VulkanAppTemplate

Introduction

A template project for Vulkan-based applications with cross-platform support, designed to be compiled and built using various tools.

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Prerequisites

Ensure you have the following software installed depending on your operating system:

Common Dependencies:

1. Git: Install Git for version control and to fetch dependencies.
2. CMake: Install CMake to configure the project.
3. Vulkan SDK: Download the Vulkan SDK from LunarG and set up environment variables.

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OS-Specific Dependencies

Windows

1. Visual Studio 2022+

   • Download and install Visual Studio 2022.
   • Ensure that you install the Desktop development with C++ workload, which includes the MSVC compiler, CMake, and Windows SDK.
   • Git: You will also need Git to manage repositories and dependencies.

2. MSYS2/MinGW (if you choose to use MinGW or a different build toolchain)

   • Download and install MSYS2.
   • Update package database:

     pacman -Sy

   • Install necessary build tools (e.g., gcc, make, etc.):

     pacman -S base-devel mingw-w64-x86_64-toolchain

macOS

1. Xcode Command Line Tools

   • Install Xcode Command Line Tools with the following command:

     xcode-select --install

   • This will install essential tools like clang, git, and make.

2. Homebrew

   • Install Homebrew, a package manager for macOS:

     /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

   • Then install dependencies such as git, cmake, and ninja using:

     brew install cmake git ninja

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)

1. Package Manager

   • Update your package list and install dependencies:

     sudo apt update
     sudo apt install build-essential cmake git ninja-build libvulkan-dev

   • You might also need to install clang or gcc depending on your system.

2. Vulkan SDK

   • Download the Vulkan SDK from LunarG.
   • Follow the setup instructions specific to your distribution (typically extracting the SDK and setting environment variables).

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Building the Project

Windows

Method 1: Visual Studio 2022+

1. Open x64 Native Tools Command Prompt (VS).

   • You can open it by searching for "x64 Native Tools Command Prompt for VS 2022" in the Start menu.

2. Run the following commands:

   cmake -B build -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64
   cmake --build build --config Release

   The binary will be located at:

   build\Release\VulkanApp.exe
   

Method 2: Using MSYS2/MinGW

1. Open MSYS2 shell and install the necessary dependencies:

   pacman -Sy
   pacman -S base-devel mingw-w64-x86_64-toolchain

2. Run CMake to configure and build the project:

   cmake -B build -G "MinGW Makefiles"
   cmake --build build --config Release

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🍎 macOS

📦 Install Dependencies:

Install Homebrew if not already installed

Run:

brew install cmake git

Download and install Vulkan SDK

🛠 Set up Environment Variables:

Open Terminal and run:

export VULKAN_SDK=$HOME/VulkanSDK/1.4.309.0/macOS export DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=$VULKAN_SDK/lib:$DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH export PATH=$VULKAN_SDK/bin:$PATH

🧠 To make these permanent:

👉 If using Zsh (macOS default):

touch ~/.zshrc open -a TextEdit ~/.zshrc

👉 If using Bash:

touch ~/.bash_profile open -a TextEdit ~/.bash_profile

Then add this to the opened file:

export VULKAN_SDK=$HOME/VulkanSDK/1.4.309.0/macOS export DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=$VULKAN_SDK/lib:$DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH export PATH=$VULKAN_SDK/bin:$PATH

Save, close, and apply changes:

source ~/.zshrc # or ~/.bash_profile

▶️ Build Steps:

cd VulkanAppTemplate cmake -B build -G Ninja cmake --build build --config Release ./build/VulkanApp

✅ VSCode (macOS)

Install VSCode and required extensions:

CMake Tools

C++

Open the project folder

Use status bar or Command Palette to configure and build

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Linux

1. Install Dependencies:

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install build-essential cmake git ninja-build libvulkan-dev

2. Build Project:

   cmake -B build -G "Unix Makefiles"
   cmake --build build --config Release

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Running the Project

After building, the executable will be in the build/Release/ folder. You can run it with:

./VulkanApp

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Notes

• If you run into any issues, ensure that all dependencies are installed correctly and that your environment variables are properly set.