libktx Reference 4.4.0
Libraries and tools to create and read KTX image texture files.
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libktx Reference

libktx is a small library of functions for creating and reading KTX (Khronos TeXture) files, version 1 and 2 and instantiating OpenGL® and OpenGL® ES textures and Vulkan images from them. KTX version 2 files can contain images supercompressed with zstd or zlib. They can also contain images in the Basis Universal formats. libktx can deflate and inflate zstd and zlib compressed images, can encode and transcode the Basis Universal formats and can encode ASTC formats.

For information about the KTX format see the formal specification.

Authors
Mark Callow, Edgewise Consulting, formerly at HI Corporation
Mátyás Császár and Daniel Rákos, RasterGrid
Wasim Abbas, Arm
Andreas Atteneder, Independent
Georg Kolling, Imagination Technology
Jacob Ström, Ericsson AB
API Version
v4.0
Date
Fri Mar 14 14:51:46 2025 +0300

Usage Overview

The following ktxTexture examples work for both KTX and KTX2 textures. The texture type is determined from the file contents.

Reading a KTX file for non-GL and non-Vulkan Use

#include <ktx.h>
ktxTexture* texture;
ktx_size_t offset;
ktx_uint8_t* image;
ktx_uint32_t level, layer, faceSlice;
result = ktxTexture_CreateFromNamedFile("mytex3d.ktx",
&texture);
// Retrieve information about the texture from fields in the ktxTexture
// such as:
ktx_uint32_t numLevels = texture->numLevels;
ktx_uint32_t baseWidth = texture->baseWidth;
ktx_bool_t isArray = texture->isArray;
// Retrieve a pointer to the image for a specific mip level, array layer
// & face or depth slice.
level = 1; layer = 0; faceSlice = 3;
result = ktxTexture_GetImageOffset(texture, level, layer, faceSlice, &offset);
image = ktxTexture_GetData(texture) + offset;
// ...
// Do something with the texture image.
// ...
Declares the public functions and structures of the KTX API.
#define ktxTexture_Destroy(This)
Helper for calling the Destroy virtual method of a ktxTexture.
Definition ktx.h:533
@ KTX_TEXTURE_CREATE_LOAD_IMAGE_DATA_BIT
Definition ktx.h:794
#define KTX_error_code
For backward compatibility.
Definition ktx.h:198
#define ktxTexture_GetImageOffset(This, level, layer, faceSlice, pOffset)
Helper for calling the GetImageOffset virtual method of a ktxTexture.
Definition ktx.h:541
Base class representing a texture.
Definition ktx.h:287
ktx_uint32_t baseWidth
Width of the texture's base level.
Definition ktx.h:288
ktx_uint32_t numLevels
Number of mip levels in the texture.
Definition ktx.h:288
ktx_bool_t isArray
Definition ktx.h:288

Creating a GL texture object from a KTX file.

#include <ktx.h>
ktxTexture* kTexture;
ktx_size_t offset;
ktx_uint8_t* image;
ktx_uint32_t level, layer, faceSlice;
GLuint texture = 0;
GLenum target, glerror;
result = ktxTexture_CreateFromNamedFile("mytex3d.ktx",
KTX_TEXTURE_CREATE_NO_FLAGS,
&kTexture);
// Before the first call to ktxTexture_GLUpload make libktx load its
// function pointers for the GL functions it uses. The parameter is a
// pointer to the GLGetProcAddress function provided by whatever OpenGL
// framework the application is using. The example shown is for SDL.
//
// Note 1: This is unrelated to any GL function pointers the app may be
// using.
// Note 2: When this is not called, libktx has fallback mechanisms to
// find the pointers which work on the vast majority of
// platforms. The only known failures have occurred on Fedora.
result = ktxLoadOpenGL((PFNGLGETPROCADDRESS)SDL_GL_GetProcAddress);
glGenTextures(1, &texture); // Optional. GLUpload can generate a texture.
result = ktxTexture_GLUpload(kTexture, &texture, &target, &glerror);
// ...
// GL rendering using the texture
// ...
KTX_API KTX_error_code KTX_APIENTRY ktxLoadOpenGL(PFNGLGETPROCADDRESS pfnGLGetProcAddress)
Load pointers for the GL functions used by the ktxTexture*_GLUpload functions.
Definition gl_funcs.c:216
PFNVOIDFUNCTION(KTX_APIENTRY * PFNGLGETPROCADDRESS)(const char *proc)
typedef of pointer to function for retrieving OpenGL function pointers.
Definition ktx.h:936

Creating a Vulkan image object from a KTX file.

#include <vulkan/vulkan.h>
#include <ktxvulkan.h>
ktxTexture* kTexture;
ktx_size_t offset;
ktx_uint8_t* image;
ktx_uint32_t level, layer, faceSlice;
// Set up Vulkan physical device (gpu), logical device (device), queue
// and command pool. Save the handles to these in a struct called vkctx.
// ktx VulkanDeviceInfo is used to pass these with the expectation that
// apps are likely to upload a large number of textures.
ktxVulkanDeviceInfo_Construct(&vdi, vkctx.gpu, vkctx.device,
vkctx.queue, vkctx.commandPool, nullptr);
ktxresult = ktxTexture_CreateFromNamedFile("mytex3d.ktx",
KTX_TEXTURE_CREATE_NO_FLAGS,
&kTexture);
ktxresult = ktxTexture_VkUploadEx(kTexture, &vdi, &texture,
VK_IMAGE_TILING_OPTIMAL,
VK_IMAGE_USAGE_SAMPLED_BIT,
VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_SHADER_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL);
ktxVulkanDeviceInfo_Destruct(&vdi);
// ...
// Vulkan rendering using the texture
// ...
// When done using the image in Vulkan...
ktxVulkanTexture_Destruct(&texture, vkctx.device, nullptr);
Struct for passing information about the Vulkan device on which to create images to the texture image...
Definition ktxvulkan.h:188
Struct for returning information about the Vulkan texture image created by the ktxTexture_VkUpload* f...
Definition ktxvulkan.h:108

Extracting Metadata

Once a ktxTexture object has been created, metadata can be easily found and extracted. The following can be added to any of the above.

char* pValue;
uint32_t valueLen;
if (KTX_SUCCESS == ktxHashList_FindValue(&kTexture->kvDataHead,
&valueLen, (void**)&pValue))
{
char s, t;
if (sscanf(pValue, KTX_ORIENTATION2_FMT, &s, &t) == 2) {
...
}
}
@ KTX_SUCCESS
Definition ktx.h:170
#define KTX_ORIENTATION_KEY
Key string for standard orientation metadata.
Definition ktx.h:124
#define KTX_ORIENTATION2_FMT
Standard KTX 1 format for 2D orientation value.
Definition ktx.h:149
ktxHashList kvDataHead
Head of the hash list of metadata.
Definition ktx.h:288

Writing a KTX or KTX2 file

#include <ktx.h>
#include <vkformat_enum.h>
ktxTexture2* texture; // For KTX2
//ktxTexture1* texture; // For KTX
ktx_uint32_t level, layer, faceSlice;
FILE* src;
ktx_size_t srcSize;
createInfo.glInternalformat = GL_RGB8; // Ignored if creating a ktxTexture2.
createInfo.vkFormat = VK_FORMAT_R8G8B8_UNORM; // Ignored if creating a ktxTexture1.
createInfo.baseWidth = 2048;
createInfo.baseHeight = 1024;
createInfo.baseDepth = 16;
createInfo.numDimensions = 3.
// Note: it is not necessary to provide a full mipmap pyramid.
createInfo.numLevels = log2(createInfo.baseWidth) + 1
createInfo.numLayers = 1;
createInfo.numFaces = 1;
createInfo.isArray = KTX_FALSE;
createInfo.generateMipmaps = KTX_FALSE;
// Call ktxTexture1_Create to create a KTX texture.
result = ktxTexture2_Create(&createInfo,
&texture);
src = // Open a stdio FILE* on the baseLevel image, slice 0.
srcSize = // Query size of the file.
level = 0;
layer = 0;
faceSlice = 0;
level, layer, faceSlice,
src, srcSize);
// Repeat for the other 15 slices of the base level and all other levels
// up to createInfo.numLevels.
ktxTexture_WriteToNamedFile(ktxTexture(texture), "mytex3d.ktx");
#define ktxTexture_SetImageFromMemory(This, level, layer, faceSlice, src, srcSize)
Helper for calling the SetImageFromMemory virtual method of a ktxTexture.
Definition ktx.h:609
@ KTX_TEXTURE_CREATE_ALLOC_STORAGE
Definition ktx.h:782
#define ktxTexture_WriteToNamedFile(This, dstname)
Helper for calling the WriteToNamedfile virtual method of a ktxTexture.
Definition ktx.h:639
Class representing a KTX version 2 format texture.
Definition ktx.h:706
Structure for passing texture information to ktxTexture1_Create() and ktxTexture2_Create().
Definition ktx.h:747
ktx_uint32_t glInternalformat
Definition ktx.h:748
ktx_uint32_t numFaces
Definition ktx.h:764
ktx_uint32_t numDimensions
Definition ktx.h:759
ktx_uint32_t baseWidth
Definition ktx.h:756
ktx_uint32_t baseDepth
Definition ktx.h:758
ktx_uint32_t numLevels
Definition ktx.h:761
ktx_bool_t isArray
Definition ktx.h:765
ktx_bool_t generateMipmaps
Definition ktx.h:768
ktx_uint32_t vkFormat
Definition ktx.h:751
ktx_uint32_t numLayers
Definition ktx.h:763
ktx_uint32_t baseHeight
Definition ktx.h:757

