New Vulkan project in CLion on Mac OS will not create VkInstance - c++

Question

After my first successful attempt at a 3D engine using Java and OpenGL (LWJGL3), I have decided to try my hand at Vulkan, using C++.
I have barely any experience with C/C++ and I am aware of the steep learning curve of Vulkan. This is however not a problem.
I decided to follow this tutorial: https://vulkan-tutorial.com/Introduction
It has showed me how to create a new project with Vulkan using XCode (as I am on Mac OS Mojave). I would, however, like to continue the rest of the tutorial using CLion as I would be switching between multiple operating systems.
I tried my hand at creating a CLion project and succeeded in making my first CMakeLists file, however something seems to be wrong. The file currently consists of the following:
cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.12)
project(VulkanTesting)
set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 14)
add_executable(VulkanTesting main.cpp)
include_directories(/usr/local/include)
include_directories(/Users/[username]/Documents/Vulkan/SDK/vulkansdk-macos-1.1.92.1/macOS/include)
target_link_libraries(VulkanTesting /usr/local/lib/libglfw.3.3.dylib)
target_link_libraries(VulkanTesting /Users/[username]/Documents/Vulkan/SDK/vulkansdk-macos-1.1.92.1/macOS/lib/libvulkan.1.dylib)
target_link_libraries(VulkanTesting /Users/[username]/Documents/Vulkan/SDK/vulkansdk-macos-1.1.92.1/macOS/lib/libvulkan.1.1.92.dylib)
# Don't know if I need the next two lines
link_directories(/usr/local/lib)
link_directories(/Users/[username]/Documents/Vulkan/SDK/vulkansdk-macos-1.1.92.1/macOS/lib)
The reason I showed the above file will become apparent in the question.
The 'Program' so far is the following:
#define GLFW_INCLUDE_VULKAN
#include <GLFW/glfw3.h>
#include <iostream>
#include <stdexcept>
#include <functional>
#include <cstdlib>
#include <vector>
const int WIDTH = 800;
const int HEIGHT = 600;
class HelloTriangleApplication {
public:
void run() {
initWindow();
initVulkan();
mainLoop();
cleanup();
}
private:
GLFWwindow* window;
VkInstance instance;
void initWindow(){
glfwInit();
glfwWindowHint(GLFW_CLIENT_API, GLFW_NO_API);
glfwWindowHint(GLFW_RESIZABLE, GLFW_FALSE);
window = glfwCreateWindow(WIDTH, HEIGHT, "My first Vulkan window", nullptr, nullptr);
}
void initVulkan() {
createInstance();
}
void createInstance(){
// Instantiate Application Info
VkApplicationInfo applicationInfo = {};
applicationInfo.sType = VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_APPLICATION_INFO;
applicationInfo.pApplicationName = "Hello Triangle";
applicationInfo.applicationVersion = VK_MAKE_VERSION(1,0,0);
applicationInfo.pEngineName = "No Engine";
applicationInfo.engineVersion = VK_MAKE_VERSION(1,0,0);
applicationInfo.apiVersion = VK_API_VERSION_1_0;
// Instantiate Instance Creation Info
VkInstanceCreateInfo createInfo = {};
createInfo.sType = VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_INSTANCE_CREATE_INFO;
createInfo.pApplicationInfo = &applicationInfo;
// Get GLFW platform specific extensions
uint32_t glfwExtensionCount = 0;
const char** glfwExtensions;
glfwExtensions = glfwGetRequiredInstanceExtensions(&glfwExtensionCount);
// Fill in required extensions in Instance Creation Info
createInfo.enabledExtensionCount = glfwExtensionCount;
createInfo.ppEnabledExtensionNames = glfwExtensions;
// For validation layers, this is a later step in the tutorial.
createInfo.enabledLayerCount = 0;
// Create the Vulkan instance, and check if it was successful.
VkResult result = vkCreateInstance(&createInfo, nullptr, &instance);
if(result != VK_SUCCESS){
std::cout << "glfwExtensionCount: " << glfwExtensionCount << "\n";
std::cout << "glfwExtensionNames: " << &glfwExtensions << "\n";
std::cout << "result: " << result << "\n";
throw std::runtime_error("Failed to create Vulkan Instance");
}
}
void mainLoop() {
while(!glfwWindowShouldClose(window)){
glfwPollEvents();
}
}
void cleanup() {
glfwDestroyWindow(window);
glfwTerminate();
}
};
int main() {
HelloTriangleApplication app;
try {
app.run();
} catch (const std::exception& e) {
std::cerr << e.what() << std::endl;
return EXIT_FAILURE;
}
return EXIT_SUCCESS;
}
The problem I am having is that when I try to run the program, it will not create a VkInstance. The function returns VK_ERROR_INCOMPATIBLE_DRIVER. Now, I doubt that the driver is in fact incompatible as I have run the demo applications that came with the Vulkan SDK for one, and for another I have been able to run the exact same 'program' in XCode. When I investigated the problem a bit further, I noticed that the glfwGetRequiredInstanceExtensions function returns no extensions when the program is run in CLion like this, but does return one in the XCode equivalent.
This all leads me to believe that there is something I have done wrong in linking the libraries/frameworks in the Cmake file because I am aware of the fact that Vulkan is not directly supported in Mac OS, but instead (somehow?) passes through a layer to communicate with Metal.
Do I need to specify a way for the program to pass its Vulkan functionality through a Metal layer, and is this done automagically in XCode, or is there another problem with my approach?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

You might want to look at the MacOS Getting Started Guide on the LunarXchange website and in your SDK. There is a section at the end that shows how to use CMake to build a Vulkan app and run it on MacOS. You also may want to use the FindVulkan CMake module instead of manually setting the include directories and the target link libraries.
But my first guess about your specific problem is that you may not be setting the VK_ICD_FILENAMES environment variable. You are correct in your observation that there is no direct support for Vulkan. Instead, the support is provided by the MoltenVK library which is treated as a Vulkan driver. But this "driver" is not installed in any system directory by the SDK. The SDK is just unzipped in your home directory structure, so you must tell the Vulkan loader where to find it via this environment variable.
Again, the CMake section at the end of the Getting Started Guide demonstrates the use of this environment variable. And the entire guide goes into additional detail about how the various Vulkan and MoltenVK components work.