Now Available – Vulkan 1.4.309.0 SDKs Released 13 March 2025 LunarG is excited to announce the release of Vulkan SDK 1.4.309.0 for Linux, Windows, and MacOS! Supporting Vulkan API revision 1.4.309, this SDK update brings a host of enhancements designed to streamline your graphics development workflow. Whether you’re debugging shaders, optimizing performance, or exploring new extensions, this SDK has something for you. Key enhancements in this version include: Vulkan Validation Layer error messages get a major upgrade—now clearer, more actionable, and easier to digest due to a standardized format. The Vulkan Configurator levels up with slick new features, aimed at improving developer productivity. Ten new extensions join the lineup, expanding your creative toolkit. Validation coverage sees a boost, helping you catch more issues with less hassle. Go to the Vulkan SDK Download site to get the new SDKs Revamped Validation Layer Messages: Clarity Meets Flexibility Debugging just got a lot friendlier. We’ve overhauled the Validation Layer error messages to make them more human-readable and actionable: New Format: Errors now follow a clean, three-line structure—VUID and metadata on the first line, the core message on the second, and spec text with a URL on the third. Say goodbye to cluttered object lists! Warnings On by Default: Core Validation now enables warnings (like Undefined Values) out of the box, helping you catch issues early without disrupting existing setups (e.g., VK_DEBUG_UTILS_MESSAGE_SEVERITY_ERROR_BIT_EXT users are unaffected). JSON Output Option: Prefer structured data? Enable JSON output for VkDebugUtilsMessengerCallbackDataEXT::pMessage and parse it with ease. Sync Validation Upgrade: Synchronization validation errors are now easier to understand, with an optional key-value properties section for simpler filtering—configurable via vkconfig or the khronos_validation.syncval_message_extra_properties setting. These changes mean less time deciphering errors and more time building. Check out all the details here. Vulkan Configurator: Enhanced Usability and Reliability The Vulkan Configurator (vkconfig) has been improved with features that boost usability and stability: Loader Commands: Import, export, delete, and apply stored loader configs with new vkconfig loader commands. Stay Updated: Get notified when a newer SDK drops, so you’re always on the cutting edge. Quality Boost: Numerous fixes enhance reliability Whether you’re tweaking settings or managing configs, vkconfig is now a smoother ride. New Extensions to Explore The Vulkan headers now include ten fresh extensions, unlocking new creative possibilities (note: driver support varies, so query availability): VK_NV_present_metering VK_NV_cooperative_vector VK_NV_cluster_acceleration_structure VK_NV_partitioned_acceleration_structure VK_NV_ray_tracing_linear_swept_spheres VK_EXT_external_memory_metal VK_KHR_video_maintenance2 VK_ARM_pipeline_opacity_micromap VK_KHR_depth_clamp_zero_one VK_KHR_maintenance8 From ray tracing enhancements to video and memory improvements, these extensions give you more tools to push graphics boundaries. Platform Updates and Deprecation Notice Ubuntu Packages Winding Down: Starting summer 2025, we’ll phase out Ubuntu-specific packages due to limited demand. This SDK and one more will be the final releases. The Linux tarball remains a versatile alternative for all Linux devs—check the Getting Started Guide (link-to-guide) for supported distros. DXC Holdback: Ubuntu 24.04 packages for SDK 1.4.304.0 won’t update DirectXShaderCompiler due to a stack corruption issue. Need the latest DXC features? Switch to the Linux tarball executable. A Big Thank You! LunarG is grateful to every contributor in the Vulkan Ecosystem—your efforts power these SDKs and make them a reality! Release Notes Release Notes for Linux Release Notes for Windows Release Notes for macOS About LunarG Looking to elevate your GPU software project with expert optimization, customized development tools, or Vulkan mastery? LunarG combines industry-leading technical knowledge with a proven track record of supporting developers and hardware vendors. Our services include consulting, customization, or staff augmentation. Visit the LunarG website to learn more.
