# VkAccelerationStructureCreateInfoKHR(3) Manual Page

## Name

VkAccelerationStructureCreateInfoKHR - Structure specifying the parameters of a newly created acceleration structure object

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## C Specification

The `VkAccelerationStructureCreateInfoKHR` structure is defined as:

Warning | This functionality is superseded by VkAccelerationStructureCreateInfo2KHR. See Legacy Functionality for more information.

    // Provided by VK_KHR_acceleration_structure
    typedef struct VkAccelerationStructureCreateInfoKHR {
        VkStructureType                          sType;
        const void*                              pNext;
        VkAccelerationStructureCreateFlagsKHR    createFlags;
        VkBuffer                                 buffer;
        VkDeviceSize                             offset;
        VkDeviceSize                             size;
        VkAccelerationStructureTypeKHR           type;
        VkDeviceAddress                          deviceAddress;
    } VkAccelerationStructureCreateInfoKHR;

## Members

- `sType` is a VkStructureType value identifying this structure.

- `pNext` is `NULL` or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

- `createFlags` is a bitmask of VkAccelerationStructureCreateFlagBitsKHR specifying additional creation parameters of the acceleration structure.

- `buffer` is the buffer on which the acceleration structure will be stored.

- `offset` is an offset in bytes from the base address of the buffer at which the acceleration structure will be stored, and must be a multiple of `256`.

- `size` is the size required for the acceleration structure.

- `type` is a VkAccelerationStructureTypeKHR value specifying the type of acceleration structure that will be created.

- `deviceAddress` is the device address requested for the acceleration structure, obtained from vkGetAccelerationStructureDeviceAddressKHR, if the `accelerationStructureCaptureReplay` feature is being used. If `deviceAddress` is zero, no specific address is requested.

## Description

Applications should avoid creating acceleration structures with application-provided addresses and implementation-provided addresses in the same process, to reduce the likelihood of VK_ERROR_INVALID_OPAQUE_CAPTURE_ADDRESS_KHR errors.

Note | The expected usage for this is that a trace capture/replay tool will add the VK_BUFFER_CREATE_DEVICE_ADDRESS_CAPTURE_REPLAY_BIT flag to all buffers that use VK_BUFFER_USAGE_SHADER_DEVICE_ADDRESS_BIT, and will add VK_BUFFER_USAGE_SHADER_DEVICE_ADDRESS_BIT to all buffers used as storage for an acceleration structure where `deviceAddress` is not zero. This also means that the tool will need to add VK_MEMORY_ALLOCATE_DEVICE_ADDRESS_BIT to memory allocations to allow the flag to be set where the application may not have otherwise required it. During capture the tool will save the queried opaque device addresses in the trace. During replay, the buffers will be created specifying the original address so any address values stored in the trace data will remain valid. Implementations are expected to separate such buffers in the GPU address space so normal allocations will avoid using these addresses. Applications and tools should avoid mixing application-provided and implementation-provided addresses for buffers created with VK_BUFFER_CREATE_DEVICE_ADDRESS_CAPTURE_REPLAY_BIT, to avoid address space allocation conflicts.

Applications should create an acceleration structure with a specific VkAccelerationStructureTypeKHR other than VK_ACCELERATION_STRUCTURE_TYPE_GENERIC_KHR.

Note | VK_ACCELERATION_STRUCTURE_TYPE_GENERIC_KHR is intended to be used by API translation layers. This can be used at acceleration structure creation time in cases where the actual acceleration structure type (top or bottom) is not yet known. The actual acceleration structure type must be specified as VK_ACCELERATION_STRUCTURE_TYPE_TOP_LEVEL_KHR or VK_ACCELERATION_STRUCTURE_TYPE_BOTTOM_LEVEL_KHR when the build is performed.

If the acceleration structure will be the target of a build operation, the required size for an acceleration structure can be queried with vkGetAccelerationStructureBuildSizesKHR. If the acceleration structure is going to be the target of a compacting copy, vkCmdWriteAccelerationStructuresPropertiesKHR or vkWriteAccelerationStructuresPropertiesKHR can be used to obtain the compacted size required.

If the acceleration structure will be the target of a build operation with VK_BUILD_ACCELERATION_STRUCTURE_MOTION_BIT_NV it must include VK_ACCELERATION_STRUCTURE_CREATE_MOTION_BIT_NV in `createFlags` and include VkAccelerationStructureMotionInfoNV as an extension structure in `pNext` with the number of instances as metadata for the object.

