swung0x48
d83fc6643a
The Android retrace matrix gains a third lane, spawn-acceptance, beside
monolith-control and inproc-acceptance. Until now nothing in CI had ever
started a second MobileGL process on a device at all.
The apk.yml retrace job already carried a `transport` matrix dimension and
already branched on it, so the lane itself is three edits: a row in
github_transport_matrix, an elif in the retrace step, and a summary to render.
What needed thought was the gate.
THE SPAWN LANE IS APK-ONLY, and that is a statement about where evidence is
missing rather than about what spawn can do. Linux already has
test.yml's `retrace-split`, which is {backend, case, transport} over inproc AND
spawn with the two negative controls that make it mean anything. A spawn row in
the Linux transport matrix would pay for a second full sweep proving nothing -
and test.yml's `retrace` job stages no server image, so the lane would not
merely be redundant, it would be red. self_test_transport_matrices now asserts
the absence in both directions, because an accidental removal of the `if apk`
has to be caught in the self-test rather than in CI.
--require-spawn REQUIRES TWO SENTENCES, and the second is the one that matters.
ConfigLoader's marker proves the VALUE RESOLVED - it exists only in the Spawn
arm, which exists only under MOBILEGL_BUILD_DISAGGREGATED - but that is a
statement about a parser. `spawn ARMED - the server role runs in pid N` is
written only after the launch, the connect and the handshake have all
succeeded, and the pid in it is the SERVER's. It is the only line in the log a
same-process run cannot produce.
Both halves red once, measured:
* a monolith run demanded to prove spawn: REFUSED, transport_resolution_marker
false, server_pid null - while the retrace itself scored ssim=1.000000,
which is exactly the trap. OpenRA matches its golden under monolith too, so
the picture has never been the evidence.
* the same run's real spawn log with the one ARMED line deleted: REFUSED,
transport_resolution_marker TRUE and server_pid null. That is the
"resolved the transport and then never left the process" case, isolated.
THE PROOF USES `any` WHERE THE inproc GATE USES `all`, and the difference is
load-bearing rather than a relaxation. Under spawn two processes append to one
MOBILEGL_LOG_FILE_PATH, and the launcher deliberately scrubs every
MOBILEGL_IPC_* from the child's environment (anti-recursion catch (b)) - so the
server's own `Config: IPC` line reads strict=0 role-split-state=0 BY
CONSTRUCTION. Demanding every line match would red every spawn run for the one
thing the design requires.
--use-pbuffer is not optional on this lane: until P12 a spawned server cannot be
handed a window, because an ANativeWindow* is a pointer into the CLIENT's
process (Rule H). MOBILEGL_IPC_SERVER_PATH is deliberately NOT passed -
nativeLibraryDir carries an install-time hash that nothing off the device can
spell, and the Activity resolves it.
The local runner now passes the same knobs and the same --require-* flag CI
does, so "it works locally" can no longer mean "it ran monolith locally". That
change immediately caught its own omission: the first local run with the gate
armed failed on client_ipc_line_present=false because the runner had been
sending MOBILEGL_TRANSPORT alone.
Verified on device 2f7cbe2e: OpenRA.DirectGLES spawn, ssim=1.000000,
mismatchPixels=0, "real spawn transport, server role in pid 9885, and zero
Fatal records confirmed".
MobileGL
A desktop OpenGL implementation
MobileGL is a free and open-source project that implements a desktop OpenGL API. The goal is to provide a complete desktop OpenGL implementation with a state management layer and multi-backend support.
Note
Status: In development. Parts of the codebase are incomplete. Current short-term target: OpenGL 4.2 (Core Profile).
Project positioning
MobileGL is an implementation of a desktop OpenGL library. It aims to provide:
- Full OpenGL state management.
- A front-end that exposes OpenGL functions.
- Multiple independent backend implementations, where each backend targets a specific graphics API and remains fully isolated from others.
This project is intended as an implementation/translation layer.
Key components
The repository is organized into following top-level modules:
- MG_State — state tracking and management logic for Graphics APIs.
- MG_Impl — front-end implementations of Graphics APIs that interact with
MG_StateandMG_Backend. - MG_Backend — per-backend translation layer that maps front-end Graphics APIs' semantics and state into concrete backend API calls (e.g. OpenGL ES, Vulkan).
- MG_Util and other utility modules.
Third-party components
MobileGL reuses several open-source projects:
- SPIRV-Cross by KhronosGroup - Apache License 2.0: github
- glslang by KhronosGroup - Various Licenses: github
- DiligentCore by Diligent Graphics - Apache License 2.0: github
- flat_hash_map by Malte Skarupke - Boost Software License 1.0: github
Refer to each component's repository for exact license texts. Any bundled third-party code in this repository is included under the upstream project's license.
Compatibility & target
- Short-term target:
OpenGL 4.2 (Core Profile). - Current development focus:
- Performance improvement
MG_StateandMG_ImplforOpenGL 4.2 (Core Profile)Direct (Vulkan)backendDirect (OpenGL ES)backend
Build Instructions
We currently provide no releases and no precompiled binaries.
