type are also made visible, as that access type is not performed through a resource.

The second access scope is limited to access to memory through the specified image subresource range, via access types in the destination access mask specified by dstAccessMask. If dstAccessMask includes VK_ACCESS_HOST_WRITE_BIT or VK_ACCESS_HOST_READ_BIT, available memory writes are also made visible to accesses of those types, as those access types are not performed through a resource.

If srcQueueFamilyIndex is not equal to dstQueueFamilyIndex, and srcQueueFamilyIndex is equal to the current queue family, then the memory barrier defines a queue family release operation for the specified image subresource range, and the second access scope includes no access, as if dstAccessMask was 0.

If dstQueueFamilyIndex is not equal to srcQueueFamilyIndex, and dstQueueFamilyIndex is equal to the current queue family, then the memory barrier defines a queue family acquire operation for the specified image subresource range, and the first access scope includes no access, as if srcAccessMask was 0.

oldLayout and newLayout define an image layout transition for the specified image subresource range.

If image has a multi-planar format and the image is disjoint, then including VK_IMAGE_ASPECT_COLOR_BIT in the aspectMask member of subresourceRange is equivalent to including VK_IMAGE_ASPECT_PLANE_0_BIT, VK_IMAGE_ASPECT_PLANE_1_BIT, and (for three-plane formats only) VK_IMAGE_ASPECT_PLANE_2_BIT.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-subresourceRange-01486
    subresourceRange.baseMipLevel must be less than the mipLevels specified in VkImageCreateInfo when image was created

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-subresourceRange-01724
    If subresourceRange.levelCount is not VK_REMAINING_MIP_LEVELS, subresourceRange.baseMipLevel + subresourceRange.levelCount must be less than or equal to the mipLevels specified in VkImageCreateInfo when image was created

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-subresourceRange-01488
    subresourceRange.baseArrayLayer must be less than the arrayLayers specified in VkImageCreateInfo when image was created

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-subresourceRange-01725
    If subresourceRange.layerCount is not VK_REMAINING_ARRAY_LAYERS, subresourceRange.baseArrayLayer + subresourceRange.layerCount must be less than or equal to the arrayLayers specified in VkImageCreateInfo when image was created

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-image-01932
    If image is non-sparse then it must be bound completely and contiguously to a single VkDeviceMemory object

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-oldLayout-01208
    If srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex define a queue family ownership transfer or oldLayout and newLayout define a image layout transition, and oldLayout or newLayout is VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL then image must have been created with VK_IMAGE_USAGE_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_BIT set

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-oldLayout-01209
    If srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex define a queue family ownership transfer or oldLayout and newLayout define a image layout transition, and oldLayout or newLayout is VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL then image must have been created with VK_IMAGE_USAGE_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_BIT set

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-oldLayout-01210
    If srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex define a queue family ownership transfer or oldLayout and newLayout define a image layout transition, and oldLayout or newLayout is VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_STENCIL_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL then image must have been created with VK_IMAGE_USAGE_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_BIT set

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-oldLayout-01211
    If srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex define a queue family ownership transfer or oldLayout and newLayout define a image layout transition, and oldLayout or newLayout is VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_SHADER_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL then image must have been created with VK_IMAGE_USAGE_SAMPLED_BIT or VK_IMAGE_USAGE_INPUT_ATTACHMENT_BIT set

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-oldLayout-01212
    If srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex define a queue family ownership transfer or oldLayout and newLayout define a image layout transition, and oldLayout or newLayout is VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_TRANSFER_SRC_OPTIMAL then image must have been created with VK_IMAGE_USAGE_TRANSFER_SRC_BIT set

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-oldLayout-01213
    If srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex define a queue family ownership transfer or oldLayout and newLayout define a image layout transition, and oldLayout or newLayout is VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_TRANSFER_DST_OPTIMAL then image must have been created with VK_IMAGE_USAGE_TRANSFER_DST_BIT set

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-oldLayout-01197
    If srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex define a queue family ownership transfer or oldLayout and newLayout define a image layout transition, oldLayout must be VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_UNDEFINED or the current layout of the image subresources affected by the barrier

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-newLayout-01198
    If srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex define a queue family ownership transfer or oldLayout and newLayout define a image layout transition, newLayout must not be VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_UNDEFINED or VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_PREINITIALIZED

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-oldLayout-01658
    If srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex define a queue family ownership transfer or oldLayout and newLayout define a image layout transition, and oldLayout or newLayout is VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_READ_ONLY_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL then image must have been created with VK_IMAGE_USAGE_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_BIT set

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-oldLayout-01659
    If srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex define a queue family ownership transfer or oldLayout and newLayout define a image layout transition, and oldLayout or newLayout is VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_ATTACHMENT_STENCIL_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL then image must have been created with VK_IMAGE_USAGE_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_BIT set

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-srcQueueFamilyIndex-04065
    If srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex define a queue family ownership transfer or oldLayout and newLayout define a image layout transition, and oldLayout or newLayout is VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL_KHR then image must have been created with at least one of VK_IMAGE_USAGE_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_BIT, VK_IMAGE_USAGE_SAMPLED_BIT, or VK_IMAGE_USAGE_INPUT_ATTACHMENT_BIT set

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-srcQueueFamilyIndex-04066
    If srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex define a queue family ownership transfer or oldLayout and newLayout define a image layout transition, and oldLayout or newLayout is VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL_KHR then image must have been created with VK_IMAGE_USAGE_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_BIT set

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-srcQueueFamilyIndex-04067
    If srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex define a queue family ownership transfer or oldLayout and newLayout define a image layout transition, and oldLayout or newLayout is VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_STENCIL_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL_KHR then image must have been created with at least one of VK_IMAGE_USAGE_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_BIT, VK_IMAGE_USAGE_SAMPLED_BIT, or VK_IMAGE_USAGE_INPUT_ATTACHMENT_BIT set

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-srcQueueFamilyIndex-04068
    If srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex define a queue family ownership transfer or oldLayout and newLayout define a image layout transition, and oldLayout or newLayout is VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL_KHR then image must have been created with VK_IMAGE_USAGE_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_BIT set

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-image-01671
    If image has a single-plane color format or is not disjoint, then the aspectMask member of subresourceRange must be VK_IMAGE_ASPECT_COLOR_BIT

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-image-01672
    If image has a multi-planar format and the image is disjoint, then the aspectMask member of subresourceRange must include either at least one of VK_IMAGE_ASPECT_PLANE_0_BIT, VK_IMAGE_ASPECT_PLANE_1_BIT, and VK_IMAGE_ASPECT_PLANE_2_BIT; or must include VK_IMAGE_ASPECT_COLOR_BIT

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-image-01673
    If image has a multi-planar format with only two planes, then the aspectMask member of subresourceRange must not include VK_IMAGE_ASPECT_PLANE_2_BIT

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-image-03319
    If image has a depth/stencil format with both depth and stencil and the separateDepthStencilLayouts feature is enabled, then the aspectMask member of subresourceRange must include either or both VK_IMAGE_ASPECT_DEPTH_BIT and VK_IMAGE_ASPECT_STENCIL_BIT

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-image-03320
    If image has a depth/stencil format with both depth and stencil and the separateDepthStencilLayouts feature is not enabled, then the aspectMask member of subresourceRange must include both VK_IMAGE_ASPECT_DEPTH_BIT and VK_IMAGE_ASPECT_STENCIL_BIT

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-srcQueueFamilyIndex-04070
    If srcQueueFamilyIndex is not equal to dstQueueFamilyIndex, at least one must not be a special queue family reserved for external memory ownership transfers, as described in Queue Family Ownership Transfer

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-image-04071
    If image was created with a sharing mode of VK_SHARING_MODE_CONCURRENT, srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex are not equal, and one of srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex is a special queue family values reserved for external memory transfers, the other must be VK_QUEUE_FAMILY_IGNORED

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-image-04072
    If image was created with a sharing mode of VK_SHARING_MODE_EXCLUSIVE, and srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex are not equal, srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex must both be valid queue families, or one of the special queue family values reserved for external memory transfers, as described in Queue Family Ownership Transfer

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-image-01381
    If image was created with a sharing mode of VK_SHARING_MODE_CONCURRENT, at least one of srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex must be VK_QUEUE_FAMILY_IGNORED

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_IMAGE_MEMORY_BARRIER

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-pNext-pNext
    pNext must be NULL

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-oldLayout-parameter
    oldLayout must be a valid VkImageLayout value

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-newLayout-parameter
    newLayout must be a valid VkImageLayout value

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-image-parameter
    image must be a valid VkImage handle

  • VUID-VkImageMemoryBarrier-subresourceRange-parameter
    subresourceRange must be a valid VkImageSubresourceRange structure

6.7.4. Queue Family Ownership Transfer

Resources created with a VkSharingMode of VK_SHARING_MODE_EXCLUSIVE must have their ownership explicitly transferred from one queue family to another in order to access their content in a well-defined manner on a queue in a different queue family. Resources shared with external APIs or instances using external memory must also explicitly manage ownership transfers between local and external queues (or equivalent constructs in external APIs) regardless of the VkSharingMode specified when creating them. The special queue family index VK_QUEUE_FAMILY_EXTERNAL represents any queue external to the resource’s current Vulkan instance, as long as the queue uses the same underlying physical device or device group and uses the same driver version as the resource’s VkDevice, as indicated by VkPhysicalDeviceIDProperties::deviceUUID and VkPhysicalDeviceIDProperties::driverUUID. If memory dependencies are correctly expressed between uses of such a resource between two queues in different families, but no ownership transfer is defined, the contents of that resource are undefined for any read accesses performed by the second queue family.

