# Ash Renderer
[](https://crates.io/crates/ash_renderer)
[](https://docs.rs/ash_renderer)
[](LICENSE)
A Vulkan rendering library built with [ash](https://github.com/ash-rs/ash). This project explores modern graphics techniques (GPU culling, SSGI, Bindless resources) in a standalone, ECS-free architecture.
> [!NOTE]
> This is still very much a "work in progress." Expect breaking changes and occasional Vulkan validation errors if you feed it weird data.
> **Stable Versions:** 0.1.2, 0.3.8, 0.3.9, 0.4.0, 0.4.1, 0.4.2, 0.4.3, 0.4.4..
## Features
- **Core Renderer**: Basic PBR metallic/roughness workflow.
- **Occlusion Culling**: Hi-Z based visibility testing (GPU driven).
- **GPU Culling**: Frustum culling and indirect draw call generation.
- **Lighting**: Cascaded Shadow Mapping (CSM) and Screen-Space Global Illumination (SSGI).
- **Bindless Architecture**: Full bindless texture support (`SampledImage` arrays).
- **Post-Processing**: Tonemapping, Bloom, and internal VSR (Temporal upscaling) support.
- **Headless**: Decoupled from windowing via `SurfaceProvider`.
## Quick Start (Winit 0.30)
The renderer is designed to be used with `winit`'s `ApplicationHandler`. Here is a minimal setup:
```rust
use ash_renderer::prelude::*;
use winit::{
application::ApplicationHandler,
event::WindowEvent,
event_loop::ActiveEventLoop,
window::{Window, WindowId},
};
struct App {
window: Option<Window>,
renderer: Option<Renderer>,
}
impl ApplicationHandler for App {
fn resumed(&mut self, event_loop: &ActiveEventLoop) {
let window = event_loop.create_window(Default::default()).unwrap();
// Wrap window for Vulkan surface
let surface_provider = ash_renderer::vulkan::WindowSurfaceProvider::new(&window);
// Init renderer (handles device/swapchain internally)
self.renderer = Some(Renderer::new(&surface_provider).expect("Vulkan init failed"));
self.window = Some(window);
}
fn window_event(&mut self, _el: &ActiveEventLoop, _id: WindowId, event: WindowEvent) {
match event {
WindowEvent::RedrawRequested => {
if let (Some(r), Some(w)) = (&mut self.renderer, &self.window) {
let size = w.inner_size();
let aspect = size.width as f32 / size.height as f32;
// Simple camera setup
let view = glam::Mat4::look_at_rh(
glam::Vec3::new(0.0, 2.0, 5.0),
glam::Vec3::ZERO,
glam::Vec3::Y
);
let mut proj = glam::Mat4::perspective_rh(
45.0_f32.to_radians(),
aspect,
0.1,
100.0
);
proj.y_axis.y *= -1.0; // Vulkan Y-flip
r.render_frame(view, proj, glam::Vec3::new(0.0, 2.0, 5.0)).unwrap();
w.request_redraw();
}
}
WindowEvent::Resized(size) => {
if let Some(r) = &mut self.renderer {
r.request_swapchain_resize(ash::vk::Extent2D {
width: size.width,
height: size.height,
});
}
}
_ => {}
}
}
}
```
## Status
| **Material System** | Functional (Basic PBR) |
| **Shadows** | Working, but cascades need tuning |
| **SSGI** | Experimental (Expect noise) |
| **VSR (Temporal Upscaling)** | Implemented (basic jitter patterns, needs refinement) |
| **GLTF Loading** | Basic support via `gltf` crate |
| **Stability** | Dev-grade (Validation layers recommended during dev) |
## Examples
```bash
# Basic cube with PBR
cargo run --example 02_cube
# GLTF loading (experimental)
cargo run --example 03_model_loading --features gltf_loading
```
## Requirements
- **Rust**: 1.70+
- **Vulkan**: 1.2+ (Requires support for dynamic indexing and descriptor indexing)
---
Licensed under Apache 2.0.