# charles-lunarg/vk-bootstrap

Vulkan Bootstrapping Iibrary

Repository: https://github.com/charles-lunarg/vk-bootstrap
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/vk-bootstrap
Language: C++
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: vulkan, setup, utility, bootstrap, cpp, headeronly
Last push: 2026-08-26T02:16:23+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 77/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2407, "days_push": 8, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1276, forks 120 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:13.111897+00:00)

## What it is
vk-bootstrap is a C++ utility library that jump-starts Vulkan initialization by simplifying instance creation, physical device selection, device creation, queue retrieval, and swapchain creation. It is actively maintained, MIT-licensed, and requires only C++17 and Vulkan 1.1 headers.

## Use cases
- set up vulkan instance and device in c++
- simplify vulkan initialization boilerplate
- select a gpu based on features and extensions
- enable vulkan validation layers and debug messenger
- get graphics and transfer queues in vulkan
- create a vulkan swapchain easily

## When to choose
- you are starting a new Vulkan project and want to skip hundreds of lines of setup code
- you need convenient GPU selection based on criteria like features, extensions, or memory
- you want easy validation layer and debug messenger setup during development

## When to avoid
- you need fine-grained manual control over every Vulkan instance or device creation parameter
- your project does not use Vulkan or is not written in C++
- you need a header-only library, since vk-bootstrap requires compiling a source file

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: active
- function: graphics, developer-tools
- domain: graphics, developer-tools, cross-platform
- platform: cpp, windows, cross-platform
- tags: vulkan, header-only-style, instance-creation, device-selection, swapchain, gpu-selection, validation-layers, game-development, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- charles-lunarg/vk-bootstrap (main) score 77

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:13.111897+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T05:02:55.775400+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/charles-lunarg/vk-bootstrap (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:13.111897+00:00, sha e151d132b08d)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.