LunarG Releases Vulkan SDK 1.4.304.1 – vkconfig3, GFXReconstruct ray tracing, ++docs, ++Slang
Now Available – Vulkan 1.4.304.1 SDKs Released 7 Feb 2025 Today, we dropped a new Vulkan SDK for Windows, Linux, and macOS that adds significant new features across all three versions: A new version (v3) of the Vulkan Configurator that provides a ton of useful new features Improvements to GFXReconstruct that allow ray tracing capture/playback in a portable manner Documentation improvements that provide massive speedups in load times An updated version of Slang containing a variety of bug fixes and improvements Go to the Vulkan SDK Download site to get the new SDKs Vulkan Configurator v3 Some of the big improvements to the Vulkan Configurator include: Numerous improvements to loading and selecting layers Improvements to layer ordering Enhancements to executable lists Additional logging support for Vulkan Loader UI and system diagnostics improvements Improvements to $(VULKAN_SDK) variable coverage Note that previous versions of Vulkan Configurator will no longer be supported. GFXReconstruct Support for Portable Ray Tracing Device-independent capture and replay of ray tracing commands (capturing on one device and replaying on a different device) has proven challenging due to the differences in support for ray tracing functionality. GFXReconstruct now contains support for capture-time tracking of device buffer device addresses, shader group handles, and acceleration structures in order to correctly replay them later on a different device. Antora version of Vulkan Specification The Vulkan Working Group has developed a version of the Vulkan specification using Antora. With this release, the Antora-based version of the Vulkan specification has been integrated into the SDK version-specific specification of the LunarXchange SDK documentation. This greatly improves load times for documentation within a browser. The single file HTML version of the Vulkan Specification has been removed from the SDK due to serious usability issues. In a future SDK release, the “chunked” and PDF versions of the specification will also be removed. Slang An updated version of the Slang shading language compiler is included in this release. This version adds DescriptorHandle for bindless handle support. Thank you! LunarG would like to thank all the contributors to the Vulkan Ecosystem that help make the SDKs possible! Release Notes Release Notes for Linux Release Notes for Windows Release Notes for macOS About LunarG LunarG makes it easy for you to tap into the power of GPU processing without straying from your mission to deliver compelling software to your customers. We offer training, consulting, and developer tools for the GPU ecosystem. Vulkan-specific expertise includes performance analysis and tuning, runtime and tools development, shader optimizations, driver development, and porting engines and applications to Vulkan. Visit the LunarG website to learn more.
LunarG Releases Vulkan SDK 1.4.304.0 – Full support for Vulkan 1.4
Now Available – Vulkan 1.4.304.0 SDKs Released 14 Jan 2025 Today, LunarG released a new Vulkan SDK for Windows, Linux, and macOS that fully supports Vulkan API revision 1.4. New features in SDK 1.4.304.0 Highlights of the Vulkan SDK 1.4.304.0 release across all operating environments include: Full support for the Vulkan 1.4 API specification Inclusion of the release version of the slang shader language and compiler (previous SDK releases contained the beta version of slang) Inclusion of a shared library for glslang 20+ Vulkan extensions added or promoted to core Updates to the Vulkan Configurator (vkconfig) to improve quality and stability Improved validation coverage Additional OS-specific highlights: (macOS) LunarG’s API capture and replay tool, GFXReconstruct is now supported (Windows and Linux) Crash Diagnostic Layer support is now considered beta quality (Linux) volk.h and volk.c moved from /include to /include/volk to align references on all platforms, simplifying cross-platform development (Windows) 32-bit versions of the Vulkan layers have been removed from the Windows SDK Important Notes GFXReconstruct is an important developer tool that captures and replays graphics API calls. With its addition to macOS, GFXReconstruct is now available to developers on all major operating systems. LunarG’s Crash Diagnostic Layer is a critical tool to help developers debug notoriously difficult GPU crash and hang issues. To help improve this tool as rapidly as possible, please submit any issues to the Crash Diagnostic Layer repository. 