VKERRORFORMATNOTSUPPORTED

VK_ERROR_FORMAT_NOT_SUPPORTED, commonly written as VK_ERROR_FORMAT_NOT_SUPPORTED in Vulkan documentation, is an error code returned by Vulkan functions when the requested format for an image, buffer, or surface is not supported by the physical device or driver for the requested usage or tiling. In Vulkan, error codes are returned as VkResult, and negative values indicate failures. This particular error typically signals a format incompatibility that prevents resource creation or use.

The error often occurs during resource creation or setup, such as when a swapchain is created with a surface format that the device cannot support, or when creating an image with a format that cannot be tiled or used for the intended features. It can also arise when querying device capabilities and discovering that a desired format does not pass the required tiling, usage, or feature checks.

Diagnosis and resolution involve format negotiation. For swapchains, query supported surface formats with vkGetPhysicalDeviceSurfaceFormatsKHR and select a format from that list. For general images, use vkGetPhysicalDeviceFormatProperties or vkGetPhysicalDeviceImageFormatProperties with the desired format, tiling, usage, and features to determine compatibility. If VK_ERROR_FORMAT_NOT_SUPPORTED is returned, choose a different format that the device supports, or adjust tiling or usage to align with capabilities. Establish a fallback format such as a commonly supported UNORM format, subject to platform and driver constraints.

Notes: this is one of several VK_ERROR_* codes indicating format or feature incompatibility. Proper handling includes graceful fallback, validation, and informative logging.