libretro / libretro/RetroArch

Qt AppImage fails to open on CachyOS + AMD GPU with vulkan enabled

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Description

Is there an existing issue for this?
  • This is a bug in RetroArch frontend
  • I have searched the existing issues
Description

Qt AppImage does not start with video_driver = "vulkan"
This bug can be resolved on my system by removing libxcb-present and libxcb-randr
Replacing them with the libraries from my system makes it run on my system, as well as Ubuntu 24.04 through Distrobox but not Ubuntu 22.04
A similar issue seems to have been reported in https://github.com/libretro/RetroArch/issues/13714 but that seems to be an issue with a different library
This issue does not arise using the non-Qt AppImage or on my laptop running the same distro but with an Nvidia GPU

Expected behavior

Retroarch opens

Steps to reproduce the bug

Use a PC with CachyOS (might happen on other arch-based distros) installed and an AMD GPU
Set video_driver = "vulkan"

Version/Commit

1.22.2

Bisect Results

No response

Present in the nightly version

Yes, this is reproduced in the nightly build

Platform & operating system

CachyOS x86_64

Affected Cores

No response

Environment information

Window Manager: KWin/Wayland

Relevant log output
[luna@luna-desktop RetroArch-Linux-x86_64]$ ./RetroArch-Linux-x86_64.AppImage -v
Setting $HOME to /mnt/hdd/Downloads/RetroArch-Linux-x86_64/RetroArch-Linux-x86_64.AppImage.home
[INFO] [Config] Looking for config in: "/mnt/hdd/Downloads/RetroArch-Linux-x86_64/RetroArch-Linux-x86_64.AppImage.home/.config/retroarch/retroarch.cfg".
[INFO] RetroArch 1.22.2 (Git 04731c7)
[INFO] === Build =======================================
[INFO] CPU Model Name: AMD Ryzen 5 7600 6-Core Processor              
[INFO] Capabilities: MMX MMXEXT SSE SSE2 SSE3 SSSE3 SSE4 SSE42 AES AVX AVX2 AVX512 
[INFO] Version: 1.22.2
[INFO] Git: 04731c7
[INFO] Built: Apr 22 2026
[INFO] =================================================
[INFO] [Input] Found input driver: "x".
[INFO] [Environ] SET_PIXEL_FORMAT: RGB565.
[INFO] [Core] Version of libretro API: 1, Compiled against API: 1
[INFO] [Core] Geometry: 320x240, Aspect: 1.333, FPS: 143.85, Sample rate: 48000.00 Hz.
[INFO] [Video] Set video size to: 960x720.
[INFO] [Wayland] Registered interface wl_compositor at version 6.
[INFO] [Wayland] Registered interface zxdg_decoration_manager_v1 at version 1.
[INFO] [Wayland] Registered interface wp_viewporter at version 1.
[INFO] [Wayland] Registered interface wp_fractional_scale_manager_v1 at version 1.
[INFO] [Wayland] Registered interface wl_shm at version 2.
[INFO] [Wayland] Registered interface wl_seat at version 10.
[INFO] [Wayland] Registered interface zwp_pointer_constraints_v1 at version 1.
[INFO] [Wayland] Registered interface zwp_relative_pointer_manager_v1 at version 1.
[INFO] [Wayland] Registered interface wl_data_device_manager at version 3.
[INFO] [Wayland] Registered interface wp_cursor_shape_manager_v1 at version 2.
[INFO] [Wayland] Registered interface zwp_idle_inhibit_manager_v1 at version 1.
[INFO] [Wayland] Registered interface wp_content_type_manager_v1 at version 1.
[INFO] [Wayland] Registered interface xdg_toplevel_icon_manager_v1 at version 1.
[INFO] [Wayland] Registered interface wp_single_pixel_buffer_manager_v1 at version 1.
[INFO] [Wayland] Registered interface xdg_wm_base at version 6.
[INFO] [Wayland] Registered interface wl_output at version 4.
[INFO] [Wayland] Registered interface wl_output at version 4.
[INFO] [Vulkan] Vulkan dynamic library loaded.
[ERROR] [Vulkan] Could not find required instance extensions. Will attempt without them.
[ERROR] [Vulkan] Instance does not support required extensions.
[ERROR] [Vulkan] Failed to create Vulkan instance.
[INFO] [Vulkan] Vulkan dynamic library loaded.
[ERROR] [Vulkan] Could not find required instance extensions. Will attempt without them.
[ERROR] [Vulkan] Instance does not support required extensions.
[ERROR] [Vulkan] Failed to create Vulkan instance.
[INFO] [Vulkan] Vulkan dynamic library loaded.
[ERROR] [Vulkan] Could not find required instance extensions. Will attempt without them.
[ERROR] [Vulkan] Instance does not support required extensions.
[ERROR] [Vulkan] Failed to create Vulkan instance.
[ERROR] [Vulkan] Failed to create Vulkan context.
[INFO] [Vulkan] Using resolution 320x240.
[ERROR] [Vulkan] Failed to get context data.
[ERROR] [Video] Cannot open video driver. Exiting...
[ERROR] Fatal error received in: "video_driver_init_internal()"
[INFO] [Core] Unloading core...
[INFO] [Core] Unloading core symbols...

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by reproducing the Qt AppImage failure on CachyOS with an AMD GPU and video_driver set to vulkan, then inspect the Vulkan initialization path indicated by the log messages about missing instance extensions. Compare behavior with the non-Qt AppImage and with the system versions of libxcb-present and libxcb-randr; done means the affected AppImage opens with Vulkan enabled without removing bundled libraries.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
c
Domain
computer-graphics, desktop
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
48/100

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