# vkCreateShadersEXT(3) Manual Page

## Name

vkCreateShadersEXT - Create one or more new shaders

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## C Specification

To create one or more shader objects, call:

    // Provided by VK_EXT_shader_object
    VkResult vkCreateShadersEXT(
        VkDevice                                    device,
        uint32_t                                    createInfoCount,
        const VkShaderCreateInfoEXT*                pCreateInfos,
        const VkAllocationCallbacks*                pAllocator,
        VkShaderEXT*                                pShaders);

## Parameters

- `device` is the logical device that creates the shader objects.

- `createInfoCount` is the length of the `pCreateInfos` and `pShaders` arrays.

- `pCreateInfos` is a pointer to an array of VkShaderCreateInfoEXT structures.

- `pAllocator` controls host memory allocation as described in the Memory Allocation chapter.

- `pShaders` is a pointer to an array of VkShaderEXT handles in which the resulting shader objects are returned.

## Description

When this function returns, whether or not it succeeds, it is guaranteed that every element of `pShaders` will have been overwritten by either VK_NULL_HANDLE or a valid `VkShaderEXT` handle.

This means that whenever shader creation fails, the application can determine which shader the returned error pertains to by locating the first VK_NULL_HANDLE element in `pShaders`. It also means that an application can reliably clean up from a failed call by iterating over the `pShaders` array and destroying every element that is not VK_NULL_HANDLE.

Valid Usage

- VUID-vkCreateShadersEXT-stage-09670
  If the `stage` member of any element of `pCreateInfos` is VK_SHADER_STAGE_COMPUTE_BIT, `device` must support at least one queue family with the VK_QUEUE_COMPUTE_BIT capability

- VUID-vkCreateShadersEXT-stage-09671
  If the `stage` member of any element of `pCreateInfos` is VK_SHADER_STAGE_TASK_BIT_EXT, VK_SHADER_STAGE_MESH_BIT_EXT, VK_SHADER_STAGE_VERTEX_BIT, VK_SHADER_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_BIT, VK_SHADER_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_BIT, VK_SHADER_STAGE_GEOMETRY_BIT, or VK_SHADER_STAGE_FRAGMENT_BIT, `device` must support at least one queue family with the VK_QUEUE_GRAPHICS_BIT capability

- VUID-vkCreateShadersEXT-None-08400
  The `shaderObject` feature must be enabled

- VUID-vkCreateShadersEXT-pCreateInfos-08402
  If the `flags` member of any element of `pCreateInfos` includes VK_SHADER_CREATE_LINK_STAGE_BIT_EXT, the `flags` member of all other elements of `pCreateInfos` whose `stage` is VK_SHADER_STAGE_VERTEX_BIT, VK_SHADER_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_BIT, VK_SHADER_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_BIT, VK_SHADER_STAGE_GEOMETRY_BIT, or VK_SHADER_STAGE_FRAGMENT_BIT must also include VK_SHADER_CREATE_LINK_STAGE_BIT_EXT

- VUID-vkCreateShadersEXT-pCreateInfos-08403
  If the `flags` member of any element of `pCreateInfos` includes VK_SHADER_CREATE_LINK_STAGE_BIT_EXT, the `flags` member of all other elements of `pCreateInfos` whose `stage` is VK_SHADER_STAGE_TASK_BIT_EXT or VK_SHADER_STAGE_MESH_BIT_EXT must also include VK_SHADER_CREATE_LINK_STAGE_BIT_EXT

- VUID-vkCreateShadersEXT-pCreateInfos-08404
  If the `flags` member of any element of `pCreateInfos` whose `stage` is VK_SHADER_STAGE_TASK_BIT_EXT or VK_SHADER_STAGE_MESH_BIT_EXT includes VK_SHADER_CREATE_LINK_STAGE_BIT_EXT, there must be no member of `pCreateInfos` whose `flags` member includes VK_SHADER_CREATE_LINK_STAGE_BIT_EXT and whose `stage` is any of VK_SHADER_STAGE_VERTEX_BIT, VK_SHADER_STAGE_GEOMETRY_BIT, VK_SHADER_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_BIT, or VK_SHADER_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_BIT

