C Specification

To export a POSIX file descriptor representing the payload of a fence, call:

// Provided by VK_KHR_external_fence_fd
VkResult vkGetFenceFdKHR(
    VkDevice                                    device,
    const VkFenceGetFdInfoKHR*                  pGetFdInfo,
    int*                                        pFd);

Parameters

  • device is the logical device that created the fence being exported.

  • pGetFdInfo is a pointer to a VkFenceGetFdInfoKHR structure containing parameters of the export operation.

  • pFd will return the file descriptor representing the fence payload.

Description

Each call to vkGetFenceFdKHR must create a new file descriptor and transfer ownership of it to the application. To avoid leaking resources, the application must release ownership of the file descriptor when it is no longer needed.

Note

Ownership can be released in many ways. For example, the application can call close() on the file descriptor, or transfer ownership back to Vulkan by using the file descriptor to import a fence payload.

If pGetFdInfo->handleType is VK_EXTERNAL_FENCE_HANDLE_TYPE_SYNC_FD_BIT and the fence is signaled at the time vkGetFenceFdKHR is called, pFd may return the value -1 instead of a valid file descriptor.

Where supported by the operating system, the implementation must set the file descriptor to be closed automatically when an execve system call is made.

Exporting a file descriptor from a fence may have side effects depending on the transference of the specified handle type, as described in Importing Fence State.

If VkPhysicalDeviceVulkanSC10Properties::deviceNoDynamicHostAllocations is VK_TRUE, vkGetFenceFdKHR must not return VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

  • VUID-vkGetFenceFdKHR-device-parameter
    device must be a valid VkDevice handle

  • VUID-vkGetFenceFdKHR-pGetFdInfo-parameter
    pGetFdInfo must be a valid pointer to a valid VkFenceGetFdInfoKHR structure

  • VUID-vkGetFenceFdKHR-pFd-parameter
    pFd must be a valid pointer to an int value

Return Codes
On success, this command returns

  • VK_SUCCESS

On failure, this command returns

  • VK_ERROR_TOO_MANY_OBJECTS

  • VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY

See Also

VK_KHR_external_fence_fd, VkDevice, VkFenceGetFdInfoKHR

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 2014-2025 The Khronos Group Inc.

SPDX-License-Identifier: CC-BY-4.0