If you want to try the project right now, you’ll need to build it yourself:
-
Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/MobileGL-Dev/MobileGL.git -
Initialize and update all submodules recursively:
git submodule update --init --recursive -
Follow glslang’s own documentation for its required initiation.
-
Configure and build the project with CMake:
cmake -B build cmake --build buildor do it in a modern way:
cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=clang -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=clang++ cmake --build buildAlternatively, you can use platform-specific build commands as needed.
Build For macOS
On macOS, MobileGL can be built as a dylib that exposes the normal OpenGL/CGL/NSOpenGL entry points and routes them to the DirectVulkan backend. This is useful for running applications such as Minecraft through their stock GLFW/LWJGL OpenGL path while MobileGL is injected before context creation.
Prerequisites:
- macOS with Clang and Ninja.
- Vulkan loader and MoltenVK installed. With Homebrew, the MoltenVK ICD is commonly located at
/opt/homebrew/etc/vulkan/icd.d/MoltenVK_icd.json.
Configure and build:
cmake -S . -B build-macos-magma \
-G Ninja \
-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
-DMOBILEGL_BACKEND_TYPE=DirectVulkan \
-DMOBILEGL_BUILD_TEST=OFF \
-DMOBILEGL_BUILD_BENCHMARK=OFF
cmake --build build-macos-magma --target MobileGL -j8
The dylib will be generated at:
build-macos-magma/libMobileGL.dylib
To run Minecraft by MobileGL from a launcher like PrismLauncher, keep the stock LWJGL/GLFW natives and add a wrapper command to the instance settings:
env DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES=/absolute/path/to/MobileGL/build-macos-magma/libMobileGL.dylib MOBILEGL_BACKEND_TYPE=DirectVulkan VK_ICD_FILENAMES=/opt/homebrew/etc/vulkan/icd.d/MoltenVK_icd.json
Also make sure the JVM arguments include:
-XstartOnFirstThread
DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES must be active before GLFW creates its OpenGL context. After startup, the Minecraft F3 screen should report MobileGL and the Direct (Vulkan) backend if the injection worked.
Build Options
| Option | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
MOBILEGL_BUILD_TEST |
Build MobileGL tests (requires Clang) | ON |
MOBILEGL_BUILD_BENCHMARK |
Build MobileGL benchmarks (requires Clang) | ON |
MOBILEGL_FORCE_RELEASE_OPT |
Enable O3 and LTO in Debug build | ON |
MOBILEGL_ENABLE_TRACY |
Enable Tracy profiler for performance analysis | OFF |
Notes:
- The project requires C++23.
MG_TestandMG_Benchmarkcan only be built with Clang, not GCC. To enforce Clang, add-DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=clang -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=clang++to your command.- On Android, tests and benchmarks are always disabled.
Environment Variables
MobileGL supports runtime configuration via environment variables.
Supported Keys
| Variable | Description | Allowed Values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
MOBILEGL_BACKEND_TYPE |
Select active backend implementation at startup. | DirectGLES, DirectVulkan |
DirectGLES |
MOBILEGL_DISABLE_TIMERQUERY |
Disable GPU timer-query exposure and use. | 0, 1 |
0 |
MOBILEGL_ESPRYT_USE_ANGLE |
Load ANGLE EGL/GLES libraries. | 0, 1 |
0 |
MOBILEGL_MAGMA_DISABLE_SUBGROUP |
Disable Vulkan shader subgroup support. | 0, 1 |
0 |
MOBILEGL_ADVERTISE_FP64 |
Advertise GL_ARB_gpu_shader_fp64. GLSL double/dvec/dmat compile and run either way - they are narrowed to 32 bits - so this only changes whether an application is told it has 64-bit precision, which it does not. |
0, 1 |
0 |
MOBILEGL_MAGMA_R11G11B10F_FALLBACK |
Use Magma's R11G11B10F format fallback. | 0, 1 |
0 |
MOBILEGL_MAGMA_FRAMESINFLIGHT |
Set Magma frames in flight. | Integer 1–64 |
3 |
MOBILEGL_ESPRYT_AVOID_SAMPLER_MIPMAP_MIN_FILTER |
Avoid sampler mipmap minification filters. | 0, 1 |
0 |
MOBILEGL_COHERENT_AS_FLUSH |
Treat persistent GL_MAP_FLUSH_EXPLICIT_BIT maps as coherent (app-compat for engines like Flywheel that never flush them). |
0, 1 |
0 |
MOBILEGL_ESPRYT_FORCE_DS_READBACK_EMULATION |
Always emulate depth/stencil glReadPixels/glGetTexImage by shader sampling on Espryt, instead of using the driver's own depth/stencil readback where it has one. |
0, 1 |
0 |
VK_ICD_FILENAMES |
Select the Vulkan ICD used by the Vulkan loader. | Path to an ICD JSON file | Loader default |
License
This project is distributed under GNU LGPL v3.0. See the LICENSE file in the repository for detailed information.