# zeux/volk

Meta loader for Vulkan API

Repository: https://github.com/zeux/volk
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/volk
Language: C
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: vulkan
Last push: 2026-08-14T16:23:47+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 81/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 97, release rhythm 50, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3096, "days_push": 19, "days_rel": 121, "gap_med": 302.0, "n_releases_24m": 3}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1909, forks 166 (observed 2026-08-28T04:05:53.060992+00:00)

## What it is
volk is a meta-loader for the Vulkan API written in C89 that dynamically loads Vulkan entrypoints without linking to the Vulkan loader library. It automatically loads extension entrypoints and can load functions directly from the driver to skip loader dispatch overhead.

## Use cases
- load vulkan api without linking vulkan-1.dll
- reduce vulkan loader dispatch overhead
- automatically load vulkan extension entrypoints
- use vulkan on macos via moltenvk
- header-only vulkan loading in c or c++ project
- initialize vulkan dynamically at runtime

## When to choose
- you need to use Vulkan without statically linking the Vulkan loader
- you want to minimize device call dispatch overhead for performance-critical rendering
- you want extension entrypoints loaded automatically
- you need a lightweight, single-file Vulkan loader for Windows, Linux, Android, or macOS

## When to avoid
- you are not using the Vulkan graphics API
- you need multiple VkDevice objects with transparent dispatch and cannot manage per-device loading
- you prefer a full-featured loader abstraction over a minimal meta-loader

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: active
- function: graphics, sdk, developer-tools
- domain: graphics, cross-platform
- platform: cpp, c, windows, cross-platform
- tags: vulkan, meta-loader, vulkan-loader, c89, header-only, graphics-api, moltenvk, driver-optimization, game-development, linux, macos, android

## Member repositories
- zeux/volk (main) score 81

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:53.060992+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 2026-08-30T03:11:10.360445+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/zeux/volk (fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:53.060992+00:00, sha 201b5ee30806)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.