- VUID-vkCreateShadersEXT-pCreateInfos-08405
  If there is any element of `pCreateInfos` whose `stage` is VK_SHADER_STAGE_MESH_BIT_EXT and whose `flags` member includes both VK_SHADER_CREATE_LINK_STAGE_BIT_EXT and VK_SHADER_CREATE_NO_TASK_SHADER_BIT_EXT, there must be no element of `pCreateInfos` whose `stage` is VK_SHADER_STAGE_TASK_BIT_EXT and whose `flags` member includes VK_SHADER_CREATE_LINK_STAGE_BIT_EXT

- VUID-vkCreateShadersEXT-pCreateInfos-08409
  For each element of `pCreateInfos` whose `flags` member includes VK_SHADER_CREATE_LINK_STAGE_BIT_EXT, if there is any other element of `pCreateInfos` whose `stage` is logically later than the `stage` of the former and whose `flags` member also includes VK_SHADER_CREATE_LINK_STAGE_BIT_EXT, the `nextStage` of the former must be equal to the `stage` of the element with the logically earliest `stage` following the `stage` of the former whose `flags` member also includes VK_SHADER_CREATE_LINK_STAGE_BIT_EXT

- VUID-vkCreateShadersEXT-pCreateInfos-08410
  The `stage` member of each element of `pCreateInfos` whose `flags` member includes VK_SHADER_CREATE_LINK_STAGE_BIT_EXT must be unique

- VUID-vkCreateShadersEXT-pCreateInfos-08411
  The `codeType` member of all elements of `pCreateInfos` whose `flags` member includes VK_SHADER_CREATE_LINK_STAGE_BIT_EXT must be the same

- VUID-vkCreateShadersEXT-pCreateInfos-12224
  If `pCreateInfos` contains elements with both VK_SHADER_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_BIT and VK_SHADER_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_BIT, both elements' `flags` include VK_SHADER_CREATE_LINK_STAGE_BIT_EXT, both elements' `codeType` is VK_SHADER_CODE_TYPE_SPIRV_EXT, at least one must contain an `OpExecutionMode` instruction specifying the orientation of triangles generated by the tessellator

- VUID-vkCreateShadersEXT-pCreateInfos-12225
  If `pCreateInfos` contains elements with both VK_SHADER_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_BIT and VK_SHADER_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_BIT, both elements' `flags` include VK_SHADER_CREATE_LINK_STAGE_BIT_EXT, both elements' `codeType` is VK_SHADER_CODE_TYPE_SPIRV_EXT, at least one must contain an `OpExecutionMode` instruction specifying the spacing of segments on the edges of tessellated primitives

- VUID-vkCreateShadersEXT-pCreateInfos-08867
  If `pCreateInfos` contains elements with both VK_SHADER_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_BIT and VK_SHADER_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_BIT, both elements' `flags` include VK_SHADER_CREATE_LINK_STAGE_BIT_EXT, both elements' `codeType` is VK_SHADER_CODE_TYPE_SPIRV_EXT, and both stages contains an `OpExecutionMode` instruction specifying the type of subdivision, they must be the same

- VUID-vkCreateShadersEXT-pCreateInfos-08868
  If `pCreateInfos` contains elements with both VK_SHADER_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_BIT and VK_SHADER_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_BIT, both elements' `flags` include VK_SHADER_CREATE_LINK_STAGE_BIT_EXT, both elements' `codeType` is VK_SHADER_CODE_TYPE_SPIRV_EXT, and both stages contains an `OpExecutionMode` instruction specifying the orientation of triangles, they must be the same

- VUID-vkCreateShadersEXT-pCreateInfos-08870
  If `pCreateInfos` contains elements with both VK_SHADER_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_BIT and VK_SHADER_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_BIT, both elements' `flags` include VK_SHADER_CREATE_LINK_STAGE_BIT_EXT, both elements' `codeType` is VK_SHADER_CODE_TYPE_SPIRV_EXT, and both stages contains an `OpExecutionMode` instruction specifying the spacing of segments on the edges of tessellated primitives, they must be the same

