Renderers - Rive

rive::gpu::RenderContext is the API-agnostic frontend to Rive’s GPU renderer. You create one of the per-backend *Impl::MakeContext factories, hand it to your render loop, and the rest of the C++ API stays identical.

RenderContext layering: your code drives RenderContext via beginFrame/flush; RenderContext delegates to a per-backend RenderContextImpl (D3D11, D3D12, Metal, Vulkan, GL), which in turn talks to the underlying GPU API (DXGI, IOSurface, VkSwapchain, ...).

RenderContext also implements rive::Factory, so the same object you pass to File::import is the one that owns your GPU resources.

D3D11
D3D12
Metal
Vulkan
OpenGL / WebGL

Header: rive/renderer/d3d11/render_context_d3d_impl.hpp

#include "rive/renderer/d3d11/render_context_d3d_impl.hpp"

using namespace rive::gpu;

ComPtr<ID3D11Device>        device;
ComPtr<ID3D11DeviceContext> context;
// ... create device + context with D3D_FEATURE_LEVEL_11_1 ...

D3DContextOptions options;
options.isIntel = adapterDesc.VendorId == 0x163C ||
                  adapterDesc.VendorId == 0x8086 ||
                  adapterDesc.VendorId == 0x8087;

std::unique_ptr<RenderContext> rc =
    RenderContextD3DImpl::MakeContext(device, context, options);

auto* impl = rc->static_impl_cast<RenderContextD3DImpl>();
rcp<RenderTargetD3D> target = impl->makeRenderTarget(width, height);

// Each frame: bind the current backbuffer to the render target.
target->setTargetTexture(backbufferTexture);

Swap-chain notes:

Set BufferUsage = DXGI_USAGE_RENDER_TARGET_OUTPUT | DXGI_USAGE_UNORDERED_ACCESS.
Use DXGI_FORMAT_R8G8B8A8_UNORM (or the _SRGB variant); other formats may force the renderer onto an offscreen path.
Set options.isIntel = true on Intel HD Graphics — works around a driver bug in pixel-local-storage emulation.

For a working reference, see Rive’s tests/player sample app and the D3D-specific wiring in tests/common/offscreen_rendertarget_d3d.cpp.

Header: rive/renderer/d3d12/render_context_d3d12_impl.hpp

#include "rive/renderer/d3d12/render_context_d3d12_impl.hpp"

using namespace rive::gpu;

ComPtr<ID3D12Device>              device;
ComPtr<ID3D12GraphicsCommandList> initList; // recording state

D3DContextOptions options;
std::unique_ptr<RenderContext> rc =
    RenderContextD3D12Impl::MakeContext(device, initList.Get(), options);

auto* impl = rc->static_impl_cast<RenderContextD3D12Impl>();
rcp<RenderTargetD3D12> target = impl->makeRenderTarget(width, height);

Each frame, populate RenderContext::FlushResources::externalCommandBuffer with the ID3D12GraphicsCommandList that should record Rive’s draws, and bump currentFrameNumber / safeFrameNumber so the renderer can recycle buffers safely against your fence values.

The init command list passed to MakeContext must be in the recording state. The renderer uses it to upload static buffers. Submit it (and wait for the GPU to finish) before issuing any frames.

Header: rive/renderer/metal/render_context_metal_impl.h

#import "rive/renderer/metal/render_context_metal_impl.h"

using namespace rive::gpu;

id<MTLDevice> device = MTLCreateSystemDefaultDevice();

RenderContextMetalImpl::ContextOptions opts;
std::unique_ptr<RenderContext> rc =
    RenderContextMetalImpl::MakeContext(device, opts);

Pass an id<MTLCommandBuffer> per frame via FlushResources::externalCommandBuffer. Rive does not present — you own the CAMetalLayer and the present call.

Header: rive/renderer/vulkan/render_context_vulkan_impl.hpp

#include "rive/renderer/vulkan/render_context_vulkan_impl.hpp"

using namespace rive::gpu;

VulkanFeatures features;
features.independentBlend = true;        // detected from device features
// ... fill out from VkPhysicalDeviceFeatures ...

std::unique_ptr<RenderContext> rc =
    RenderContextVulkanImpl::MakeContext(
        instance,
        physicalDevice,
        device,
        features,
        vkGetInstanceProcAddr);

Each frame:

Set FlushResources::externalCommandBuffer to a recording VkCommandBuffer.
Set FlushResources::currentFrameNumber to the frame index you’ll signal, and safeFrameNumber to the most recent frame whose fence you’ve waited on.

Vulkan is the only backend that supports FrameDescriptor::virtualTileWidth / virtualTileHeight (frame splitting), useful for letting other workloads pre-empt Rive on tiled GPUs.

Header: rive/renderer/gl/render_context_gl_impl.hpp

#include "rive/renderer/gl/render_context_gl_impl.hpp"
#include "rive/renderer/gl/render_target_gl.hpp"

using namespace rive::gpu;

RenderContextGLImpl::ContextOptions opts;
// opts.disableFragmentShaderInterlock = true; // if your driver lies

std::unique_ptr<RenderContext> rc = RenderContextGLImpl::MakeContext(opts);

Construct a render target that wraps either an external texture or an existing FBO — the doc graph stays the same, only the binding differs:

// Render into a texture you own.
rcp<TextureRenderTargetGL> target =
    make_rcp<TextureRenderTargetGL>(width, height);
target->setTargetTexture(externalTextureID);   // GLuint, you keep ownership

// Or, render into an existing FBO you own.
rcp<FramebufferRenderTargetGL> target =
    make_rcp<FramebufferRenderTargetGL>(
        width, height, fboId, sampleCount);

Prefer TextureRenderTargetGL when you can — FramebufferRenderTargetGL often has to render to an offscreen texture and blit back, because the external FBO is usually not readable.Capability tiers Rive will auto-select between:

Pixel Local Storage (best — Apple GPUs, modern mobile).
Fragment Shader Interlock (NVIDIA, Intel via GL_INTEL_…).
R/W Texture / EXT_shader_pixel_local_storage fallbacks.
MSAA path on truly minimal drivers.

For WebGL 2: the same header builds against Emscripten — MakeContext will pick the WebGL-compatible PLS implementation automatically.

Picking Modes per Frame

RenderContext::FrameDescriptor carries flags that change the rendering algorithm:

Field	Effect
`loadAction`	`clear` (default) / `preserveRenderTarget` / `dontCare`.
`clearColor`	ARGB; only used when `loadAction == clear`.
`msaaSampleCount`	Nonzero forces MSAA mode and disables PLS.
`disableRasterOrdering`	Forces the atomic path even where rasterizer ordering is supported.
`ditherMode`	`none` or `interleavedGradientNoise` (default).

Most apps leave these at defaults. Override only when you see a specific issue on a specific GPU.

Choosing a Backend

Platform	Recommendation
Windows desktop	D3D11 if you only need 11-class hardware, D3D12 for newer engines.
macOS / iOS	Metal.
Android	Vulkan on supported devices, GLES as fallback.
Linux desktop	Vulkan.
Web	WebGL 2 via `RenderContextGLImpl` (build with Emscripten).
Game console	Talk to Rive — separate runtimes ship for PS5, Xbox, and Switch.

​Picking Modes per Frame

​Choosing a Backend

Picking Modes per Frame

Choosing a Backend