Modifying a KTX file

#include <ktx.h>
ktxTexture* texture;
ktx_size_t offset;
ktx_uint8_t* image;
ktx_uint32_t level, layer, faceSlice;
result = ktxTexture_CreateFromNamedFile("mytex3d.ktx",
&texture);
// The file is closed after all the data has been read.
// It is the responsibilty of the application to make sure its
// modifications are valid.
texture->generateMipmaps = KTX_TRUE;
ktxTexture_WriteToNamedFile(texture, "mytex3d.ktx");
ktx_bool_t generateMipmaps
Definition ktx.h:288

Writing a Basis-compressed Universal Texture

Basis compression supports two universal texture formats: BasisLZ/ETC1S and UASTC. The latter gives higher quality at a larger file size. Textures can be compressed to either format using ktxTexture2_CompressBasisEx as shown in this example.

#include <ktx.h>
#include <vkformat_enum.h>
ktxTexture2* texture;
ktx_uint32_t level, layer, faceSlice;
FILE* src;
ktx_size_t srcSize;
ktxBasisParams params = {0};
params.structSize = sizeof(params);
createInfo.glInternalformat = 0; //Ignored as we'll create a KTX2 texture.
createInfo.vkFormat = VK_FORMAT_R8G8B8A8_UNORM;
createInfo.baseWidth = 2048;
createInfo.baseHeight = 1024;
createInfo.baseDepth = 16;
createInfo.numDimensions = 3.
// Note: it is not necessary to provide a full mipmap pyramid.
createInfo.numLevels = log2(createInfo.baseWidth) + 1
createInfo.numLayers = 1;
createInfo.numFaces = 1;
createInfo.isArray = KTX_FALSE;
createInfo.generateMipmaps = KTX_FALSE;
result = ktxTexture2_Create(&createInfo,
&texture);
src = // Open the file for the baseLevel image, slice 0 and
// read it into memory.
srcSize = // Query size of the file.
level = 0;
layer = 0;
faceSlice = 0;
level, layer, faceSlice,
src, srcSize);
// Repeat for the other 15 slices of the base level and all other levels
// up to createInfo.numLevels.
// For BasisLZ/ETC1S
params.compressionLevel = KTX_ETC1S_DEFAULT_COMPRESSION_LEVEL;
// For UASTC
params.uastc = KTX_TRUE;
// Set other BasisLZ/ETC1S or UASTC params to change default quality settings.
result = ktxtexture2_CompressBasisEx(texture, &params);
ktxTexture_WriteToNamedFile(ktxTexture(texture), "mytex3d.ktx2");
Structure for passing extended parameters to ktxTexture2_CompressBasisEx().
Definition ktx.h:1376
ktx_uint32_t compressionLevel
Definition ktx.h:1395
ktx_uint32_t structSize
Definition ktx.h:1377
ktx_bool_t uastc
Definition ktx.h:1381

There is a shortcut that can be used when compressing to BasisLZ/ETC1S. Remove the declaration and initialization of params in the previous example and replace ktxtexture2_CompressBasisEx with

// Quality range is 1 - 255. 0 gets the default quality, currently 128.
// The qualityLevel field in ktxBasisParams is set from this.
int quality = 0;
result = ktxTexture2_CompressBasis(texture, quality);

