D3D12_GRAPHICS_PIPELINE_STATE_DESC

Namespace: D3D12

The D3D12_GRAPHICS_PIPELINE_STATE_DESC structure describes a graphics pipeline state object (PSO) for Direct3D 12. It encapsulates shader bytecode, rasterizer state, blend state, depth‑stencil state, and other fixed‑function configurations required to render geometry.

Structure Definition

typedef struct D3D12_GRAPHICS_PIPELINE_STATE_DESC {
    ID3D12RootSignature*                pRootSignature;
    D3D12_SHADER_BYTECODE               VS;
    D3D12_SHADER_BYTECODE               PS;
    D3D12_SHADER_BYTECODE               DS;
    D3D12_SHADER_BYTECODE               HS;
    D3D12_SHADER_BYTECODE               GS;
    D3D12_STREAM_OUTPUT_DESC            StreamOutput;
    D3D12_BLEND_DESC                    BlendState;
    UINT                                 SampleMask;
    D3D12_RASTERIZER_DESC               RasterizerState;
    D3D12_DEPTH_STENCIL_DESC            DepthStencilState;
    D3D12_INPUT_LAYOUT_DESC             InputLayout;
    D3D12_INDEX_BUFFER_STRIP_CUT_VALUE  IBStripCutValue;
    D3D12_PRIMITIVE_TOPOLOGY_TYPE       PrimitiveTopologyType;
    UINT                                 NumRenderTargets;
    DXGI_FORMAT                          RTVFormats[8];
    DXGI_FORMAT                          DSVFormat;
    DXGI_SAMPLE_DESC                    SampleDesc;
    UINT                                 NodeMask;
    D3D12_CACHED_PIPELINE_STATE          CachedPSO;
    D3D12_PIPELINE_STATE_FLAGS          Flags;
} D3D12_GRAPHICS_PIPELINE_STATE_DESC;

Members

Member	Type	Description
`pRootSignature`	`ID3D12RootSignature*`	Root signature used by the pipeline.
`VS`	`D3D12_SHADER_BYTECODE`	Vertex shader bytecode.
`PS`	`D3D12_SHADER_BYTECODE`	Pixel (fragment) shader bytecode.
`DS`	`D3D12_SHADER_BYTECODE`	Domain shader bytecode (optional).
`HS`	`D3D12_SHADER_BYTECODE`	Hull shader bytecode (optional).
`GS`	`D3D12_SHADER_BYTECODE`	Geometry shader bytecode (optional).
`StreamOutput`	`D3D12_STREAM_OUTPUT_DESC`	Stream‑output configuration (optional).
`BlendState`	`D3D12_BLEND_DESC`	Blend state for render targets.
`SampleMask`	`UINT`	Sample mask for multisampling.
`RasterizerState`	`D3D12_RASTERIZER_DESC`	Rasterizer state description.
`DepthStencilState`	`D3D12_DEPTH_STENCIL_DESC`	Depth‑stencil state description.
`InputLayout`	`D3D12_INPUT_LAYOUT_DESC`	Vertex input layout.
`IBStripCutValue`	`D3D12_INDEX_BUFFER_STRIP_CUT_VALUE`	Index buffer strip cut value.
`PrimitiveTopologyType`	`D3D12_PRIMITIVE_TOPOLOGY_TYPE`	Type of primitive topology.
`NumRenderTargets`	`UINT`	Number of active render target slots (0‑8).
`RTVFormats`	`DXGI_FORMAT[8]`	Render target view formats.
`DSVFormat`	`DXGI_FORMAT`	Depth‑stencil view format.
`SampleDesc`	`DXGI_SAMPLE_DESC`	Multisample count and quality.
`NodeMask`	`UINT`	Node mask for multi‑GPU systems.
`CachedPSO`	`D3D12_CACHED_PIPELINE_STATE`	Optional cached pipeline state blob.
`Flags`	`D3D12_PIPELINE_STATE_FLAGS`	Additional creation flags.

Example Usage

#include <d3d12.h>
#include <dxgi1_4.h>

// Assume device and root signature already created
ID3D12Device* device = /* ... */;
ID3D12RootSignature* rootSig = /* ... */;

D3D12_GRAPHICS_PIPELINE_STATE_DESC psoDesc = {};
psoDesc.pRootSignature = rootSig;

// Load compiled shader blobs
psoDesc.VS = CD3DX12_SHADER_BYTECODE(CompileShader(L\"Vertex.hlsl\", \"vs_5_0\"));
psoDesc.PS = CD3DX12_SHADER_BYTECODE(CompileShader(L\"Pixel.hlsl\", \"ps_5_0\"));

psoDesc.RasterizerState = CD3DX12_RASTERIZER_DESC(D3D12_DEFAULT);
psoDesc.BlendState = CD3DX12_BLEND_DESC(D3D12_DEFAULT);
psoDesc.DepthStencilState = CD3DX12_DEPTH_STENCIL_DESC(D3D12_DEFAULT);
psoDesc.SampleMask = UINT_MAX;
psoDesc.PrimitiveTopologyType = D3D12_PRIMITIVE_TOPOLOGY_TYPE_TRIANGLE;
psoDesc.NumRenderTargets = 1;
psoDesc.RTVFormats[0] = DXGI_FORMAT_R8G8B8A8_UNORM;
psoDesc.SampleDesc.Count = 1;

// Create the PSO
ID3D12PipelineState* pipelineState = nullptr;
HRESULT hr = device->CreateGraphicsPipelineState(&psoDesc, IID_PPV_ARGS(&pipelineState));
if (FAILED(hr)) {
    // handle error
}

Related Structures

Notes

Show/Hide Implementation Notes

When creating a PSO, all shader stages that are not used can be set to an empty D3D12_SHADER_BYTECODE (i.e., {nullptr,0}). The PSO description must be immutable after creation; any change requires a new PSO object.

For optimal performance, consider using D3D12_CACHED_PIPELINE_STATE to store compiled PSO blobs, especially on platforms where shader compilation can be costly at runtime.