Valid Usage

- VUID-VkAccelerationStructureCreateInfoKHR-deviceAddress-03612
  If `deviceAddress` is not zero, `createFlags` must include VK_ACCELERATION_STRUCTURE_CREATE_DEVICE_ADDRESS_CAPTURE_REPLAY_BIT_KHR

- VUID-VkAccelerationStructureCreateInfoKHR-deviceAddress-09488
  If `deviceAddress` is not zero, it must have been retrieved from an identically created acceleration structure, except for `buffer` and `deviceAddress`

- VUID-VkAccelerationStructureCreateInfoKHR-deviceAddress-09489
  If `deviceAddress` is not zero, `buffer` must have been created identically to the `buffer` used to create the acceleration structure from which `deviceAddress` was retrieved, except for VkBufferOpaqueCaptureAddressCreateInfo::`opaqueCaptureAddress`

- VUID-VkAccelerationStructureCreateInfoKHR-deviceAddress-09490
  If `deviceAddress` is not zero, `buffer` must have been created with a VkBufferOpaqueCaptureAddressCreateInfo::`opaqueCaptureAddress` that was retrieved from vkGetBufferOpaqueCaptureAddress for the `buffer` that was used to create the acceleration structure from which `deviceAddress` was retrieved

- VUID-VkAccelerationStructureCreateInfoKHR-buffer-03614
  `buffer` must have been created with the VK_BUFFER_USAGE_ACCELERATION_STRUCTURE_STORAGE_BIT_KHR usage flag set

- VUID-VkAccelerationStructureCreateInfoKHR-buffer-03615
  `buffer` must not have been created with VK_BUFFER_CREATE_SPARSE_RESIDENCY_BIT

- VUID-VkAccelerationStructureCreateInfoKHR-offset-03616
  The sum of `offset` and `size` must be less than or equal to the size of `buffer`

- VUID-VkAccelerationStructureCreateInfoKHR-offset-03734
  `offset` must be a multiple of `256` bytes

- VUID-VkAccelerationStructureCreateInfoKHR-createFlags-03613
  If `createFlags` includes VK_ACCELERATION_STRUCTURE_CREATE_DEVICE_ADDRESS_CAPTURE_REPLAY_BIT_KHR, VkPhysicalDeviceAccelerationStructureFeaturesKHR::`accelerationStructureCaptureReplay` must be VK_TRUE

- VUID-VkAccelerationStructureCreateInfoKHR-createFlags-04954
  If VK_ACCELERATION_STRUCTURE_CREATE_MOTION_BIT_NV is set in `createFlags` and `type` is VK_ACCELERATION_STRUCTURE_TYPE_TOP_LEVEL_KHR, one member of the `pNext` chain must be a pointer to a valid instance of VkAccelerationStructureMotionInfoNV

- VUID-VkAccelerationStructureCreateInfoKHR-createFlags-04955
  If any geometry includes `VkAccelerationStructureGeometryMotionTrianglesDataNV` then `createFlags` must contain VK_ACCELERATION_STRUCTURE_CREATE_MOTION_BIT_NV

- VUID-VkAccelerationStructureCreateInfoKHR-createFlags-08108
  If `createFlags` includes VK_ACCELERATION_STRUCTURE_CREATE_DESCRIPTOR_BUFFER_CAPTURE_REPLAY_BIT_EXT, the `descriptorBufferCaptureReplay` feature must be enabled

- VUID-VkAccelerationStructureCreateInfoKHR-pNext-08109
  If the `pNext` chain includes a VkOpaqueCaptureDescriptorDataCreateInfoEXT structure, `createFlags` must contain VK_ACCELERATION_STRUCTURE_CREATE_DESCRIPTOR_BUFFER_CAPTURE_REPLAY_BIT_EXT

Valid Usage (Implicit)

- VUID-VkAccelerationStructureCreateInfoKHR-sType-sType
  `sType` must be VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_ACCELERATION_STRUCTURE_CREATE_INFO_KHR

- VUID-VkAccelerationStructureCreateInfoKHR-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 VkAccelerationStructureMotionInfoNV or VkOpaqueCaptureDescriptorDataCreateInfoEXT

- VUID-VkAccelerationStructureCreateInfoKHR-sType-unique
  The `sType` value of each structure in the `pNext` chain must be unique

- VUID-VkAccelerationStructureCreateInfoKHR-createFlags-parameter
  `createFlags` must be a valid combination of VkAccelerationStructureCreateFlagBitsKHR values

- VUID-VkAccelerationStructureCreateInfoKHR-buffer-parameter
  `buffer` must be a valid VkBuffer handle

- VUID-VkAccelerationStructureCreateInfoKHR-type-parameter
  `type` must be a valid VkAccelerationStructureTypeKHR value

- VUID-VkAccelerationStructureCreateInfoKHR-deviceAddress-parameter
  If `deviceAddress` is not `0`, `deviceAddress` must be a valid VkDeviceAddress value

## See Also

VK_KHR_acceleration_structure, VkAccelerationStructureCreateFlagsKHR, VkAccelerationStructureTypeKHR, VkBuffer, VkDeviceAddress, VkDeviceSize, VkStructureType, vkCreateAccelerationStructureKHR

## Document Notes

For more information, see the Vulkan Specification.

This page is extracted from the Vulkan Specification. Fixes and changes should be made to the Specification, not directly.

## Copyright

Copyright 2014-2026 The Khronos Group Inc.

SPDX-License-Identifier: CC-BY-4.0