Vulkan/VSG fails inside Docker on WSL2/WSLg: vkCreateInstance
Leah Richard
I am part of a student research group currently working with Project Chrono for a CUDA-based DEM simulation using Chrono,GPU. We are running our setup inside a Docker container (Windows) and are encountering shared library issues related to Vulkan bridge dependencies. The vulkan info fails inside the container with vkCreateInstance ERROR_INCOMPATIBLE_DRIVER, and the WSL host has no /usr/lib/wsl/lib/nvidia_icd.json present. CUDA works (nvidia-smi works), but Vulkan cannot create an instance. Below are our errors and results.
Thank you- Leah Richard
ERROR_INCOMPATIBLE_DRIVER, Chrono VSG demos abort with vsg::Exception
Environment
• Host: Windows + WSL2 Ubuntu (WSLg enabled)
• Workload: Project Chrono / chrono-wisc container image (chrono-wisc:benchmark3-prebuilt)
• GPU: NVIDIA GPU available and usable for CUDA inside container (--gpus all works)
• Goal: Run Chrono VSG visualization demos inside Docker with window output (Vulkan)
What works (important)
1. CUDA compute works in-container for benchmark runs (FSI runs start and can complete for sane parameters).
2. Chrono demo initializes terrain/vehicle and reaches the visualization setup stage before aborting (so CPU-side setup is fine).
What fails
A) VSG/Vulkan demo aborts
Running (inside container):
cd /opt/chrono/binexport LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/opt/chrono/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH./demo_VEH_CRMTerrain_WheeledVehicle
Result:
• Runs through terrain + vehicle creation
• Fails at “Create path…”
• Aborts with:
◦ terminate called after throwing an instance of 'vsg::Exception'
◦ Aborted (core dumped)
B) Vulkan tools inside container cannot create a Vulkan instance
Inside container:
apt-get update && apt-get install -y vulkan-tools libvulkan1
vulkaninfo --summary
Result:
• Cannot create Vulkan instance
• vkCreateInstance failed with ERROR_INCOMPATIBLE_DRIVER
This strongly indicates the container’s Vulkan loader cannot access a compatible ICD/driver stack.
Steps already attempted
1) Fixed command formatting / shell issues
• Resolved bash: cd: too many arguments by using proper line breaks / &&.
2) Verified this is not a general “laptop can’t run it” issue
• A CUDA-side benchmark was tested with different --d0_multiplier values.
• d0_multiplier=1.0 succeeded with reasonable discretization:
◦ HSML=0.02, binSize0=0.04, gridSize=755 181 40
• Smaller multipliers caused “illegal memory access,” which correlated with grid explosion:
◦ d0_multiplier=0.1 → gridSize=7550 1815 403 → CUDA illegal memory access
◦ This appears to be parameter-driven indexing/overflow, not insufficient hardware.
3) Tried to wire WSLg display + Vulkan libraries into container
Attempted Docker run with:
• --device=/dev/dxg (present in WSL)
• /dev/dri passthrough was attempted but failed:
◦ error adding custom device "/dev/dri": no such file or directory
◦ /dev/dri not present on this WSL setup
• Mounted WSL libraries and set library path:
◦ -v /usr/lib/wsl:/usr/lib/wsl:ro
◦ LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib/wsl/lib:/opt/chrono/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
• Mounted X11 socket:
◦ -v /tmp/.X11-unix:/tmp/.X11-unix
◦ -e DISPLAY=$DISPLAY
• Set NVIDIA container capabilities:
◦ NVIDIA_DRIVER_CAPABILITIES=compute,utility,graphics,display
Despite this, Vulkan inside container still fails with ERROR_INCOMPATIBLE_DRIVER.
4) Investigated Vulkan ICD manifests on the WSL host
On WSL host:
• No files matching:
◦ /usr/lib/wsl/lib/*icd*.json
• Found these ICD JSON files:
◦ /usr/share/vulkan/icd.d/intel_hasvk_icd.x86_64.json
◦ /usr/share/vulkan/icd.d/nouveau_icd.x86_64.json
◦ /usr/share/vulkan/icd.d/intel_icd.x86_64.json
◦ /usr/share/vulkan/icd.d/lvp_icd.x86_64.json
◦ /usr/share/vulkan/icd.d/radeon_icd.x86_64.json
◦ /usr/share/vulkan/icd.d/gfxstream_vk_icd.x86_64.json
◦ /usr/share/vulkan/icd.d/virtio_icd.x86_64.json
Notably absent: nvidia_icd.json under /usr/lib/wsl/lib, which many WSL Vulkan setups rely on for NVIDIA Vulkan in WSL.
5) Proposed next attempt (not yet confirmed successful)
Start container while:
• mounting /usr/share/vulkan/icd.d
• forcing Vulkan to use a specific ICD via VK_ICD_FILENAMES, e.g.:
◦ gfxstream_vk_icd.x86_64.json (WSLg-relevant)
◦ or virtio_icd.x86_64.json as fallback
Example:
docker run --rm -it --gpus all \
--device=/dev/dxg \
-e DISPLAY=$DISPLAY \
-v /tmp/.X11-unix:/tmp/.X11-unix \
-v /usr/lib/wsl:/usr/lib/wsl:ro \
-v /usr/share/vulkan/icd.d:/usr/share/vulkan/icd.d:ro \
-e VK_ICD_FILENAMES=/usr/share/vulkan/icd.d/gfxstream_vk_icd.x86_64.json \
-e LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib/wsl/lib:/opt/chrono/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH \
-e NVIDIA_DRIVER_CAPABILITIES=compute,utility,graphics,display \
chrono-wisc:benchmark3-prebuilt bash
Then re-test:
VK_LOADER_DEBUG=all vulkaninfo --summary
Current diagnosis / suspected root cause
• The container can’t create a Vulkan instance because the Vulkan loader does not see a compatible Vulkan driver/ICD in the container environment.
• In WSL2, Vulkan support depends heavily on the Windows-side GPU driver + WSLg bridge components. The absence of an NVIDIA WSL ICD JSON (e.g., nvidia_icd.json) on the host suggests the WSL Vulkan driver stack may be incomplete/misaligned for NVIDIA Vulkan in this environment, or the container isn’t pointed at the correct ICD.
• VSG fails because Vulkan cannot initialize → Chrono demo aborts with vsg::Exception.
Evidence / error logs to include
• From inside container:
◦ vkCreateInstance failed with ERROR_INCOMPATIBLE_DRIVER
◦ terminate called after throwing an instance of 'vsg::Exception'
• From docker run attempt:
◦ /dev/dri: no such file or directory (WSL doesn’t expose /dev/dri)
What we need from support / what we’re asking
• How to properly enable Vulkan (WSLg) inside Docker on WSL2 with NVIDIA GPU.
• Whether a missing/incorrect Vulkan ICD (e.g., no nvidia_icd.json under /usr/lib/wsl/lib) is expected, and what is the supported fix.
• Recommended container runtime configuration for Vulkan + WSLg + NVIDIA (ICD paths, required mounts, env vars like VK_ICD_FILENAMES, etc.).
Radu Serban
Leah – this doesn’t appear to be a Chrono issue, but rather a Vulkan+WSL one. As far as I can tell, others had similar issues with Vulkan support on WSL being not very robust.
--Radu
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