# Install vulkan-tools with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper Vulkan utilities and tools. Version 1.4.350.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-22. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:vulkan-tools ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install vulkan-tools ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install vulkan-tools ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: graphics/vulkan-tools/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add vulkan-tools ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: vulkan-tools from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install vulkan-tools ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: vulkan-tools from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install vulkan-tools ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: vulkan-tools from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#vulkan-tools ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/vu/vulkan-tools/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - pacman (92%): ```sh sudo pacman -S vulkan-tools ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: vulkan-tools from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz - zypper (92%): ```sh sudo zypper install vulkan-tools ``` Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: vulkan-tools from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:vulkan-tools - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 1.4.350.1 - **Source summary:** Vulkan utilities and tools - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** Apache-2.0 - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-06-22T14:06:37-07:00 - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T18:08:21+00:00 ## Executables - vkcube (cli) - vkcubepp (cli) - vulkaninfo (cli) - vkcube (alias) - vkcubepp (alias) - vulkaninfo (alias) ## Dependencies - glslang - molten-vk - vulkan-headers - vulkan-loader ## Build dependencies - cmake - pkgconf ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Caveats: The mock ICD files have been installed in $HOMEBREW_PREFIX/opt/vulkan-tools/lib/mock_icd You can use them with the Vulkan Loader by setting export VK_ICD_FILENAMES=$HOMEBREW_PREFIX/opt/vulkan-tools/lib/mock_icd/VkICD_mock_icd.json - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 1.4.350.1 - Package-manager updated: 2026-06-22 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/KhronosGroup/Vulkan-Tools - info: No cached GitHub release or tag data was available. ## Project history and usage Vulkan Tools is the Khronos-hosted repository for small but important Vulkan development utilities, including `vulkaninfo`, `vkcube`, `vkcubepp`, a mock ICD, and Windows runtime installer support. It is part of the practical tooling layer around the Vulkan graphics and compute API. ### Project history Vulkan itself was released by Khronos as the Vulkan 1.0 specification on February 16, 2016, together with an open-source ecosystem intended to make the new explicit, low-overhead API usable across vendors and platforms. The Vulkan-Tools repository was created under KhronosGroup in May 2018 as the standalone home for utility programs that had grown up around the SDK and loader ecosystem. The README credits LunarG as the primary developer of the repository, Valve as a funder of project development, Google as a significant contributor to the validation layers, and Khronos as the host and overseer. That stewardship history matches Vulkan's broader development model: a standards body coordinating practical open-source tooling across GPU vendors, operating systems, SDK releases, and driver stacks. The repository's versioning follows Vulkan specification and SDK cadence. Since the 1.3.266 specification release, README documentation distinguishes Vulkan specification tags such as `v1.3.266` from SDK tags such as `vulkan-sdk-1.3.266.0`, making the tools track both upstream API evolution and tested SDK snapshots. ### Adoption history The tools became a common first-contact test suite for Vulkan availability. `vulkaninfo` is routinely used to print instance, device, layer, extension, and driver information, while `vkcube` is the small visual smoke test many users run to prove that the loader, ICD, driver, and presentation path are all wired together. Because Vulkan targets many operating systems and driver stacks, these utilities occupy a niche similar to `glxinfo` and `glxgears` in older OpenGL workflows: humble commands that package maintainers, graphics developers, driver engineers, and users reach for before debugging a full application. ### How it is used Typical usage is direct and diagnostic. `vulkaninfo` reports what the local Vulkan loader and installed drivers expose; `vkcube` and `vkcubepp` create a simple rendered cube to verify that an application can create a Vulkan instance, pick a device, present to a surface, and draw. The tools are also useful in bug reports because they reduce a large graphics stack to reproducible facts: driver versions, supported extensions, enabled layers, physical-device capabilities, and whether a minimal demo can present frames. ### Why package nerds care For package nerds, Vulkan Tools is the tiny executable edge of a large standards ecosystem. Installing the package gives immediate checks for whether the Vulkan loader, ICD JSON files, GPU driver, validation-layer setup, and SDK expectations line up on a given machine. ### Timeline - 2016: Khronos released the Vulkan 1.0 specification on February 16, 2016. - 2018: KhronosGroup/Vulkan-Tools was created on GitHub on May 3, 2018. - 2023: The repository adopted the documented post-1.3.266 distinction between specification tags and SDK tags. - 2026: The repository remained active under KhronosGroup with ongoing Vulkan SDK and specification-aligned work. ### Related projects - Vulkan Tools is closely related to Vulkan-Loader, Vulkan-ValidationLayers, Vulkan-Headers, Vulkan-Docs, LunarG's Vulkan SDK, Vulkan-Samples, Mesa and vendor Vulkan drivers, and MoltenVK for Vulkan portability on Apple platforms. ### Sources - - - - - ## Security Notes No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for vulkan-tools. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL. ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** vulkan-tools - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Head Version:** HEAD - **Requirements:** xcode - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** head, stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - vulkan-tools - 1.4.304.0+dfsg1-1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: vulkan-tools from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Miscellaneous Vulkan utilities | https://github.com/KhronosGroup/Vulkan-Tools - Nix - vulkan-tools: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/vu/vulkan-tools/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Ubuntu apt - vulkan-tools - 1.3.275.0+dfsg1-1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: vulkan-tools from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Miscellaneous Vulkan utilities | https://github.com/KhronosGroup/Vulkan-Tools - apk - vulkan-tools - 1.4.347-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: vulkan-tools from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Vulkan Utilities and Tools | https://www.khronos.org/vulkan - apk - vulkan-tools-dbg - 1.4.347-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: vulkan-tools-dbg from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Vulkan Utilities and Tools (debug symbols) | https://www.khronos.org/vulkan - dnf - vulkan-tools - 1.4.341.0-1.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: vulkan-tools from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | Vulkan tools | https://github.com/KhronosGroup/Vulkan-Tools - pacman - vulkan-tools - 1.4.350.0-1: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: vulkan-tools from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | Vulkan tools and utilities | https://www.vulkan.org/ - zypper - vulkan-tools - 1.4.350-1.1: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: vulkan-tools from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst | Diagnostic utilities for Vulkan | https://github.com/KhronosGroup/Vulkan-Tools - zypper - vulkan-tools-32bit - 1.4.350-1.1: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: vulkan-tools-32bit from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst | Diagnostic utilities for Vulkan | https://github.com/KhronosGroup/Vulkan-Tools - MacPorts - vulkan-tools: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: graphics/vulkan-tools/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Related links - [Source-control packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/source-control-tools/) - Belongs to a source-control command family. - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Text processing packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/text-processing-tools/) - Matched text, document, or structured-data processing metadata. - [Developer build packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/developer-build-tools/) - Matched build, compiler, generator, or developer workflow metadata. - [glslang](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/glslang/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [molten-vk](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/molten-vk/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [cmake](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cmake/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [pkgconf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pkgconf/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [shaderc](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/shaderc/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, graphics, vulkan. - [glslviewer](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/glslviewer/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, graphics. - [spirv-cross](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/spirv-cross/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, graphics, vulkan. - [waffle](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/waffle/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, graphics. - [pixlet](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pixlet/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, graphics. - [termsvg](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/termsvg/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, graphics. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/vulkan-tools.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/vulkan-tools.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph