Kotlin Multiplatform bindings for Vulkan API, which add features like type safety, RAII, exceptions and integration with the Kotlin ecosystem.

• Kotlin 2.4.0 or later
• Vulkan 1.4 or later

Add entries to the version catalog:

[versions]
vulkan-kotlin = "1.4.350-1"

[libraries]
vulkan-kotlin = { module = "io.technoirlab.vulkan:vulkan-kotlin", version.ref = "vulkan-kotlin" }

Add vulkan-kotlin dependency to a Kotlin Multiplatform project:

kotlin {
   sourceSets.commonMain {
       dependencies {
           implementation(libs.vulkan.kotlin)
       }
   }
}

Load Vulkan API and create an instance:

val vulkan = Vulkan()
val instance = vulkan.createInstance()

On Apple platforms, Vulkan() appends bundled SwiftPM driver manifests to VK_ADD_DRIVER_FILES and validation layer directories to VK_ADD_LAYER_PATH before initializing the loader. Existing entries are preserved, and bundled and system-installed ICDs are discovered together. The loader's environment variable rules still apply: VK_DRIVER_FILES takes precedence over the deprecated VK_ICD_FILENAMES, and either overrides additive and default driver discovery. VK_LAYER_PATH overrides additive explicit-layer discovery. Driver selection and disable filters are left unchanged. Applications select physical devices according to their requirements and must still package the runtime libraries and resource bundles with valid manifest paths.

For more information, please see the API reference and the sample project.

On Android, add the following as a direct child of the <manifest> element in AndroidManifest.xml:

<uses-feature
    android:name="android.hardware.vulkan.version"
    android:version="0x00404000"
    android:required="true" />

Kotlin wrappers use assertions to check for invalid API usage. By default, assertions are disabled and get stripped by the Kotlin compiler. To enable assertions for debug binaries, add the following to the application module:

kotlin {
    targets.withType<KotlinNativeTarget>().configureEach {
        binaries.configureEach {
            if (buildType == NativeBuildType.DEBUG) {
                freeCompilerArgs += "-ea"
            }
        }
    }
}

• androidNativeArm64
• iosArm64
• iosSimulatorArm64
• linuxArm64
• linuxX64
• macosArm64
• mingwX64

• Render passes and framebuffers (de-facto deprecated)
• Custom memory allocators (will be added in the future)
• Raytracing (will be added in the future)
• Multiview