VKERROROUTOFDEVICEMEMORY

VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY is a VkResult error code defined by the Vulkan API. It indicates that a Vulkan operation could not be completed because the device could not allocate enough memory for a requested resource. This error is most commonly returned by vkAllocateMemory and may also be observed during resource creation or binding when the allocator cannot satisfy a memory request for the device.

Causes of this error include exhaustion of available device (VRAM) memory and, in some cases, memory fragmentation or an incompatible memory type selection. Large allocations, frequent allocations and frees, or overall high memory usage by multiple resources can contribute to the condition. It is distinct from host memory shortages and from mapping failures, which are reported by other error codes.

Handling and mitigation involve reducing the application’s device memory footprint and improving memory management. Strategies include reducing texture and buffer sizes, lowering the number of simultaneous resources, reusing memory blocks, and ensuring memory type indices are appropriate for the resource. When possible, employ memory budgeting tools (such as VK_EXT_memory_budget) to monitor usage and plan allocations. Using dedicated allocations for large resources and adopting memory pooling techniques can also help mitigate fragmentation. Enabling validation layers and debug utilities can aid in diagnosing memory usage patterns.

Impact and recovery depend on context. A VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_DEVICE_MEMORY typically requires the application to free resources and retry or gracefully degrade functionality. In some cases, it may indicate a need to adjust resource lifetimes or rendering quality to fit available device memory.

See also: VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY, VK_ERROR_FRAGMENTED_POOL, VK_EXT_memory_budget.