Note

If an application does not need the contents of a resource to remain valid when transferring from one queue family to another, then the ownership transfer should be skipped.

A queue family ownership transfer consists of two distinct parts:

  1. Release exclusive ownership from the source queue family

  2. Acquire exclusive ownership for the destination queue family

An application must ensure that these operations occur in the correct order by defining an execution dependency between them, e.g. using a semaphore.

A release operation is used to release exclusive ownership of a range of a buffer or image subresource range. A release operation is defined by executing a buffer memory barrier (for a buffer range) or an image memory barrier (for an image subresource range) using vkCmdPipelineBarrier, on a queue from the source queue family. The srcQueueFamilyIndex parameter of the barrier must be set to the source queue family index, and the dstQueueFamilyIndex parameter to the destination queue family index. dstAccessMask is ignored for such a barrier, such that no visibility operation is executed - the value of this mask does not affect the validity of the barrier. The release operation happens-after the availability operation, and happens-before operations specified in the second synchronization scope of the calling command.

An acquire operation is used to acquire exclusive ownership of a range of a buffer or image subresource range. An acquire operation is defined by executing a buffer memory barrier (for a buffer range) or an image memory barrier (for an image subresource range) using vkCmdPipelineBarrier, on a queue from the destination queue family. The buffer range or image subresource range specified in an acquire operation must match exactly that of a previous release operation. The srcQueueFamilyIndex parameter of the barrier must be set to the source queue family index, and the dstQueueFamilyIndex parameter to the destination queue family index. srcAccessMask is ignored for such a barrier, such that no availability operation is executed - the value of this mask does not affect the validity of the barrier. The acquire operation happens-after operations in the first synchronization scope of the calling command, and happens-before the visibility operation.

Note

Whilst it is not invalid to provide destination or source access masks for memory barriers used for release or acquire operations, respectively, they have no practical effect. Access after a release operation has undefined results, and so visibility for those accesses has no practical effect. Similarly, write access before an acquire operation will produce undefined results for future access, so availability of those writes has no practical use. In an earlier version of the specification, these were required to match on both sides - but this was subsequently relaxed. These masks should be set to 0.

If the transfer is via an image memory barrier, and an image layout transition is desired, then the values of oldLayout and newLayout in the release operation's memory barrier must be equal to values of oldLayout and newLayout in the acquire operation's memory barrier. Although the image layout transition is submitted twice, it will only be executed once. A layout transition specified in this way happens-after the release operation and happens-before the acquire operation.

If the values of srcQueueFamilyIndex and dstQueueFamilyIndex are equal, no ownership transfer is performed, and the barrier operates as if they were both set to VK_QUEUE_FAMILY_IGNORED.

Queue family ownership transfers may perform read and write accesses on all memory bound to the image subresource or buffer range, so applications must ensure that all memory writes have been made available before a queue family ownership transfer is executed. Available memory is automatically made visible to queue family release and acquire operations, and writes performed by those operations are automatically made available.

Once a queue family has acquired ownership of a buffer range or image subresource range of a VK_SHARING_MODE_EXCLUSIVE resource, its contents are undefined to other queue families unless ownership is transferred. The contents of any portion of another resource which aliases memory that is bound to the transferred buffer or image subresource range are undefined after a release or acquire operation.

Note

Because events cannot be used directly for inter-queue synchronization, and because vkCmdSetEvent does not have the queue family index or memory barrier parameters needed by a release operation, the release and acquire operations of a queue family ownership transfer can only be performed using vkCmdPipelineBarrier.

6.8. Wait Idle Operations

To wait on the host for the completion of outstanding queue operations for a given queue, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VkResult vkQueueWaitIdle(
    VkQueue                                     queue);

  • queue is the queue on which to wait.

vkQueueWaitIdle is equivalent to submitting a fence to a queue and waiting with an infinite timeout for that fence to signal.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-vkQueueWaitIdle-queue-parameter
    queue must be a valid VkQueue handle

Host Synchronization

  • Host access to queue must be externally synchronized

Command Properties
Command Buffer Levels Render Pass Scope Supported Queue Types Pipeline Type

-

-

Any

-
Return Codes
Success

  • VK_SUCCESS

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST

To wait on the host for the completion of outstanding queue operations for all queues on a given logical device, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VkResult vkDeviceWaitIdle(
    VkDevice                                    device);

  • device is the logical device to idle.

vkDeviceWaitIdle is equivalent to calling vkQueueWaitIdle for all queues owned by device.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

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

Host Synchronization

  • Host access to all VkQueue objects created from device must be externally synchronized

Return Codes
Success

  • VK_SUCCESS

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST

6.9. Host Write Ordering Guarantees

When batches of command buffers are submitted to a queue via a queue submission command, it defines a memory dependency with prior host operations, and execution of command buffers submitted to the queue.

The first synchronization scope is defined by the host execution model, but includes execution of vkQueueSubmit on the host and anything that happened-before it.

The second synchronization scope includes all commands submitted in the same queue submission, and all commands that occur later in submission order.

The first access scope includes all host writes to mappable device memory that are available to the host memory domain.

The second access scope includes all memory access performed by the device.

6.10. Synchronization and Multiple Physical Devices

If a logical device includes more than one physical device, then fences, semaphores, and events all still have a single instance of the signaled state.

A fence becomes signaled when all physical devices complete the necessary queue operations.

Semaphore wait and signal operations all include a device index that is the sole physical device that performs the operation. These indices are provided in the VkDeviceGroupSubmitInfo and VkDeviceGroupBindSparseInfo structures. Semaphores are not exclusively owned by any physical device. For example, a semaphore can be signaled by one physical device and then waited on by a different physical device.

An event can only be waited on by the same physical device that signaled it (or the host).

7. Render Pass

A render pass represents a collection of attachments, subpasses, and dependencies between the subpasses, and describes how the attachments are used over the course of the subpasses. The use of a render pass in a command buffer is a render pass instance.

Render passes are represented by VkRenderPass handles:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VK_DEFINE_NON_DISPATCHABLE_HANDLE(VkRenderPass)

An attachment description describes the properties of an attachment including its format, sample count, and how its contents are treated at the beginning and end of each render pass instance.

A subpass represents a phase of rendering that reads and writes a subset of the attachments in a render pass. Rendering commands are recorded into a particular subpass of a render pass instance.

A subpass description describes the subset of attachments that is involved in the execution of a subpass. Each subpass can read from some attachments as input attachments, write to some as color attachments or depth/stencil attachments, and perform multisample resolve operations to resolve attachments. A subpass description can also include a set of preserve attachments, which are attachments that are not read or written by the subpass but whose contents must be preserved throughout the subpass.

A subpass uses an attachment if the attachment is a color, depth/stencil, resolve, depth/stencil resolve, or input attachment for that subpass (as determined by the pColorAttachments, pDepthStencilAttachment, pResolveAttachments, VkSubpassDescriptionDepthStencilResolve::pDepthStencilResolveAttachment, and pInputAttachments members of VkSubpassDescription, respectively). A subpass does not use an attachment if that attachment is preserved by the subpass. The first use of an attachment is in the lowest numbered subpass that uses that attachment. Similarly, the last use of an attachment is in the highest numbered subpass that uses that attachment.

The subpasses in a render pass all render to the same dimensions, and fragments for pixel (x,y,layer) in one subpass can only read attachment contents written by previous subpasses at that same (x,y,layer) location.

Note

By describing a complete set of subpasses in advance, render passes provide the implementation an opportunity to optimize the storage and transfer of attachment data between subpasses.

In practice, this means that subpasses with a simple framebuffer-space dependency may be merged into a single tiled rendering pass, keeping the attachment data on-chip for the duration of a render pass instance. However, it is also quite common for a render pass to only contain a single subpass.

Subpass dependencies describe execution and memory dependencies between subpasses.

A subpass dependency chain is a sequence of subpass dependencies in a render pass, where the source subpass of each subpass dependency (after the first) equals the destination subpass of the previous dependency.

Execution of subpasses may overlap or execute out of order with regards to other subpasses, unless otherwise enforced by an execution dependency. Each subpass only respects submission order for commands recorded in the same subpass, and the vkCmdBeginRenderPass and vkCmdEndRenderPass commands that delimit the render pass - commands within other subpasses are not included. This affects most other implicit ordering guarantees.

A render pass describes the structure of subpasses and attachments independent of any specific image views for the attachments. The specific image views that will be used for the attachments, and their dimensions, are specified in VkFramebuffer objects. Framebuffers are created with respect to a specific render pass that the framebuffer is compatible with (see Render Pass Compatibility). Collectively, a render pass and a framebuffer define the complete render target state for one or more subpasses as well as the algorithmic dependencies between the subpasses.

