Khronos Vulkan

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Vulkan SDK 1.4.304.1 Release Notes

Version 1.4.304.1 for macOS
February 6, 2025

This SDK supports Vulkan API revision 1.4.304. This version of the SDK adds the following enhancements:

The Vulkan Configurator has been upgraded to "Version 3", providing many very useful new features:

Deprecation Notice

Previous versions of the Vulkan Configurator are no longer supported.

The Vulkan Specification included in the SDK documentation has been enhanced with the version built with Antora. This results in faster load times in your browser when following URLs from the SDK Validation Layer error message to the violated VUID within the specification.

As many of you are probably aware, the Vulkan working group has developed an alternative form of the specification using Antora. You can see the result here: https://docs.vulkan.org/spec/latest/index.html The specification as generated by using Antora results in much faster load times in your browser. The team within the working group just enabled us with the two features we need to integrate this into the SDK version specific specification integrated into the LunarXchange SDK documentation (the ability to build a version of the specification for the SDK header version, and the ability to link into the specification for a specific VUID).

Removal Notice

The single file HTML version of the Vulkan Specification has been removed from the SDK due to serious usability issues. The Antora built version of the Vulkan specification is used instead. The chunked and PDF versions of the specification will remain for now.

Future versions of the Vulkan SDK will remove the chunked and PDF versions of the specification.

Slang has been updated to a newer version.

This update includes bug fixes and improvements from community reported issues. It also adds DescriptorHandle for bindless handle support.

Vulkan SDK 1.4.304.0 Release Notes

Version 1.4.304.0 for macOS
January 14, 2025

SDK Version Lifetime Vulkan SDK's older than 2 years are removed from the Vulkan SDK download site and won't be available once removed. All SDK's are backwards compatible and using the latest or newer SDK is recommended due to ongoing bug fixes and enhancements in the SDK content.

Overview of new features in SDK 1.4.304.0

Platform Support Matrix

Feature Windows-x64/x86 Windows-ARM Linux tarball Ubuntu Packages macOS SDK
Tools
Vulkan Configurator X X X X X
Vulkaninfo X X X X X
VIA (Vulkan Installation Analyzer) X X X X X
Vulkan Profiles API Library X X X X X
VOLK (a meta-loader for Vulkan) X X X X X
AMD Memory Allocator X X X X X
Validation Layers
Validation X X X X X
Best Practices X X X X X
GPU Assisted Validation X X X
Debug Printf X X X
Synchronization Validation X X X X X
Utility Layers
Crash Diagnostic Layer X X X
Profiles Layer X X X X X
API Dump X X X X X
Monitor X X X X
Screenshot X X X X X
GFXReconstruct X X X X
Extension Layers
Synchronization 2 X X X X X
Shader Object X X X X X
Shader Tools
glslangValidator X X X X X
SPIR-V Optimizer X X X X X
SPIR-V Disassembler, Assembler, Validator X X X X X
SPIR-V Remapper X X X X X
SPIR-V Control Flow Visualization X X X X X
SPIR-V Cross-Compilation and Reflection X X X X X
shaderc X X X X X
DXC (DirectX Shader Compiler) X X X X
SPIRV-reflect X X X X X
slang X X X X X

SDK Components

This version of the SDK is based on the following specifications, source code repositories, and commits:

LunarG would like to thank all of the many contributors to all of the above repositories and the contributions they are making to the Vulkan Ecosystem.

Submitting Issues

If while using the tools and layers included in the SDK you find a defect in that tool or layer, the most expedient way to get a resolution is to submit to its corresponding repository. For example, if you believe you have found a defect in the Validation Layers, submit an issue at the repository for Validation Layers. The only exception to this is for the shader tool chain (glslang, SPIRV-Cross, SPIRV-Tools, shaderc). For these repositories you can submit issues against the SDK at vulkan.lunarg.com.

Developer Notes

The new installation app optionally (but by default) runs the script install_vulkan.py with administrative privileges. This copies the Vulkan Loader, MoltenVK, and command line utilities into system folders (/usr/local) for easier access during development.

Known Issues