- VUID-vkCreateShadersEXT-pCreateInfos-08871
  If `pCreateInfos` contains elements with both VK_SHADER_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_BIT and VK_SHADER_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_BIT, both elements' `flags` include VK_SHADER_CREATE_LINK_STAGE_BIT_EXT, both elements' `codeType` is VK_SHADER_CODE_TYPE_SPIRV_EXT, and both stages contains an `OpExecutionMode` instruction specifying the output patch size, they must be the same

- VUID-vkCreateShadersEXT-pCreateInfos-09632
  If `pCreateInfos` contains a VK_SHADER_STAGE_MESH_BIT_EXT with `codeType` of VK_SHADER_CODE_TYPE_SPIRV_EXT and VK_SHADER_CREATE_NO_TASK_SHADER_BIT_EXT is not set, then the mesh shader’s entry point must not declare a variable with a `DrawIndex` `BuiltIn` decoration

- VUID-vkCreateShadersEXT-pCreateInfos-11413
  If any element of `pCreateInfos` sets VK_SHADER_CREATE_DESCRIPTOR_HEAP_BIT_EXT and includes embedded sampler mappings, there must be less than (`maxSamplerAllocationCount` - (`minSamplerHeapReservedRangeWithEmbedded` / `samplerDescriptorSize`)) VkSampler objects currently created on the device

- VUID-vkCreateShadersEXT-pCreateInfos-11428
  If any element of `pCreateInfos` sets VK_SHADER_CREATE_DESCRIPTOR_HEAP_BIT_EXT and includes embedded sampler mappings, this command must not cause the total number of unique embedded samplers in pipelines and shaders on this device to exceed `maxDescriptorHeapEmbeddedSamplers`

- VUID-vkCreateShadersEXT-flags-11472
  If the `flags` member of any element of `pCreateInfos` includes VK_SHADER_CREATE_LINK_STAGE_BIT_EXT and VK_SHADER_CREATE_DESCRIPTOR_HEAP_BIT_EXT, the `flags` member of all other elements of `pCreateInfos` whose `stage` is VK_SHADER_STAGE_VERTEX_BIT, VK_SHADER_STAGE_TESSELLATION_CONTROL_BIT, VK_SHADER_STAGE_TESSELLATION_EVALUATION_BIT, VK_SHADER_STAGE_GEOMETRY_BIT, VK_SHADER_STAGE_TASK_BIT_EXT, VK_SHADER_STAGE_MESH_BIT_EXT, or VK_SHADER_STAGE_FRAGMENT_BIT must also include VK_SHADER_CREATE_DESCRIPTOR_HEAP_BIT_EXT

Valid Usage (Implicit)

- VUID-vkCreateShadersEXT-device-parameter
  `device` must be a valid VkDevice handle

- VUID-vkCreateShadersEXT-pCreateInfos-parameter
  `pCreateInfos` must be a valid pointer to an array of `createInfoCount` valid VkShaderCreateInfoEXT structures

- VUID-vkCreateShadersEXT-pAllocator-parameter
  If `pAllocator` is not `NULL`, `pAllocator` must be a valid pointer to a valid VkAllocationCallbacks structure

- VUID-vkCreateShadersEXT-pShaders-parameter
  `pShaders` must be a valid pointer to an array of `createInfoCount` VkShaderEXT handles

- VUID-vkCreateShadersEXT-createInfoCount-arraylength
  `createInfoCount` must be greater than `0`

Return Codes

On success, this command returns

  - VK_INCOMPATIBLE_SHADER_BINARY_EXT

  - VK_SUCCESS

On failure, this command returns

  - VK_ERROR_INITIALIZATION_FAILED

  - VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY

  - VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY

  - VK_ERROR_UNKNOWN

  - VK_ERROR_VALIDATION_FAILED

## See Also

VK_EXT_shader_object, VkAllocationCallbacks, VkDevice, VkShaderCreateInfoEXT, VkShaderEXT

## 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