The various pipeline stages of the drawing commands for a given subpass may execute concurrently and/or out of order, both within and across drawing commands, whilst still respecting pipeline order. However for a given (x,y,layer,sample) sample location, certain per-sample operations are performed in rasterization order.

7.1. Render Pass Creation

To create a render pass, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
VkResult vkCreateRenderPass(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    const VkRenderPassCreateInfo*               pCreateInfo,
    const VkAllocationCallbacks*                pAllocator,
    VkRenderPass*                               pRenderPass);

  • device is the logical device that creates the render pass.

  • pCreateInfo is a pointer to a VkRenderPassCreateInfo structure describing the parameters of the render pass.

  • pAllocator controls host memory allocation as described in the Memory Allocation chapter.

  • pRenderPass is a pointer to a VkRenderPass handle in which the resulting render pass object is returned.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

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

  • VUID-vkCreateRenderPass-pCreateInfo-parameter
    pCreateInfo must be a valid pointer to a valid VkRenderPassCreateInfo structure

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

  • VUID-vkCreateRenderPass-pRenderPass-parameter
    pRenderPass must be a valid pointer to a VkRenderPass handle

Return Codes
Success

  • VK_SUCCESS

Failure

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

The VkRenderPassCreateInfo structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkRenderPassCreateInfo {
    VkStructureType                   sType;
    const void*                       pNext;
    VkRenderPassCreateFlags           flags;
    uint32_t                          attachmentCount;
    const VkAttachmentDescription*    pAttachments;
    uint32_t                          subpassCount;
    const VkSubpassDescription*       pSubpasses;
    uint32_t                          dependencyCount;
    const VkSubpassDependency*        pDependencies;
} VkRenderPassCreateInfo;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • flags is reserved for future use.

  • attachmentCount is the number of attachments used by this render pass.

  • pAttachments is a pointer to an array of attachmentCount VkAttachmentDescription structures describing the attachments used by the render pass.

  • subpassCount is the number of subpasses to create.

  • pSubpasses is a pointer to an array of subpassCount VkSubpassDescription structures describing each subpass.

  • dependencyCount is the number of memory dependencies between pairs of subpasses.

  • pDependencies is a pointer to an array of dependencyCount VkSubpassDependency structures describing dependencies between pairs of subpasses.

Note

Care should be taken to avoid a data race here; if any subpasses access attachments with overlapping memory locations, and one of those accesses is a write, a subpass dependency needs to be included between them.
Valid Usage

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-attachment-00834
    If the attachment member of any element of pInputAttachments, pColorAttachments, pResolveAttachments or pDepthStencilAttachment, or any element of pPreserveAttachments in any element of pSubpasses is not VK_ATTACHMENT_UNUSED, it must be less than attachmentCount

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-pAttachments-00836
    For any member of pAttachments with a loadOp equal to VK_ATTACHMENT_LOAD_OP_CLEAR, the first use of that attachment must not specify a layout equal to VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_SHADER_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL or VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_STENCIL_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-pAttachments-02511
    For any member of pAttachments with a stencilLoadOp equal to VK_ATTACHMENT_LOAD_OP_CLEAR, the first use of that attachment must not specify a layout equal to VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_SHADER_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL or VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_STENCIL_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-pAttachments-01566
    For any member of pAttachments with a loadOp equal to VK_ATTACHMENT_LOAD_OP_CLEAR, the first use of that attachment must not specify a layout equal to VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_READ_ONLY_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-pAttachments-01567
    For any member of pAttachments with a stencilLoadOp equal to VK_ATTACHMENT_LOAD_OP_CLEAR, the first use of that attachment must not specify a layout equal to VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_ATTACHMENT_STENCIL_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-pNext-01926
    If the pNext chain includes a VkRenderPassInputAttachmentAspectCreateInfo structure, the subpass member of each element of its pAspectReferences member must be less than subpassCount

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-pNext-01927
    If the pNext chain includes a VkRenderPassInputAttachmentAspectCreateInfo structure, the inputAttachmentIndex member of each element of its pAspectReferences member must be less than the value of inputAttachmentCount in the member of pSubpasses identified by its subpass member

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-pNext-01963
    If the pNext chain includes a VkRenderPassInputAttachmentAspectCreateInfo structure, for any element of the pInputAttachments member of any element of pSubpasses where the attachment member is not VK_ATTACHMENT_UNUSED, the aspectMask member of the corresponding element of VkRenderPassInputAttachmentAspectCreateInfo::pAspectReferences must only include aspects that are present in images of the format specified by the element of pAttachments at attachment

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-pNext-01928
    If the pNext chain includes a VkRenderPassMultiviewCreateInfo structure, and its subpassCount member is not zero, that member must be equal to the value of subpassCount

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-pNext-01929
    If the pNext chain includes a VkRenderPassMultiviewCreateInfo structure, if its dependencyCount member is not zero, it must be equal to dependencyCount

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-pNext-01930
    If the pNext chain includes a VkRenderPassMultiviewCreateInfo structure, for each non-zero element of pViewOffsets, the srcSubpass and dstSubpass members of pDependencies at the same index must not be equal

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-pNext-02512
    If the pNext chain includes a VkRenderPassMultiviewCreateInfo structure, for any element of pDependencies with a dependencyFlags member that does not include VK_DEPENDENCY_VIEW_LOCAL_BIT, the corresponding element of the pViewOffsets member of that VkRenderPassMultiviewCreateInfo instance must be 0

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-pNext-02513
    If the pNext chain includes a VkRenderPassMultiviewCreateInfo structure, elements of its pViewMasks member must either all be 0, or all not be 0

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-pNext-02514
    If the pNext chain includes a VkRenderPassMultiviewCreateInfo structure, and each element of its pViewMasks member is 0, the dependencyFlags member of each element of pDependencies must not include VK_DEPENDENCY_VIEW_LOCAL_BIT

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-pNext-02515
    If the pNext chain includes a VkRenderPassMultiviewCreateInfo structure, and each element of its pViewMasks member is 0, correlatedViewMaskCount must be 0

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-pNext-02516
    If the pNext chain includes a VkRenderPassMultiviewCreateInfo structure, each element of its pViewMask member must not have a bit set at an index greater than or equal to VkPhysicalDeviceLimits::maxFramebufferLayers

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-pDependencies-00837
    For any element of pDependencies, if the srcSubpass is not VK_SUBPASS_EXTERNAL, all stage flags included in the srcStageMask member of that dependency must be a pipeline stage supported by the pipeline identified by the pipelineBindPoint member of the source subpass

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-pDependencies-00838
    For any element of pDependencies, if the dstSubpass is not VK_SUBPASS_EXTERNAL, all stage flags included in the dstStageMask member of that dependency must be a pipeline stage supported by the pipeline identified by the pipelineBindPoint member of the destination subpass

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-srcSubpass-02517
    The srcSubpass member of each element of pDependencies must be less than subpassCount

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-dstSubpass-02518
    The dstSubpass member of each element of pDependencies must be less than subpassCount

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_RENDER_PASS_CREATE_INFO

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-pNext-pNext
    Each pNext member of any structure (including this one) in the pNext chain must be either NULL or a pointer to a valid instance of VkRenderPassInputAttachmentAspectCreateInfo or VkRenderPassMultiviewCreateInfo

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-sType-unique
    The sType value of each struct in the pNext chain must be unique

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-flags-zerobitmask
    flags must be 0

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-pAttachments-parameter
    If attachmentCount is not 0, pAttachments must be a valid pointer to an array of attachmentCount valid VkAttachmentDescription structures

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-pSubpasses-parameter
    pSubpasses must be a valid pointer to an array of subpassCount valid VkSubpassDescription structures

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-pDependencies-parameter
    If dependencyCount is not 0, pDependencies must be a valid pointer to an array of dependencyCount valid VkSubpassDependency structures

  • VUID-VkRenderPassCreateInfo-subpassCount-arraylength
    subpassCount must be greater than 0

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef VkFlags VkRenderPassCreateFlags;

VkRenderPassCreateFlags is a bitmask type for setting a mask of zero or more VkRenderPassCreateFlagBits.

If the VkRenderPassCreateInfo::pNext chain includes a VkRenderPassMultiviewCreateInfo structure, then that structure includes an array of view masks, view offsets, and correlation masks for the render pass.

The VkRenderPassMultiviewCreateInfo structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
typedef struct VkRenderPassMultiviewCreateInfo {
    VkStructureType    sType;
    const void*        pNext;
    uint32_t           subpassCount;
    const uint32_t*    pViewMasks;
    uint32_t           dependencyCount;
    const int32_t*     pViewOffsets;
    uint32_t           correlationMaskCount;
    const uint32_t*    pCorrelationMasks;
} VkRenderPassMultiviewCreateInfo;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • subpassCount is zero or the number of subpasses in the render pass.

  • pViewMasks is a pointer to an array of subpassCount view masks, where each mask is a bitfield of view indices describing which views rendering is broadcast to in each subpass, when multiview is enabled. If subpassCount is zero, each view mask is treated as zero.

  • dependencyCount is zero or the number of dependencies in the render pass.