Transcoding a BasisLZ/ETC1S or UASTC-compressed Texture

#include <ktx.h>
ktxTexture2* texture;
result = ktxTexture_CreateFromNamedFile("mytex3d_basis.ktx2",
KTX_TEXTURE_CREATE_NO_FLAGS,
(ktxTexture**)&kTexture);
// or
//result = ktxTexture2_CreateFromNamedFile("mytex3d_basis.ktx2",
// KTX_TEXTURE_CREATE_NO_FLAGS,
// &kTexture);
if (ktxTexture2_NeedsTranscoding(texture)) {
ktx_texture_transcode_fmt_e tf;
// Using VkGetPhysicalDeviceFeatures or GL_COMPRESSED_TEXTURE_FORMATS or
// extension queries, determine what compressed texture formats are
// supported and pick a format. For example
vk::PhysicalDeviceFeatures deviceFeatures;
vkctx.gpu.getFeatures(&deviceFeatures);
khr_df_model_e colorModel = ktxTexture2_GetColorModel_e(texture);
if (colorModel == KHR_DF_MODEL_UASTC
&& deviceFeatures.textureCompressionASTC_LDR) {
} else if (colorModel == KHR_DF_MODEL_ETC1S
&& deviceFeatures.textureCompressionETC2) {
} else if (deviceFeatures.textureCompressionASTC_LDR) {
} else if (deviceFeatures.textureCompressionETC2)
else if (deviceFeatures.textureCompressionBC)
else {
message << "Vulkan implementation does not support any available transcode target.";
throw std::runtime_error(message.str());
}
result = ktxTexture2_TranscodeBasis(texture, tf, 0);
// Then use VkUpload or GLUpload to create a texture object on the GPU.
}
@ KTX_TTF_ASTC_4x4_RGBA
Definition ktx.h:1590
@ KTX_TTF_BC3_RGBA
Definition ktx.h:1562
@ KTX_TTF_ETC2_RGBA
Definition ktx.h:1552
@ KTX_TTF_ETC
Definition ktx.h:1634

Writing an ASTC-Compressed Texture

#include <ktx.h>
#include <vkformat_enum.h>
ktxTexture2* texture;
ktx_uint32_t level, layer, faceSlice;
FILE* src;
ktx_size_t srcSize;
ktxAstcParams params = {0};
params.structSize = sizeof(params);
createInfo.glInternalformat = 0; //Ignored as we'll create a KTX2 texture.
createInfo.vkFormat = VK_FORMAT_R8G8B8A8_UNORM;
createInfo.baseWidth = 2048;
createInfo.baseHeight = 1024;
createInfo.baseDepth = 16;
createInfo.numDimensions = 3.
// Note: it is not necessary to provide a full mipmap pyramid.
createInfo.numLevels = log2(createInfo.baseWidth) + 1
createInfo.numLayers = 1;
createInfo.numFaces = 1;
createInfo.isArray = KTX_FALSE;
createInfo.generateMipmaps = KTX_FALSE;
result = ktxTexture2_Create(&createInfo,
&texture);
src = // Open the file for the baseLevel image, slice 0 and
// read it into memory.
srcSize = // Query size of the file.
level = 0;
layer = 0;
faceSlice = 0;
level, layer, faceSlice,
src, srcSize);
// Repeat for the other 15 slices of the base level and all other levels
// up to createInfo.numLevels.
params.threadCount = 1;
params.blockDimension = KTX_PACK_ASTC_BLOCK_DIMENSION_6x6;
params.mode = KTX_PACK_ASTC_ENCODER_MODE_LDR;
result = ktxtexture2_CompressAstcEx(texture, &params);
ktxTexture_WriteToNamedFile(ktxTexture(texture), "mytex3d.ktx2");
@ KTX_PACK_ASTC_QUALITY_LEVEL_MEDIUM
Definition ktx.h:1230
Structure for passing extended parameters to ktxTexture_CompressAstc.
Definition ktx.h:1299
ktx_uint32_t threadCount
Definition ktx.h:1310
ktx_uint32_t structSize
Definition ktx.h:1300
ktx_uint32_t blockDimension
Definition ktx.h:1315
ktx_uint32_t mode
Definition ktx.h:1320
ktx_uint32_t qualityLevel
Definition ktx.h:1324

There is a shortcut that can be used when the only params field you want to modify is the qualityLevel. Remove the declaration and initialization of params in the previous example and replace ktxtexture2_CompressAstcEx with

// Quality range is 0 - 100. 0 is fastest/lowest. 100 is slowest/highest.
result = ktxTexture2_CompressAstc(texture, quality);