A modern and easy-to-use library for the Vulkan® API

lava provides essentials for low-level graphics - suited for prototyping, tooling, profiling and education.

This lean framework is written in neat C++23 and it strives for a modular rolling release as far as possible. We don't want to promise too much... but lava runs really smoothly on Windows and Linux.

➜ Download • Documentation (Tutorial + Guide) • Projects • Modules • Collaborate

In a nutshell

liblava is written in modern C++ with latest Vulkan support
Provides run loop abstraction for window and input handling
Plain renderer and command buffer model
Batteries included ➜ runtime shader compilation
Texture and mesh loading from virtual file system
Camera, imgui, logger and much more...

Take a look

#include "liblava/lava.hpp"
#include "imgui.h"

int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {

    lava::engine app("imgui demo", { argc, argv });
    if (!app.setup())
        return lava::error::not_ready;

    app.imgui.layers.add("demo window", []() {
        ImGui::ShowDemoWindow();
    });

    return app.run();
}

Demos


	free download on ➜ itch.io The collection includes all stages to play around. - You can easily switch between them.

Stages


	deferred shading + offscreen rendering Small demo that showcases how to render to an offscreen framebuffer and sample from it. - It is a challenge in itself and also a compact solution.
	uniform buffer + camera This loads a very large mesh from file and simply textures it. - Use your gamepad to control the camera if there is one around.
	push constants to shader Classic lamp to relax and where colors can be easily switched. - Unfortunately it also consumes power - so be aware!
	generating primitives Switch between basic shapes and use the camera to fly around. - A great start for your next interactive application.
	float, double & int meshes This demo shows how to check GPU features and render mesh data with custom vertex layout. - There is a chapter about it in the Guide.
	unique classic mesh Where graphics programming always begins. - An example that illustrates how little it actually takes to render a triangle.

Projects


	raytraced reflecting cubes Vulkan raytracing with liblava Support for the Vulkan KHR ray tracing extensions with idiomatic wrappers. ➜ pezcode
	Do you have a project? Submit it with a pull request