  • pViewOffsets is a pointer to an array of dependencyCount view offsets, one for each dependency. If dependencyCount is zero, each dependency’s view offset is treated as zero. Each view offset controls which views in the source subpass the views in the destination subpass depend on.

  • correlationMaskCount is zero or the number of correlation masks.

  • pCorrelationMasks is a pointer to an array of correlationMaskCount view masks indicating sets of views that may be more efficient to render concurrently.

When a subpass uses a non-zero view mask, multiview functionality is considered to be enabled. Multiview is all-or-nothing for a render pass - that is, either all subpasses must have a non-zero view mask (though some subpasses may have only one view) or all must be zero. Multiview causes all drawing and clear commands in the subpass to behave as if they were broadcast to each view, where a view is represented by one layer of the framebuffer attachments. All draws and clears are broadcast to each view index whose bit is set in the view mask. The view index is provided in the ViewIndex shader input variable, and color, depth/stencil, and input attachments all read/write the layer of the framebuffer corresponding to the view index.

If the view mask is zero for all subpasses, multiview is considered to be disabled and all drawing commands execute normally, without this additional broadcasting.

Some implementations may not support multiview in conjunction with geometry shaders or tessellation shaders.

When multiview is enabled, the VK_DEPENDENCY_VIEW_LOCAL_BIT bit in a dependency can be used to express a view-local dependency, meaning that each view in the destination subpass depends on a single view in the source subpass. Unlike pipeline barriers, a subpass dependency can potentially have a different view mask in the source subpass and the destination subpass. If the dependency is view-local, then each view (dstView) in the destination subpass depends on the view dstView + pViewOffsets[dependency] in the source subpass. If there is not such a view in the source subpass, then this dependency does not affect that view in the destination subpass. If the dependency is not view-local, then all views in the destination subpass depend on all views in the source subpass, and the view offset is ignored. A non-zero view offset is not allowed in a self-dependency.

The elements of pCorrelationMasks are a set of masks of views indicating that views in the same mask may exhibit spatial coherency between the views, making it more efficient to render them concurrently. Correlation masks must not have a functional effect on the results of the multiview rendering.

When multiview is enabled, at the beginning of each subpass all non-render pass state is undefined. In particular, each time vkCmdBeginRenderPass or vkCmdNextSubpass is called the graphics pipeline must be bound, any relevant descriptor sets or vertex/index buffers must be bound, and any relevant dynamic state or push constants must be set before they are used.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-VkRenderPassMultiviewCreateInfo-pCorrelationMasks-00841
    Each view index must not be set in more than one element of pCorrelationMasks

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkRenderPassMultiviewCreateInfo-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_RENDER_PASS_MULTIVIEW_CREATE_INFO

  • VUID-VkRenderPassMultiviewCreateInfo-pViewMasks-parameter
    If subpassCount is not 0, pViewMasks must be a valid pointer to an array of subpassCount uint32_t values

  • VUID-VkRenderPassMultiviewCreateInfo-pViewOffsets-parameter
    If dependencyCount is not 0, pViewOffsets must be a valid pointer to an array of dependencyCount int32_t values

  • VUID-VkRenderPassMultiviewCreateInfo-pCorrelationMasks-parameter
    If correlationMaskCount is not 0, pCorrelationMasks must be a valid pointer to an array of correlationMaskCount uint32_t values

The VkAttachmentDescription structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkAttachmentDescription {
    VkAttachmentDescriptionFlags    flags;
    VkFormat                        format;
    VkSampleCountFlagBits           samples;
    VkAttachmentLoadOp              loadOp;
    VkAttachmentStoreOp             storeOp;
    VkAttachmentLoadOp              stencilLoadOp;
    VkAttachmentStoreOp             stencilStoreOp;
    VkImageLayout                   initialLayout;
    VkImageLayout                   finalLayout;
} VkAttachmentDescription;

  • flags is a bitmask of VkAttachmentDescriptionFlagBits specifying additional properties of the attachment.

  • format is a VkFormat value specifying the format of the image view that will be used for the attachment.

  • samples is the number of samples of the image as defined in VkSampleCountFlagBits.

  • loadOp is a VkAttachmentLoadOp value specifying how the contents of color and depth components of the attachment are treated at the beginning of the subpass where it is first used.

  • storeOp is a VkAttachmentStoreOp value specifying how the contents of color and depth components of the attachment are treated at the end of the subpass where it is last used.

  • stencilLoadOp is a VkAttachmentLoadOp value specifying how the contents of stencil components of the attachment are treated at the beginning of the subpass where it is first used.

  • stencilStoreOp is a VkAttachmentStoreOp value specifying how the contents of stencil components of the attachment are treated at the end of the last subpass where it is used.

  • initialLayout is the layout the attachment image subresource will be in when a render pass instance begins.

  • finalLayout is the layout the attachment image subresource will be transitioned to when a render pass instance ends.

If the attachment uses a color format, then loadOp and storeOp are used, and stencilLoadOp and stencilStoreOp are ignored. If the format has depth and/or stencil components, loadOp and storeOp apply only to the depth data, while stencilLoadOp and stencilStoreOp define how the stencil data is handled. loadOp and stencilLoadOp define the load operations that execute as part of the first subpass that uses the attachment. storeOp and stencilStoreOp define the store operations that execute as part of the last subpass that uses the attachment.

The load operation for each sample in an attachment happens-before any recorded command which accesses the sample in the first subpass where the attachment is used. Load operations for attachments with a depth/stencil format execute in the VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_EARLY_FRAGMENT_TESTS_BIT pipeline stage. Load operations for attachments with a color format execute in the VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_OUTPUT_BIT pipeline stage.

The store operation for each sample in an attachment happens-after any recorded command which accesses the sample in the last subpass where the attachment is used. Store operations for attachments with a depth/stencil format execute in the VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_LATE_FRAGMENT_TESTS_BIT pipeline stage. Store operations for attachments with a color format execute in the VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_OUTPUT_BIT pipeline stage.

If an attachment is not used by any subpass, then loadOp, storeOp, stencilStoreOp, and stencilLoadOp are ignored, and the attachment’s memory contents will not be modified by execution of a render pass instance.

The load and store operations apply on the first and last use of each view in the render pass, respectively. If a view index of an attachment is not included in the view mask in any subpass that uses it, then the load and store operations are ignored, and the attachment’s memory contents will not be modified by execution of a render pass instance.

During a render pass instance, input/color attachments with color formats that have a component size of 8, 16, or 32 bits must be represented in the attachment’s format throughout the instance. Attachments with other floating- or fixed-point color formats, or with depth components may be represented in a format with a precision higher than the attachment format, but must be represented with the same range. When such a component is loaded via the loadOp, it will be converted into an implementation-dependent format used by the render pass. Such components must be converted from the render pass format, to the format of the attachment, before they are resolved or stored at the end of a render pass instance via storeOp. Conversions occur as described in Numeric Representation and Computation and Fixed-Point Data Conversions.

If flags includes VK_ATTACHMENT_DESCRIPTION_MAY_ALIAS_BIT, then the attachment is treated as if it shares physical memory with another attachment in the same render pass. This information limits the ability of the implementation to reorder certain operations (like layout transitions and the loadOp) such that it is not improperly reordered against other uses of the same physical memory via a different attachment. This is described in more detail below.

If a render pass uses multiple attachments that alias the same device memory, those attachments must each include the VK_ATTACHMENT_DESCRIPTION_MAY_ALIAS_BIT bit in their attachment description flags. Attachments aliasing the same memory occurs in multiple ways:

  • Multiple attachments being assigned the same image view as part of framebuffer creation.

  • Attachments using distinct image views that correspond to the same image subresource of an image.

  • Attachments using views of distinct image subresources which are bound to overlapping memory ranges.

Note

Render passes must include subpass dependencies (either directly or via a subpass dependency chain) between any two subpasses that operate on the same attachment or aliasing attachments and those subpass dependencies must include execution and memory dependencies separating uses of the aliases, if at least one of those subpasses writes to one of the aliases. These dependencies must not include the VK_DEPENDENCY_BY_REGION_BIT if the aliases are views of distinct image subresources which overlap in memory.

Multiple attachments that alias the same memory must not be used in a single subpass. A given attachment index must not be used multiple times in a single subpass, with one exception: two subpass attachments can use the same attachment index if at least one use is as an input attachment and neither use is as a resolve or preserve attachment. In other words, the same view can be used simultaneously as an input and color or depth/stencil attachment, but must not be used as multiple color or depth/stencil attachments nor as resolve or preserve attachments. The precise set of valid scenarios is described in more detail below.

If a set of attachments alias each other, then all except the first to be used in the render pass must use an initialLayout of VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_UNDEFINED, since the earlier uses of the other aliases make their contents undefined. Once an alias has been used and a different alias has been used after it, the first alias must not be used in any later subpasses. However, an application can assign the same image view to multiple aliasing attachment indices, which allows that image view to be used multiple times even if other aliases are used in between.

