erhe-quest-validation

name	erhe-quest-validation
description	Enable VK_LAYER_KHRONOS_validation on the erhe Quest APK so silent GPU hangs become loud aborts. Covers the bundle (default on), the runtime config knob, the on-device SPIR-V cache wipe via uninstall, and the device-error abort hook in editor.cpp. Use when a Quest build runs but renders nothing in VR, hangs at the Horizon launch panel, or otherwise misbehaves silently.

Quest Vulkan validation layer

Quest's Vulkan loader has no validation layer of its own. Without it, GPU-side errors (descriptor mismatches, image-layout violations, multiview misuse, sync hazards, command-buffer lifecycle bugs) silently hang the editor on the first bad frame. With validation on, the same errors hit the device-error callback registered in editor.cpp (the device_message lambda; search for Message_severity::error -> ERHE_FATAL), so the process aborts with the offending VUID copied to the clipboard and dumped to logcat.

Bundling (build-time)

The Khronos validation layer .so is bundled in every Quest / Android APK by default. Gradle task fetchVulkanValidationLayer downloads libVkLayer_khronos_validation.so for arm64-v8a from the SDK release pinned in android-project/app/build.gradle (validationLayerVersion) and stages it under app/libs/arm64-v8a/. The .so adds ~10 MB to the APK; opt out with -Pvulkan_validation_skip (bare; bat-arg parser strips =).

Verify the .so is in the APK:

$env:JAVA_HOME = "C:\Program Files\Android\Android Studio\jbr"
& "$env:JAVA_HOME\bin\jar.exe" tf <apk-path> | Select-String "VkLayer|libVk"

Enabling at runtime

1. Edit config/editor/erhe_graphics.json so the vulkan block reads:

   "vulkan": { "vulkan_validation_layers": true, ... }
   

2. Wipe the on-device SPIR-V cache so all shaders re-compile through the validator on next launch (otherwise stale cached SPIR-V from earlier runs is loaded straight to vkCreateShaderModule and validation never sees the source). Easiest: uninstall + install.

   $LOCALAPPDATA/Android/Sdk/platform-tools/adb.exe uninstall org.libsdl.app.quest
   scripts\install_android.bat quest
   

3. Launch via the standard headset-prompt protocol (see erhe-quest-launch). Validation messages route through:

   debug_utils_messenger_callback (vulkan_device_debug.cpp)
     -> Device::device_message
     -> editor.cpp device_message lambda
     -> ERHE_FATAL on Message_severity::error
   

Confirming the layer actually loaded

In logcat, expect:

D vulkan: added global layer 'VK_LAYER_KHRONOS_validation' from library '...libVkLayer_khronos_validation.so'
I erhe: Vulkan Instance Layer: VK_LAYER_KHRONOS_validation spec_version 0x00404148 implementation_version 0x00000001 LunarG validation Layer
I erhe: Enabling VK_LAYER_KHRONOS_validation
I vulkan: Loaded layer VK_LAYER_KHRONOS_validation

spec_version decodes as VK_VERSION: 0x00404148 = 1.4.328 -- compare against validationLayerVersion in android-project/app/build.gradle.

The linked glslang version is also logged once per process (used by the SPIR-V cache-key salt; cache entries auto-invalidate when glslang is bumped):

I erhe: glslang version: 16.3.0

Disabling

Flip vulkan_validation_layers back to false in config/editor/erhe_graphics.json. The .so stays in the APK but the loader does not load it -- no per-frame overhead. The runtime cost only kicks in when both the bundle and the config knob are on.

Common VUIDs encountered + status

VUID	Cause	Status
VUID-VkDeviceCreateInfo-pNext-02829	VkPhysicalDeviceVulkan11Features chained alongside VkPhysicalDevice16BitStorageFeatures / VkPhysicalDeviceMultiviewFeatures (subsumed by 1.1 features struct)	Fixed in commit 524888f8
VUID-VkShaderModuleCreateInfo-pCode-08737 (DebugGlobalVariable: expected operand Variable must be ...)	glslang emits DebugGlobalVariable with Variable operand referencing OpConstantComposite for global const composite arrays + the synthesised gl_WorkGroupSize	Fixed in the tksuoran/glslang fork pinned by the root CMakeLists.txt CPMAddPackage (CPM PATCHES is banned repo-wide). See doc/glslang_bug_report_debugglobalvariable.md and the erhe-quest-shader-failure skill
SYNC-HAZARD-READ-AFTER-WRITE (vertex stage reads SSBO after compute dispatch)	Memory_barrier_mask::vertex_attrib_array_barrier_bit alone is insufficient when the consuming vertex shader reads via SSBO instead of the input assembler	Use vertex_attrib_array_barrier_bit | shader_storage_barrier_bit between the compute encoder and the render encoder
VUID-vkFreeCommandBuffers-pCommandBuffers-00047 (cb in pending state when freed)	Editor frees a command buffer the GPU has not finished with -- a frame-fence/lifecycle bug surfaced now that validation is on	Open as of 2026-05-02; did not reproduce in the 2026-08-14 5-min Quest soak
VUID-VkPresentId2KHR-None-10820 (desktop only)	present_image() chains VkPresentId2KHR (device has present-id via VK_KHR_present_id2 only) but the swapchain lacked VK_SWAPCHAIN_CREATE_PRESENT_ID_2_BIT_KHR; aborted at first desktop present with validation on	Fixed in c0ada98b (2026-08-14)
VUID-VkComputePipelineCreateInfo-layout-07988 (ray tracing)	ray_trace.comp samples erhe_texture_heap but both texture-heap set layouts were FRAGMENT-only; the failed pipeline was then dispatched null -> segfault (this was the long-standing "RT dies at startup on AMD" crash)

Note: the "bundled by default" claim above was broken from d88bb1198 until e796dc53 (2026-08-14): the vulkan_validation_skip branches in build.gradle were swapped, so no APK in that window contained the layer .so. Verify with the jar tf check when in doubt.

When NOT to enable

• Performance work (validation adds noticeable per-frame CPU overhead).
• Any user-facing test (some VUIDs above abort the editor and a user-built APK should not).