32-bit versions of the Vulkan layers were removed from the Windows SDK because there is a consensus that there is no longer a need to develop new 32-bit applications nor to support a 32-bit development environment. If you disagree with this decision, please submit an issue at vulkan.lunarg.com and explain your use case. The highlights above do not replace the important and detailed information in the release notes! Thank you! LunarG would like to thank all the contributors to the Vulkan Ecosystem that help make the SDKs possible! Release Notes Release Notes for Linux Release Notes for Windows Release Notes for macOS About LunarG LunarG makes it easy for you to tap into the power of GPU processing without straying from your mission to deliver compelling software to your customers. We offer training, consulting, and developer tools for the GPU ecosystem. Vulkan-specific expertise includes performance analysis and tuning, runtime and tools development, shader optimizations, driver development, and porting engines and applications to Vulkan. Visit the LunarG website to learn more. Go to the Vulkan SDK Download site to get the new SDKs
LunarG Releases Vulkan SDK 1.3.296.0 for Windows, Linux, & macOS
Now Available – Vulkan SDK 1.3.296.0 Released 08 Oct 2024 Today LunarG released a new SDK for Windows, Linux, & macOS that supports Vulkan API revision 1.3.296. The highlights below are not a replacement for the important and detailed information in the release notes! New features in SDK 1.3.296.0 > A beta version of slang – an alternative shader language and compiler. > Synchronization validation for the VK_KHR_timeline_semaphore extension. > The Vulkan headers now include the following extensions: VK_EXT_depth_clamp_control VK_EXT_device_generated_commands VK_KHR_compute_shader_derivatives VK_KHR_pipeline_binary VK_NV_command_buffer_inheritance VK_AMD_anti_lag > The Android Validation Layer binaries are released in the Validation Layers repository. > The Vulkan Configurator (vkconfig) has been updated to improve quality and stability. > Improved validation coverage. Windows Highlights > The Windows ARM Vulkan SDK has been released with the following components added (it is no longer considered “beta”): DXC (the Microsoft DirectX Shader Compiler) Visual Studio 2022 templates > Windows 11 is now officially supported. > Reminder – In 2025 the behavior of the Windows SDK will change and the Vulkan Loader will be updated as part of the SDK installation. macOS Highlights > MoltenVK has been updated to version 1.2.11. See the release notes for details. > A notarized .zip file is available which contains the SDK installer instead of a .DMG. > Please see the release notes for an issue with the SDK Maintenance tool. Linux Highlights > Ubuntu packages are not releasing a new version of the DirectXShaderCompiler on Ubuntu 24.04 for this SDK release due to an unidentified issue. Thank You! LunarG would like to thank the many contributors to the Vulkan Ecosystem that help make the SDKs possible! Release Notes Release Notes for Linux Release Notes for Windows Release Notes for macOS About LunarG LunarG software engineering experts create innovative products and services for open-source and commercial customers using leading-edge 3D graphics and compute technologies, including Vulkan, SPIR-V, OpenXR, and OpenGL. We have strengths in performance analysis and tuning, runtime and tools development, shader optimizations, driver development, and porting engines and applications to Vulkan. Please check out our website. Go to the Vulkan SDK Download site to get the new SDKs
LunarG Releases Vulkan SDK 1.3.290.0 for Windows, Linux, & macOS (NEW public beta – Windows ARM SDK)
Now Available – Vulkan SDK 1.3.290.0 Released 22 July 2024 Today LunarG released a new SDK for Windows, Linux, & macOS that supports Vulkan API revision 1.3.290. The highlights below are not a replacement for the important and detailed information in the release notes! New features in SDK 1.3.290.0 NEW: Introducing with this release – a public beta of the Windows ARM (WoA) Vulkan SDK. An alpha quality new layer (VK_LAYER_LUNARG_crash_diagnostic) for debugging hung/crashed GPUs has been added to the Windows x86 & Linux SDKs. The Vulkan headers now include the following new optional extensions: VK_KHR_maintenance7 VK_KHR_shader_relaxed_extended_instruction VK_EXT_shader_replicated_composites VK_MESA_image_alignment_control VK_EXT_legacy_vertex_attributes Changes to the synchronization validation: A new layer setting, khronos_validation.syncval_shader_accesses_heuristic, which controls the synchronization validation of shader accesses. The khronos_validation.sync_queue_submit option has been deprecated. Use khronos_validation.syncval_submit_time_validation instead. The Vulkan Configurator (vkconfig) has been updated to improve quality and stability. Improved validation coverage. Windows Highlights NEW: A public beta of the Windows ARM (WoA) Vulkan SDK. macOS Highlights iOS is moving out of beta. See the release notes for details. Structural changes have been made to align with Apple’s rules for App Store distribution. Linux Highlights The Ubuntu versions supported by the Linux SDK are 22.04 and 24.04. Deprecation Notice: The Ubuntu Focal (20.04) packages will be dropped the next SDK, in support for Ubuntu Noble (24.04) packages. Thank You! LunarG would like to thank the many contributors to the Vulkan Ecosystem that help make the SDKs possible! Release Notes Release Notes for Linux Release Notes for Windows Release Notes for macOS About LunarG LunarG software engineering experts create innovative products and services for open-source and commercial customers using leading-edge 3D graphics and compute technologies, including Vulkan, SPIR-V, OpenXR, and OpenGL. We have strengths in performance analysis and tuning, runtime and tools development, shader optimizations, driver development, and porting engines and applications to Vulkan. Please check out our website. Go to the Vulkan SDK Download site to get the new SDKs
LunarG Releases Vulkan SDK 1.3.283.0 for Windows, Linux, & macOS
Now Available – Vulkan SDK 1.3.283.0 Released 14 May 2024 Today LunarG released a new SDK for Windows, Linux, & macOS that supports Vulkan API revision 1.3.283. The highlights below are not a replacement for the important and detailed information in the release notes! Overview of new features in SDK 1.3.283.0 Improved validation coverage. VUID validation coverage documentation has been updated to represent the validation layer VUID coverage status. The Vulkan Configurator (vkconfig) has been updated to improve quality and stability. Windows Highlights The Vulkan Capabilities viewer is now available on the Windows start menu. macOS Highlights Updated to MoltenVK version 1.2.9 with improvements in quality & stability. Added symbolic links to the /include and /bin folders in the /iOS install directory. Added a version of setup-env.sh for use with iOS in the /iOS folder. The shader toolchain in the linked /bin folder is compatible with iOS as is the /headers folder. The setup-env.sh script sets up the VULKAN_SDK environment variable to point to the iOS libraries and frameworks. Using the Xcode generator with cmake will produce usable iOS projects. The Vulkan Samples SDK has been updated to be compatible with this SDK. Added extension: VK_EXT_host_image_copy Added MVK_CONFIG_SHADER_DUMP_DIR configuration parameter to optionally dump shaders to files. Several updates to SPIRV-Cross for MSL. Deprecation Notice: Future versions of the Apple Vulkan SDK will no longer be distributed as a .DMG (mountable device volume). Instead a notarized .zip file containing the installer executable will be posted. Linux Highlights Deprecation Notice: The Ubuntu Focal (20.04) packages will be dropped the next SDK, in support for Ubuntu Noble (24.04) packages. Thank You! LunarG would like to thank the many contributors to the Vulkan Ecosystem that help make the SDKs possible! Release Notes Release Notes for Linux Release Notes for Windows Release Notes for macOS About LunarG LunarG software engineering experts create innovative products and services for open-source and commercial customers using leading-edge 3D graphics and compute technologies, including Vulkan, SPIR-V, OpenXR, and OpenGL. We have strengths in performance analysis and tuning, runtime and tools development, shader optimizations, driver development, and porting engines and applications to Vulkan. Please check out our website. Go to the Vulkan SDK Download site to get the new SDKs
2024 Vulkan Ecosystem & SDK Survey Results
The results of the 2024 Vulkan Ecosystem & SDK Survey have been released! LunarG has summarized the results and created a report that shares the key findings and suggested actions. The information you provided will be used to help guide Vulkan Ecosystem investments in 2024 and beyond. The results have also been shared with key partners and contributors in the hope that they will also use the information to guide their investments. Thanks to those of you who completed the annual survey. LunarG understands how valuable your time is! Click here to see the report
Survey Results Are In! See the 2024 Vulkan Ecosystem & SDK Survey Report
The results of the 2024 Vulkan Ecosystem & SDK Survey have been released! LunarG has summarized the results and created a report that shares the key findings and suggested actions. The information you provided will be used to help guide Vulkan Ecosystem investments in 2024 and beyond. The results have also been shared with key partners and contributors in the hope that they will also use the information to guide their investments. Thanks to those of you who completed the annual survey. LunarG understands how valuable your time is! Click here to see the report
