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The DirectX Tool Kit (aka DirectXTK12) is a collection of helper classes for writing DirectX 12 code in C++.
For an overview of the project, see these blog posts: July 2016, September 2021, and October 2021.
For an overview of DirectX Tool Kit for Audio, see these blog posts: December 2013 and May 2020.
DirectXTK library
DirectX 11 is supported on Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, and Windows 11. Use of DirectX 11 for beginners is highly recommended. A version of DirectX Tool Kit for DirectX 11 is available on GitHub.
DirectX 12 is an expert API for Windows 10 / Windows 11 which builds on knowing the ins & outs of DirectX 11. Both DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 provide access to the same graphics hardware features, but drive the hardware in different ways which can allow a well-optimized DirectX 12 engine to achieve much lower CPU overhead than in DirectX 11.
Note that advanced hardware features like Shader Model 6, DirectX Raytracing, Amplification & Mesh Shaders, and other DirectX Ultimate features do in fact require DirectX 12 as they are not exposed in DirectX 11. The statement above is still 100% true for the core graphics functionality used by DirectX Tool Kit.
DirectX Tool Kit is also available from the NuGet Gallery:
- Windows desktop app using VS 2019 or VS 2022
- Universal Windows Platform apps using VS 2019 or VS 2022
DirectX Tool Kit has a vcpkg installation port as well.
For questions, consider using Stack Overflow with the directxtk tag, or the DirectX Discord Server in the dx12-developers channel.
For bug reports and feature requests, please use GitHub issues for this project.
This project welcomes contributions and suggestions. Most contributions require you to agree to a Contributor License Agreement (CLA) declaring that you have the right to, and actually do, grant us the rights to use your contribution. For details, visit https://cla.opensource.microsoft.com.
When you submit a pull request, a CLA bot will automatically determine whether you need to provide a CLA and decorate the PR appropriately (e.g., status check, comment). Simply follow the instructions provided by the bot. You will only need to do this once across all repos using our CLA.
Tests for new features should also be submitted as a PR to the Test Suite repository.
This project has adopted the Microsoft Open Source Code of Conduct. For more information see the Code of Conduct FAQ or contact opencode@microsoft.com with any additional questions or comments.
This project may contain trademarks or logos for projects, products, or services. Authorized use of Microsoft trademarks or logos is subject to and must follow Microsoft's Trademark & Brand Guidelines. Use of Microsoft trademarks or logos in modified versions of this project must not cause confusion or imply Microsoft sponsorship. Any use of third-party trademarks or logos are subject to those third-party's policies.
The DirectX Tool Kit for DirectX 11 is the work of Shawn Hargreaves and Chuck Walbourn, with contributions from Aaron Rodriguez Hernandez and Dani Roman.
The DirectX Tool Kit for DirectX 12 is the work of Pete Lewis, Justin Saunders, and Chuck Walbourn based heavily on the DirectX Tool Kit for DirectX 11.
Thanks to Shanon Drone for the SDKMESH file format.
Thanks to Adrian Tsai for the geodesic sphere implementation.
Thanks to Garrett Serack for his help in creating the NuGet packages for DirectX Tool Kit.
Thanks to Pete Lewis and Justin Saunders for the normal-mapped and PBR shaders implementation.
Thanks for Travis Johnson for the mGPU support.
Thanks to Roberto Sonnino for his help with the CMO format and the VS Starter Kit animation.
Thanks to Richie Meyer for their contribution of Xbox PIX custom memory and type allocation tracking events support.
Thanks to Andrew Farrier and Scott Matloff for their on-going help with code reviews.