Note

Once an attachment needs the VK_ATTACHMENT_DESCRIPTION_MAY_ALIAS_BIT bit, there should be no additional cost of introducing additional aliases, and using these additional aliases may allow more efficient clearing of the attachments on multiple uses via VK_ATTACHMENT_LOAD_OP_CLEAR.
Valid Usage

  • VUID-VkAttachmentDescription-finalLayout-00843
    finalLayout must not be VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_UNDEFINED or VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_PREINITIALIZED

  • VUID-VkAttachmentDescription-format-03280
    If format is a color format, initialLayout must not be VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_STENCIL_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_ATTACHMENT_STENCIL_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL, or VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_READ_ONLY_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL

  • VUID-VkAttachmentDescription-format-03281
    If format is a depth/stencil format, initialLayout must not be VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL

  • VUID-VkAttachmentDescription-format-03282
    If format is a color format, finalLayout must not be VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_STENCIL_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_ATTACHMENT_STENCIL_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL, or VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_READ_ONLY_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL

  • VUID-VkAttachmentDescription-format-03283
    If format is a depth/stencil format, finalLayout must not be VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL

  • VUID-VkAttachmentDescription-separateDepthStencilLayouts-03284
    If the separateDepthStencilLayouts feature is not enabled, initialLayout must not be VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL, or VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_STENCIL_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL

  • VUID-VkAttachmentDescription-separateDepthStencilLayouts-03285
    If the separateDepthStencilLayouts feature is not enabled, finalLayout must not be VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL, or VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_STENCIL_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL

  • VUID-VkAttachmentDescription-format-03286
    If format is a color format, initialLayout must not be VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL, or VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_STENCIL_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL

  • VUID-VkAttachmentDescription-format-03287
    If format is a color format, finalLayout must not be VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL, or VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_STENCIL_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL

  • VUID-VkAttachmentDescription-format-03288
    If format is a depth/stencil format which includes both depth and stencil aspects, initialLayout must not be VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL, or VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_STENCIL_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL

  • VUID-VkAttachmentDescription-format-03289
    If format is a depth/stencil format which includes both depth and stencil aspects, finalLayout must not be VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL, or VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_STENCIL_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL

  • VUID-VkAttachmentDescription-format-03290
    If format is a depth/stencil format which includes only the depth aspect, initialLayout must not be VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL or VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_STENCIL_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL

  • VUID-VkAttachmentDescription-format-03291
    If format is a depth/stencil format which includes only the depth aspect, finalLayout must not be VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL or VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_STENCIL_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL

  • VUID-VkAttachmentDescription-format-03292
    If format is a depth/stencil format which includes only the stencil aspect, initialLayout must not be VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL or VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL

  • VUID-VkAttachmentDescription-format-03293
    If format is a depth/stencil format which includes only the stencil aspect, finalLayout must not be VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL or VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkAttachmentDescription-flags-parameter
    flags must be a valid combination of VkAttachmentDescriptionFlagBits values

  • VUID-VkAttachmentDescription-format-parameter
    format must be a valid VkFormat value

  • VUID-VkAttachmentDescription-samples-parameter
    samples must be a valid VkSampleCountFlagBits value

  • VUID-VkAttachmentDescription-loadOp-parameter
    loadOp must be a valid VkAttachmentLoadOp value

  • VUID-VkAttachmentDescription-storeOp-parameter
    storeOp must be a valid VkAttachmentStoreOp value

  • VUID-VkAttachmentDescription-stencilLoadOp-parameter
    stencilLoadOp must be a valid VkAttachmentLoadOp value

  • VUID-VkAttachmentDescription-stencilStoreOp-parameter
    stencilStoreOp must be a valid VkAttachmentStoreOp value

  • VUID-VkAttachmentDescription-initialLayout-parameter
    initialLayout must be a valid VkImageLayout value

  • VUID-VkAttachmentDescription-finalLayout-parameter
    finalLayout must be a valid VkImageLayout value

Bits which can be set in VkAttachmentDescription::flags describing additional properties of the attachment are:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef enum VkAttachmentDescriptionFlagBits {
    VK_ATTACHMENT_DESCRIPTION_MAY_ALIAS_BIT = 0x00000001,
} VkAttachmentDescriptionFlagBits;

  • VK_ATTACHMENT_DESCRIPTION_MAY_ALIAS_BIT specifies that the attachment aliases the same device memory as other attachments.

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef VkFlags VkAttachmentDescriptionFlags;

VkAttachmentDescriptionFlags is a bitmask type for setting a mask of zero or more VkAttachmentDescriptionFlagBits.

Possible values of VkAttachmentDescription::loadOp and stencilLoadOp, specifying how the contents of the attachment are treated, are:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef enum VkAttachmentLoadOp {
    VK_ATTACHMENT_LOAD_OP_LOAD = 0,
    VK_ATTACHMENT_LOAD_OP_CLEAR = 1,
    VK_ATTACHMENT_LOAD_OP_DONT_CARE = 2,
} VkAttachmentLoadOp;

  • VK_ATTACHMENT_LOAD_OP_LOAD specifies that the previous contents of the image within the render area will be preserved. For attachments with a depth/stencil format, this uses the access type VK_ACCESS_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_READ_BIT. For attachments with a color format, this uses the access type VK_ACCESS_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_READ_BIT.

  • VK_ATTACHMENT_LOAD_OP_CLEAR specifies that the contents within the render area will be cleared to a uniform value, which is specified when a render pass instance is begun. For attachments with a depth/stencil format, this uses the access type VK_ACCESS_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_WRITE_BIT. For attachments with a color format, this uses the access type VK_ACCESS_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_WRITE_BIT.

  • VK_ATTACHMENT_LOAD_OP_DONT_CARE specifies that the previous contents within the area need not be preserved; the contents of the attachment will be undefined inside the render area. For attachments with a depth/stencil format, this uses the access type VK_ACCESS_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_WRITE_BIT. For attachments with a color format, this uses the access type VK_ACCESS_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_WRITE_BIT.

Possible values of VkAttachmentDescription::storeOp and stencilStoreOp, specifying how the contents of the attachment are treated, are:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef enum VkAttachmentStoreOp {
    VK_ATTACHMENT_STORE_OP_STORE = 0,
    VK_ATTACHMENT_STORE_OP_DONT_CARE = 1,
} VkAttachmentStoreOp;

  • VK_ATTACHMENT_STORE_OP_STORE specifies the contents generated during the render pass and within the render area are written to memory. For attachments with a depth/stencil format, this uses the access type VK_ACCESS_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_WRITE_BIT. For attachments with a color format, this uses the access type VK_ACCESS_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_WRITE_BIT.

  • VK_ATTACHMENT_STORE_OP_DONT_CARE specifies the contents within the render area are not needed after rendering, and may be discarded; the contents of the attachment will be undefined inside the render area. For attachments with a depth/stencil format, this uses the access type VK_ACCESS_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_WRITE_BIT. For attachments with a color format, this uses the access type VK_ACCESS_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_WRITE_BIT.

Note

VK_ATTACHMENT_STORE_OP_DONT_CARE can cause contents generated during previous render passes to be discarded before reaching memory, even if no write to the attachment occurs during the current render pass.

To specify which aspects of an input attachment can be read, add a VkRenderPassInputAttachmentAspectCreateInfo structure to the pNext chain of the VkRenderPassCreateInfo structure:

The VkRenderPassInputAttachmentAspectCreateInfo structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
typedef struct VkRenderPassInputAttachmentAspectCreateInfo {
    VkStructureType                            sType;
    const void*                                pNext;
    uint32_t                                   aspectReferenceCount;
    const VkInputAttachmentAspectReference*    pAspectReferences;
} VkRenderPassInputAttachmentAspectCreateInfo;

  • sType is the type of this structure.

  • pNext is NULL or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

  • aspectReferenceCount is the number of elements in the pAspectReferences array.

  • pAspectReferences is a pointer to an array of aspectReferenceCount VkInputAttachmentAspectReference structures containing a mask describing which aspect(s) can be accessed for a given input attachment within a given subpass.

An application can access any aspect of an input attachment that does not have a specified aspect mask in the pAspectReferences array. Otherwise, an application must not access aspect(s) of an input attachment other than those in its specified aspect mask.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkRenderPassInputAttachmentAspectCreateInfo-sType-sType
    sType must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_RENDER_PASS_INPUT_ATTACHMENT_ASPECT_CREATE_INFO

  • VUID-VkRenderPassInputAttachmentAspectCreateInfo-pAspectReferences-parameter
    pAspectReferences must be a valid pointer to an array of aspectReferenceCount valid VkInputAttachmentAspectReference structures

  • VUID-VkRenderPassInputAttachmentAspectCreateInfo-aspectReferenceCount-arraylength
    aspectReferenceCount must be greater than 0

The VkInputAttachmentAspectReference structure specifies an aspect mask for a specific input attachment of a specific subpass in the render pass.

subpass and inputAttachmentIndex index into the render pass as:

pCreateInfo->pSubpasses[subpass].pInputAttachments[inputAttachmentIndex]

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_1
typedef struct VkInputAttachmentAspectReference {
    uint32_t              subpass;
    uint32_t              inputAttachmentIndex;
    VkImageAspectFlags    aspectMask;
} VkInputAttachmentAspectReference;

  • subpass is an index into the pSubpasses array of the parent VkRenderPassCreateInfo structure.

