Zest¶

A lightweight single-header rendering library

Zest is a C11-compatible rendering library with a clean, modern API designed for multiple graphics backends. It provides a frame graph execution model, bindless descriptors, and automatic resource management - all in a single header file. Currently Vulkan is the primary backend, with DirectX, Metal, and WebGPU planned for the future.

Key Features¶

• Single Header - Just #include <zest.h> and you're ready to go
• Frame Graph System - Declarative rendering with automatic barrier insertion, pass culling, and resource management
• Bindless Descriptors - Global descriptor set with indexed access to all textures and buffers
• TLSF Memory Allocator - Efficient GPU memory management with minimal fragmentation
• Dynamic Rendering - No pre-baked render pass objects needed; render passes are configured at draw time
• Layer System - Built-in support for instanced sprites, meshes and static meshes

Requirements¶

• GPU with bindless descriptor support
• SDL2 for windowing (or any other windowing library of your choice)
• C11 compiler (also compiles as C++)

Vulkan backend: Requires Vulkan 1.2+ capable GPU

Quick Start¶

#define ZEST_IMPLEMENTATION
#define ZEST_VULKAN_IMPLEMENTATION
#include <zest.h>

int main() {
    // Create window and device (one per application)
    zest_window_data_t window = zest_implsdl2_CreateWindow(50, 50, 1280, 768, 0, "My App");
    zest_device device = zest_implsdl2_CreateVulkanDevice(&window, false);

    // Create context
    zest_create_context_info_t info = zest_CreateContextInfo();
    zest_context context = zest_CreateContext(device, &window, &info);

    // Main loop with frame graph...
}

Documentation Sections¶

Examples¶

Zest includes 16 working examples demonstrating various features:

View all examples :octicons-arrow-right-24: