lsfg-vk

Note

This repository is a branch of lsfg-vk 1.0.0 with Android-specific patches added on top. Together with the LSFG-Android app one directory above, this branch enables native frame generation on Android, no root required. The Linux build path is unchanged from upstream: every Android-only change is guarded by #ifdef __ANDROID__, and Linux builds produce a layer binary indistinguishable from upstream 1.0.0.

Lossless Scaling is a Windows-exclusive app with the goal of bringing frame generation (among other features) to every single game or app.

lsfg-vk brings this frame generation to Linux users by acting as a Vulkan layer in between your game and your graphics card.

Tip

lsfg-vk 1.0.0 is itself a pre-release of the upstream project. Issues found in the upstream code path should be reported to the upstream project; issues specific to the Android port belong in the LSFG-Android repository.

Installation (Linux)

lsfg-vk can run on a variety of Linux distributions:

• Click here to download lsfg-vk for your distribution.
• Follow this guide if you need any more help.

Once installed, open up the lsfg-vk Configuration Window which should hopefully appear in your application menu.

Please see the Wiki for more information and join the Discord for help (needs Steam verification).

Native Android

The Android-specific patches in this branch are consumed by the LSFG-Android app, which runs frame generation on a MediaProjection capture and composites the result in a system overlay over the target game.

Why a separate API surface was needed: Adreno and Mali drivers refuse vkGetMemoryFdKHR on memory imported from an AHardwareBuffer. The upstream FD-based image-sharing path therefore can't be reused on Android. The Android additions replace it with an AHB-native path: callers hand framegen AHardwareBuffer* directly, framegen imports them via VK_ANDROID_external_memory_android_hardware_buffer into its own device, and a new waitIdle entry exposes vkDeviceWaitIdle so a host Vulkan session sharing the same AHBs can synchronize without a cross-device semaphore (which Vulkan does not define).

The Android build does not run from this directory. The consumer is the Android Studio project at ../LSFG-Android/, which pulls framegen/ in via CMake add_subdirectory() from the relative path ../../../../../lsfg-vk-android in its JNI CMakeLists.txt. See ../LSFG-Android/README.md for the build flow.

Differences from upstream lsfg-vk 1.0.0

No upstream files were removed and no new top-level files were added — the Android branch is a set of additive #ifdef __ANDROID__ patches inside the existing tree. Per-file summary:

File	Change
framegen/public/lsfg_3_1.hpp, framegen/public/lsfg_3_1p.hpp	Added forward decl struct AHardwareBuffer; and the public Android entry points createContextFromAHB(...) and waitIdle().
framegen/v3.1_src/lsfg.cpp, framegen/v3.1p_src/lsfg.cpp	Implementation of createContextFromAHB and waitIdle.
framegen/v3.1_include/v3_1/context.hpp, framegen/v3.1p_include/v3_1p/context.hpp	Added Context constructor overload taking AHardwareBuffer* inputs and outputs.
framegen/v3.1_src/context.cpp, framegen/v3.1p_src/context.cpp	Implementation of the AHB constructor — same shader chain as the FD constructor, but inputs and outputs are seeded from caller-supplied AHBs.
framegen/v3.1_include/v3_1/shaders/generate.hpp, framegen/v3.1p_include/v3_1p/shaders/generate.hpp	Added Generate(...) overload taking pre-allocated Core::Image outputs (the AHB path needs them); added a getOutImages() accessor so the host can do queue-family acquire/release on output AHBs.
framegen/v3.1_src/shaders/generate.cpp, framegen/v3.1p_src/shaders/generate.cpp	Implementation of the new Generate constructor.
framegen/include/core/image.hpp	Forward decl struct AHardwareBuffer;, new Image constructor that imports an AHB via VK_ANDROID_external_memory_android_hardware_buffer + VkImportAndroidHardwareBufferInfoANDROID with a dedicated allocation, and an externalShared flag.
framegen/src/core/image.cpp	Implementation of the AHB-backed Image constructor.
framegen/src/core/device.cpp	Android variant of the device-extension list. Replaces VK_KHR_external_memory_fd + VK_KHR_external_semaphore_fd with VK_ANDROID_external_memory_android_hardware_buffer, VK_KHR_external_memory, VK_KHR_sampler_ycbcr_conversion, VK_KHR_dedicated_allocation, VK_KHR_get_memory_requirements2, VK_KHR_bind_memory2, VK_KHR_maintenance1. VK_EXT_robustness2 stays mandatory on both targets.
Top-level CMakeLists.txt	Minor build glue so the Android Studio project can pull framegen/ in via add_subdirectory().
thirdparty/	Unchanged. Same volk, pe-parse, dxbc, toml11 as upstream 1.0.0. The Android Studio project consumes volk, pe-parse, and dxbc directly from this branch.

Public Android API at a glance

Symbol	Where	What it adds
LSFG_3_1::createContextFromAHB / LSFG_3_1P::createContextFromAHB	framegen/public/lsfg_3_1{,p}.hpp, framegen/v3.1{,p}_src/lsfg.cpp	Public Android API: takes AHardwareBuffer* instead of opaque file descriptors.
LSFG_3_1::waitIdle / LSFG_3_1P::waitIdle	framegen/public/lsfg_3_1{,p}.hpp, framegen/v3.1{,p}_src/lsfg.cpp	Exposes vkDeviceWaitIdle on framegen's internal device so a host Vulkan session sharing AHBs can synchronize without a cross-device semaphore.
Image::Image(..., AHardwareBuffer*)	framegen/include/core/image.hpp, framegen/src/core/image.cpp	Imports an AHB into a VkImage via VK_ANDROID_external_memory_android_hardware_buffer + VkImportAndroidHardwareBufferInfoANDROID, with dedicated allocation.
Context::Context(..., AHardwareBuffer*, ...)	framegen/v3.1{,p}_include/v3_1{,p}/context.hpp, framegen/v3.1{,p}_src/context.cpp	Mirror of the FD constructor, building the same shader chain but seeding inputs/outputs from caller-provided AHBs.
Generate(..., std::vector<Core::Image> outImgs)	framegen/v3.1{,p}_include/v3_1{,p}/shaders/generate.hpp, framegen/v3.1{,p}_src/shaders/generate.cpp	Variant that accepts pre-built output images instead of allocating from FDs. Used by the AHB context.
Device extension list, Android variant	framegen/src/core/device.cpp	Replaces the FD extension chain with the AHB extension chain. VK_EXT_robustness2 stays required.

Compatibility note

These patches only execute when the caller uses the new *FromAHB entry points. The FD-based public API is untouched, so Linux builds of lsfg-vk-android produce a layer binary indistinguishable from upstream lsfg-vk 1.0.0. The Linux build commands documented upstream work on this branch unchanged.

Credits

• PancakeTAS — author of the original lsfg-vk Linux port, which is the foundation this branch builds on.
• THS / Lossless Scaling — creator of the official Windows app Lossless Scaling, whose frame-generation technology makes all of this possible.
• FrankBarretta — port from Linux to Android (this branch and the consumer app LSFG-Android).