  • inputAttachmentIndex is an index into the pInputAttachments of the specified subpass.

  • aspectMask is a mask of which aspect(s) can be accessed within the specified subpass.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-VkInputAttachmentAspectReference-aspectMask-01964
    aspectMask must not include VK_IMAGE_ASPECT_METADATA_BIT

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkInputAttachmentAspectReference-aspectMask-parameter
    aspectMask must be a valid combination of VkImageAspectFlagBits values

  • VUID-VkInputAttachmentAspectReference-aspectMask-requiredbitmask
    aspectMask must not be 0

The VkSubpassDescription structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkSubpassDescription {
    VkSubpassDescriptionFlags       flags;
    VkPipelineBindPoint             pipelineBindPoint;
    uint32_t                        inputAttachmentCount;
    const VkAttachmentReference*    pInputAttachments;
    uint32_t                        colorAttachmentCount;
    const VkAttachmentReference*    pColorAttachments;
    const VkAttachmentReference*    pResolveAttachments;
    const VkAttachmentReference*    pDepthStencilAttachment;
    uint32_t                        preserveAttachmentCount;
    const uint32_t*                 pPreserveAttachments;
} VkSubpassDescription;

  • flags is a bitmask of VkSubpassDescriptionFlagBits specifying usage of the subpass.

  • pipelineBindPoint is a VkPipelineBindPoint value specifying the pipeline type supported for this subpass.

  • inputAttachmentCount is the number of input attachments.

  • pInputAttachments is a pointer to an array of VkAttachmentReference structures defining the input attachments for this subpass and their layouts.

  • colorAttachmentCount is the number of color attachments.

  • pColorAttachments is a pointer to an array of VkAttachmentReference structures defining the color attachments for this subpass and their layouts.

  • pResolveAttachments is an optional array of colorAttachmentCount VkAttachmentReference structures defining the resolve attachments for this subpass and their layouts.

  • pDepthStencilAttachment is a pointer to a VkAttachmentReference structure specifying the depth/stencil attachment for this subpass and its layout.

  • preserveAttachmentCount is the number of preserved attachments.

  • pPreserveAttachments is a pointer to an array of preserveAttachmentCount render pass attachment indices identifying attachments that are not used by this subpass, but whose contents must be preserved throughout the subpass.

Each element of the pInputAttachments array corresponds to an input attachment index in a fragment shader, i.e. if a shader declares an image variable decorated with a InputAttachmentIndex value of X, then it uses the attachment provided in pInputAttachments[X]. Input attachments must also be bound to the pipeline in a descriptor set. If the attachment member of any element of pInputAttachments is VK_ATTACHMENT_UNUSED, the application must not read from the corresponding input attachment index. Fragment shaders can use subpass input variables to access the contents of an input attachment at the fragment’s (x, y, layer) framebuffer coordinates.

Each element of the pColorAttachments array corresponds to an output location in the shader, i.e. if the shader declares an output variable decorated with a Location value of X, then it uses the attachment provided in pColorAttachments[X]. If the attachment member of any element of pColorAttachments is VK_ATTACHMENT_UNUSED, writes to the corresponding location by a fragment are discarded.

If pResolveAttachments is not NULL, each of its elements corresponds to a color attachment (the element in pColorAttachments at the same index), and a multisample resolve operation is defined for each attachment. At the end of each subpass, multisample resolve operations read the subpass’s color attachments, and resolve the samples for each pixel within the render area to the same pixel location in the corresponding resolve attachments, unless the resolve attachment index is VK_ATTACHMENT_UNUSED.

Similarly, if VkSubpassDescriptionDepthStencilResolve::pDepthStencilResolveAttachment is not NULL and does not have the value VK_ATTACHMENT_UNUSED, it corresponds to the depth/stencil attachment in pDepthStencilAttachment, and multisample resolve operations for depth and stencil are defined by VkSubpassDescriptionDepthStencilResolve::depthResolveMode and VkSubpassDescriptionDepthStencilResolve::stencilResolveMode, respectively. At the end of each subpass, multisample resolve operations read the subpass’s depth/stencil attachment, and resolve the samples for each pixel to the same pixel location in the corresponding resolve attachment. If VkSubpassDescriptionDepthStencilResolve::depthResolveMode is VK_RESOLVE_MODE_NONE, then the depth component of the resolve attachment is not written to and its contents are preserved. Similarly, if VkSubpassDescriptionDepthStencilResolve::stencilResolveMode is VK_RESOLVE_MODE_NONE, then the stencil component of the resolve attachment is not written to and its contents are preserved. VkSubpassDescriptionDepthStencilResolve::depthResolveMode is ignored if the VkFormat of the pDepthStencilResolveAttachment does not have a depth component. Similarly, VkSubpassDescriptionDepthStencilResolve::stencilResolveMode is ignored if the VkFormat of the pDepthStencilResolveAttachment does not have a stencil component.

If pDepthStencilAttachment is NULL, or if its attachment index is VK_ATTACHMENT_UNUSED, it indicates that no depth/stencil attachment will be used in the subpass.

The contents of an attachment within the render area become undefined at the start of a subpass S if all of the following conditions are true:

  • The attachment is used as a color, depth/stencil, or resolve attachment in any subpass in the render pass.

  • There is a subpass S1 that uses or preserves the attachment, and a subpass dependency from S1 to S.

  • The attachment is not used or preserved in subpass S.

Once the contents of an attachment become undefined in subpass S, they remain undefined for subpasses in subpass dependency chains starting with subpass S until they are written again. However, they remain valid for subpasses in other subpass dependency chains starting with subpass S1 if those subpasses use or preserve the attachment.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-VkSubpassDescription-pipelineBindPoint-00844
    pipelineBindPoint must be VK_PIPELINE_BIND_POINT_GRAPHICS

  • VUID-VkSubpassDescription-colorAttachmentCount-00845
    colorAttachmentCount must be less than or equal to VkPhysicalDeviceLimits::maxColorAttachments

  • VUID-VkSubpassDescription-loadOp-00846
    If the first use of an attachment in this render pass is as an input attachment, and the attachment is not also used as a color or depth/stencil attachment in the same subpass, then loadOp must not be VK_ATTACHMENT_LOAD_OP_CLEAR

  • VUID-VkSubpassDescription-pResolveAttachments-00847
    If pResolveAttachments is not NULL, for each resolve attachment that is not VK_ATTACHMENT_UNUSED, the corresponding color attachment must not be VK_ATTACHMENT_UNUSED

  • VUID-VkSubpassDescription-pResolveAttachments-00848
    If pResolveAttachments is not NULL, for each resolve attachment that is not VK_ATTACHMENT_UNUSED, the corresponding color attachment must not have a sample count of VK_SAMPLE_COUNT_1_BIT

  • VUID-VkSubpassDescription-pResolveAttachments-00849
    If pResolveAttachments is not NULL, each resolve attachment that is not VK_ATTACHMENT_UNUSED must have a sample count of VK_SAMPLE_COUNT_1_BIT

  • VUID-VkSubpassDescription-pResolveAttachments-00850
    If pResolveAttachments is not NULL, each resolve attachment that is not VK_ATTACHMENT_UNUSED must have the same VkFormat as its corresponding color attachment

  • VUID-VkSubpassDescription-pColorAttachments-01417
    All attachments in pColorAttachments that are not VK_ATTACHMENT_UNUSED must have the same sample count

  • VUID-VkSubpassDescription-pInputAttachments-02647
    All attachments in pInputAttachments that are not VK_ATTACHMENT_UNUSED must have image formats whose potential format features contain at least VK_FORMAT_FEATURE_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_BIT or VK_FORMAT_FEATURE_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_BIT

  • VUID-VkSubpassDescription-pColorAttachments-02648
    All attachments in pColorAttachments that are not VK_ATTACHMENT_UNUSED must have image formats whose potential format features contain VK_FORMAT_FEATURE_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_BIT

  • VUID-VkSubpassDescription-pResolveAttachments-02649
    All attachments in pResolveAttachments that are not VK_ATTACHMENT_UNUSED must have image formats whose potential format features contain VK_FORMAT_FEATURE_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_BIT

  • VUID-VkSubpassDescription-pDepthStencilAttachment-02650
    If pDepthStencilAttachment is not NULL and the attachment is not VK_ATTACHMENT_UNUSED then it must have a image format whose potential format features contain VK_FORMAT_FEATURE_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_BIT

  • VUID-VkSubpassDescription-pDepthStencilAttachment-01418
    If neither the VK_AMD_mixed_attachment_samples nor the VK_NV_framebuffer_mixed_samples extensions are enabled, and if pDepthStencilAttachment is not VK_ATTACHMENT_UNUSED and any attachments in pColorAttachments are not VK_ATTACHMENT_UNUSED, they must have the same sample count

  • VUID-VkSubpassDescription-attachment-00853
    The attachment member of each element of pPreserveAttachments must not be VK_ATTACHMENT_UNUSED

  • VUID-VkSubpassDescription-pPreserveAttachments-00854
    Each element of pPreserveAttachments must not also be an element of any other member of the subpass description

  • VUID-VkSubpassDescription-layout-02519
    If any attachment is used by more than one VkAttachmentReference member, then each use must use the same layout

  • VUID-VkSubpassDescription-None-04437
    Each attachment must follow the image layout requirements specified for its attachment type

  • VUID-VkSubpassDescription-pDepthStencilAttachment-04438
    pDepthStencilAttachment and pColorAttachments must not contain references to the same attachment

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkSubpassDescription-flags-zerobitmask
    flags must be 0

  • VUID-VkSubpassDescription-pipelineBindPoint-parameter
    pipelineBindPoint must be a valid VkPipelineBindPoint value

  • VUID-VkSubpassDescription-pInputAttachments-parameter
    If inputAttachmentCount is not 0, pInputAttachments must be a valid pointer to an array of inputAttachmentCount valid VkAttachmentReference structures

  • VUID-VkSubpassDescription-pColorAttachments-parameter
    If colorAttachmentCount is not 0, pColorAttachments must be a valid pointer to an array of colorAttachmentCount valid VkAttachmentReference structures

  • VUID-VkSubpassDescription-pResolveAttachments-parameter
    If colorAttachmentCount is not 0, and pResolveAttachments is not NULL, pResolveAttachments must be a valid pointer to an array of colorAttachmentCount valid VkAttachmentReference structures

  • VUID-VkSubpassDescription-pDepthStencilAttachment-parameter
    If pDepthStencilAttachment is not NULL, pDepthStencilAttachment must be a valid pointer to a valid VkAttachmentReference structure

  • VUID-VkSubpassDescription-pPreserveAttachments-parameter
    If preserveAttachmentCount is not 0, pPreserveAttachments must be a valid pointer to an array of preserveAttachmentCount uint32_t values

Bits which can be set in VkSubpassDescription::flags, specifying usage of the subpass, are:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef enum VkSubpassDescriptionFlagBits {
} VkSubpassDescriptionFlagBits;
Note

All bits for this type are defined by extensions, and none of those extensions are enabled in this build of the specification.

 
// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef VkFlags VkSubpassDescriptionFlags;

VkSubpassDescriptionFlags is a bitmask type for setting a mask of zero or more VkSubpassDescriptionFlagBits.

The VkAttachmentReference structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkAttachmentReference {
    uint32_t         attachment;
    VkImageLayout    layout;
} VkAttachmentReference;

  • attachment is either an integer value identifying an attachment at the corresponding index in VkRenderPassCreateInfo::pAttachments, or VK_ATTACHMENT_UNUSED to signify that this attachment is not used.

  • layout is a VkImageLayout value specifying the layout the attachment uses during the subpass.

Valid Usage

  • VUID-VkAttachmentReference-layout-00857
    If attachment is not VK_ATTACHMENT_UNUSED, layout must not be VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_UNDEFINED, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_PREINITIALIZED, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_PRESENT_SRC_KHR, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL_KHR, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL_KHR, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL_KHR, or VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_STENCIL_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL_KHR

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkAttachmentReference-layout-parameter
    layout must be a valid VkImageLayout value

The VkSubpassDependency structure is defined as:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_0
typedef struct VkSubpassDependency {
    uint32_t                srcSubpass;
    uint32_t                dstSubpass;
    VkPipelineStageFlags    srcStageMask;
    VkPipelineStageFlags    dstStageMask;
    VkAccessFlags           srcAccessMask;
    VkAccessFlags           dstAccessMask;
    VkDependencyFlags       dependencyFlags;
} VkSubpassDependency;

If srcSubpass is equal to dstSubpass then the VkSubpassDependency describes a subpass self-dependency, and only constrains the pipeline barriers allowed within a subpass instance. Otherwise, when a render pass instance which includes a subpass dependency is submitted to a queue, it defines a memory dependency between the subpasses identified by srcSubpass and dstSubpass.

If srcSubpass is equal to VK_SUBPASS_EXTERNAL, the first synchronization scope includes commands that occur earlier in submission order than the vkCmdBeginRenderPass used to begin the render pass instance. Otherwise, the first set of commands includes all commands submitted as part of the subpass instance identified by srcSubpass and any load, store or multisample resolve operations on attachments used in srcSubpass. In either case, the first synchronization scope is limited to operations on the pipeline stages determined by the source stage mask specified by srcStageMask.

If dstSubpass is equal to VK_SUBPASS_EXTERNAL, the second synchronization scope includes commands that occur later in submission order than the vkCmdEndRenderPass used to end the render pass instance. Otherwise, the second set of commands includes all commands submitted as part of the subpass instance identified by dstSubpass and any load, store or multisample resolve operations on attachments used in dstSubpass. In either case, the second synchronization scope is limited to operations on the pipeline stages determined by the destination stage mask specified by dstStageMask.

The first access scope is limited to access in the pipeline stages determined by the source stage mask specified by srcStageMask. It is also limited to access types in the source access mask specified by srcAccessMask.

The second access scope is limited to access in the pipeline stages determined by the destination stage mask specified by dstStageMask. It is also limited to access types in the destination access mask specified by dstAccessMask.

The availability and visibility operations defined by a subpass dependency affect the execution of image layout transitions within the render pass.

Note

For non-attachment resources, the memory dependency expressed by subpass dependency is nearly identical to that of a VkMemoryBarrier (with matching srcAccessMask and dstAccessMask parameters) submitted as a part of a vkCmdPipelineBarrier (with matching srcStageMask and dstStageMask parameters). The only difference being that its scopes are limited to the identified subpasses rather than potentially affecting everything before and after.

For attachments however, subpass dependencies work more like a VkImageMemoryBarrier defined similarly to the VkMemoryBarrier above, the queue family indices set to VK_QUEUE_FAMILY_IGNORED, and layouts as follows:

  • The equivalent to oldLayout is the attachment’s layout according to the subpass description for srcSubpass.

  • The equivalent to newLayout is the attachment’s layout according to the subpass description for dstSubpass.
Valid Usage

  • VUID-VkSubpassDependency-srcStageMask-00860
    If the geometry shaders feature is not enabled, srcStageMask must not contain VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_GEOMETRY_SHADER_BIT

  • VUID-VkSubpassDependency-dstStageMask-00861
    If the geometry shaders feature is not enabled, dstStageMask must not contain VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_GEOMETRY_SHADER_BIT

  • VUID-VkSubpassDependency-srcStageMask-00862
    If the tessellation shaders feature is not enabled, srcStageMask must not contain VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_SHADER_BIT or VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_SHADER_BIT

  • VUID-VkSubpassDependency-dstStageMask-00863
    If the tessellation shaders feature is not enabled, dstStageMask must not contain VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_SHADER_BIT or VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_SHADER_BIT

  • VUID-VkSubpassDependency-srcSubpass-00864
    srcSubpass must be less than or equal to dstSubpass, unless one of them is VK_SUBPASS_EXTERNAL, to avoid cyclic dependencies and ensure a valid execution order

  • VUID-VkSubpassDependency-srcSubpass-00865
    srcSubpass and dstSubpass must not both be equal to VK_SUBPASS_EXTERNAL

  • VUID-VkSubpassDependency-srcSubpass-00867
    If srcSubpass is equal to dstSubpass and not all of the stages in srcStageMask and dstStageMask are framebuffer-space stages, the logically latest pipeline stage in srcStageMask must be logically earlier than or equal to the logically earliest pipeline stage in dstStageMask

  • VUID-VkSubpassDependency-srcAccessMask-00868
    Any access flag included in srcAccessMask must be supported by one of the pipeline stages in srcStageMask, as specified in the table of supported access types

  • VUID-VkSubpassDependency-dstAccessMask-00869
    Any access flag included in dstAccessMask must be supported by one of the pipeline stages in dstStageMask, as specified in the table of supported access types

  • VUID-VkSubpassDependency-srcSubpass-02243
    If srcSubpass equals dstSubpass, and srcStageMask and dstStageMask both include a framebuffer-space stage, then dependencyFlags must include VK_DEPENDENCY_BY_REGION_BIT

  • VUID-VkSubpassDependency-dependencyFlags-02520
    If dependencyFlags includes VK_DEPENDENCY_VIEW_LOCAL_BIT, srcSubpass must not be equal to VK_SUBPASS_EXTERNAL

  • VUID-VkSubpassDependency-dependencyFlags-02521
    If dependencyFlags includes VK_DEPENDENCY_VIEW_LOCAL_BIT, dstSubpass must not be equal to VK_SUBPASS_EXTERNAL

  • VUID-VkSubpassDependency-srcSubpass-00872
    If srcSubpass equals dstSubpass and that subpass has more than one bit set in the view mask, then dependencyFlags must include VK_DEPENDENCY_VIEW_LOCAL_BIT

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-VkSubpassDependency-srcStageMask-parameter
    srcStageMask must be a valid combination of VkPipelineStageFlagBits values

  • VUID-VkSubpassDependency-srcStageMask-requiredbitmask
    srcStageMask must not be 0

  • VUID-VkSubpassDependency-dstStageMask-parameter
    dstStageMask must be a valid combination of VkPipelineStageFlagBits values

  • VUID-VkSubpassDependency-dstStageMask-requiredbitmask
    dstStageMask must not be 0

  • VUID-VkSubpassDependency-srcAccessMask-parameter
    srcAccessMask must be a valid combination of VkAccessFlagBits values

  • VUID-VkSubpassDependency-dstAccessMask-parameter
    dstAccessMask must be a valid combination of VkAccessFlagBits values

  • VUID-VkSubpassDependency-dependencyFlags-parameter
    dependencyFlags must be a valid combination of VkDependencyFlagBits values

When multiview is enabled, the execution of the multiple views of one subpass may not occur simultaneously or even back-to-back, and rather may be interleaved with the execution of other subpasses. The load and store operations apply to attachments on a per-view basis. For example, an attachment using VK_ATTACHMENT_LOAD_OP_CLEAR will have each view cleared on first use, but the first use of one view may be temporally distant from the first use of another view.

Note

A good mental model for multiview is to think of a multiview subpass as if it were a collection of individual (per-view) subpasses that are logically grouped together and described as a single multiview subpass in the API. Similarly, a multiview attachment can be thought of like several individual attachments that happen to be layers in a single image. A view-local dependency between two multiview subpasses acts like a set of one-to-one dependencies between corresponding pairs of per-view subpasses. A view-global dependency between two multiview subpasses acts like a set of N × M dependencies between all pairs of per-view subpasses in the source and destination. Thus, it is a more compact representation which also makes clear the commonality and reuse that is present between views in a subpass. This interpretation motivates the answers to questions like “when does the load op apply” - it is on the first use of each view of an attachment, as if each view were a separate attachment.

If there is no subpass dependency from VK_SUBPASS_EXTERNAL to the first subpass that uses an attachment, then an implicit subpass dependency exists from VK_SUBPASS_EXTERNAL to the first subpass it is used in. The implicit subpass dependency only exists if there exists an automatic layout transition away from initialLayout. The subpass dependency operates as if defined with the following parameters:

VkSubpassDependency implicitDependency = {
    .srcSubpass = VK_SUBPASS_EXTERNAL;
    .dstSubpass = firstSubpass; // First subpass attachment is used in
    .srcStageMask = VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_TOP_OF_PIPE_BIT;
    .dstStageMask = VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_ALL_COMMANDS_BIT;
    .srcAccessMask = 0;
    .dstAccessMask = VK_ACCESS_INPUT_ATTACHMENT_READ_BIT |
                     VK_ACCESS_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_READ_BIT |
                     VK_ACCESS_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_WRITE_BIT |
                     VK_ACCESS_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_READ_BIT |
                     VK_ACCESS_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_WRITE_BIT;
    .dependencyFlags = 0;
};

Similarly, if there is no subpass dependency from the last subpass that uses an attachment to VK_SUBPASS_EXTERNAL, then an implicit subpass dependency exists from the last subpass it is used in to VK_SUBPASS_EXTERNAL. The implicit subpass dependency only exists if there exists an automatic layout transition into finalLayout. The subpass dependency operates as if defined with the following parameters:

VkSubpassDependency implicitDependency = {
    .srcSubpass = lastSubpass; // Last subpass attachment is used in
    .dstSubpass = VK_SUBPASS_EXTERNAL;
    .srcStageMask = VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_ALL_COMMANDS_BIT;
    .dstStageMask = VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_BOTTOM_OF_PIPE_BIT;
    .srcAccessMask = VK_ACCESS_INPUT_ATTACHMENT_READ_BIT |
                     VK_ACCESS_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_READ_BIT |
                     VK_ACCESS_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_WRITE_BIT |
                     VK_ACCESS_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_READ_BIT |
                     VK_ACCESS_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_WRITE_BIT;
    .dstAccessMask = 0;
    .dependencyFlags = 0;
};

As subpasses may overlap or execute out of order with regards to other subpasses unless a subpass dependency chain describes otherwise, the layout transitions required between subpasses cannot be known to an application. Instead, an application provides the layout that each attachment must be in at the start and end of a render pass, and the layout it must be in during each subpass it is used in. The implementation then must execute layout transitions between subpasses in order to guarantee that the images are in the layouts required by each subpass, and in the final layout at the end of the render pass.

Automatic layout transitions apply to the entire image subresource attached to the framebuffer. If the attachment view is a 2D or 2D array view of a 3D image, even if the attachment view only refers to a subset of the slices of the selected mip level of the 3D image, automatic layout transitions apply to the entire subresource referenced which is the entire mip level in this case.

Automatic layout transitions away from the layout used in a subpass happen-after the availability operations for all dependencies with that subpass as the srcSubpass.

Automatic layout transitions into the layout used in a subpass happen-before the visibility operations for all dependencies with that subpass as the dstSubpass.

Automatic layout transitions away from initialLayout happens-after the availability operations for all dependencies with a srcSubpass equal to VK_SUBPASS_EXTERNAL, where dstSubpass uses the attachment that will be transitioned. For attachments created with VK_ATTACHMENT_DESCRIPTION_MAY_ALIAS_BIT, automatic layout transitions away from initialLayout happen-after the availability operations for all dependencies with a srcSubpass equal to VK_SUBPASS_EXTERNAL, where dstSubpass uses any aliased attachment.

Automatic layout transitions into finalLayout happens-before the visibility operations for all dependencies with a dstSubpass equal to VK_SUBPASS_EXTERNAL, where srcSubpass uses the attachment that will be transitioned. For attachments created with VK_ATTACHMENT_DESCRIPTION_MAY_ALIAS_BIT, automatic layout transitions into finalLayout happen-before the visibility operations for all dependencies with a dstSubpass equal to VK_SUBPASS_EXTERNAL, where srcSubpass uses any aliased attachment.

If two subpasses use the same attachment, and both subpasses use the attachment in a read-only layout, no subpass dependency needs to be specified between those subpasses. If an implementation treats those layouts separately, it must insert an implicit subpass dependency between those subpasses to separate the uses in each layout. The subpass dependency operates as if defined with the following parameters:

// Used for input attachments
VkPipelineStageFlags inputAttachmentStages = VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_FRAGMENT_SHADER_BIT;
VkAccessFlags inputAttachmentAccess = VK_ACCESS_INPUT_ATTACHMENT_READ_BIT;

// Used for depth/stencil attachments
VkPipelineStageFlags depthStencilAttachmentStages = VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_EARLY_FRAGMENT_TESTS_BIT | VK_PIPELINE_STAGE_LATE_FRAGMENT_TESTS_BIT;
VkAccessFlags depthStencilAttachmentAccess = VK_ACCESS_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_READ_BIT;

VkSubpassDependency implicitDependency = {
    .srcSubpass = firstSubpass;
    .dstSubpass = secondSubpass;
    .srcStageMask = inputAttachmentStages | depthStencilAttachmentStages;
    .dstStageMask = inputAttachmentStages | depthStencilAttachmentStages;
    .srcAccessMask = inputAttachmentAccess | depthStencilAttachmentAccess;
    .dstAccessMask = inputAttachmentAccess | depthStencilAttachmentAccess;
    .dependencyFlags = 0;
};

If a subpass uses the same attachment as both an input attachment and either a color attachment or a depth/stencil attachment, writes via the color or depth/stencil attachment are not automatically made visible to reads via the input attachment, causing a feedback loop, except in any of the following conditions:

  • If the color components or depth/stencil components read by the input attachment are mutually exclusive with the components written by the color or depth/stencil attachments, then there is no feedback loop. This requires the graphics pipelines used by the subpass to disable writes to color components that are read as inputs via the colorWriteMask, and to disable writes to depth/stencil components that are read as inputs via depthWriteEnable or stencilTestEnable.

  • If the attachment is used as an input attachment and depth/stencil attachment only, and the depth/stencil attachment is not written to.

  • If a memory dependency is inserted between when the attachment is written and when it is subsequently read by later fragments. Pipeline barriers expressing a subpass self-dependency are the only way to achieve this, and one must be inserted every time a fragment will read values at a particular sample (x, y, layer, sample) coordinate, if those values have been written since the most recent pipeline barrier; or the since start of the subpass if there have been no pipeline barriers since the start of the subpass.

Attachments have requirements for the image layout depending on the usage

  • An attachment used only as a color attachment must be in the VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_COLOR_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL or VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_GENERAL layout.

  • An attachment used as both an input attachment and a color attachment must be in the VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_GENERAL layout.

  • An attachment used only as a depth/stencil attachment must be in the VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_STENCIL_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_READ_ONLY_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_ATTACHMENT_STENCIL_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_STENCIL_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL, or VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_GENERAL layout.

  • An attachment used as an input attachment and depth/stencil attachment must be in the VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_READ_ONLY_STENCIL_ATTACHMENT_OPTIMAL, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_ATTACHMENT_STENCIL_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL, VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_DEPTH_STENCIL_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL, or VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_GENERAL layout.

An attachment must not be used as both a depth/stencil attachment and a color attachment.

A more extensible version of render pass creation is also defined below.

To create a render pass, call:

// Provided by VK_VERSION_1_2
VkResult vkCreateRenderPass2(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    const VkRenderPassCreateInfo2*              pCreateInfo,
    const VkAllocationCallbacks*                pAllocator,
    VkRenderPass*                               pRenderPass);