Individual skill
managing-metal4-synchronization
Metal 4 explicit synchronization — barriers, fences, events, and cross-API state translation (from D3D12, Vulkan, OpenGL). Use when porting GPU synchronization, translating resource state transitions, or debugging barrier-related visual corruption.
game-porting-skills/skills/managing-metal4-synchronization/SKILL.md
Source commit 4f42344c90be22112f46becc3fb9687f423f2f88
What was checked
- Matches the observed repository HEAD
- Yes
- Scanner rules are current
- Yes
- Repository scan complete
- No
- Skill scan complete
- No
- Observed behavior
- Instructions only
- Last checked
- Nov 5, 2026
These are observations at the recorded commit, not a guarantee of safety. Review the source before running it.
Install this skill
Choose an agent in your Stack or copy a command below. Commands fetch the pinned commit and copy only this skill directory. Existing destinations are refused. Copying a command does not install anything.
An install command is unavailable: current rules, complete repository and skill scans, an eligible behavior level and a permitted license are required.
Repository context
- Repository stars (not skill ratings)
- 220
- Repository last updated
- Jun 8, 2026
- License
- Apache-2.0
Observed agent integration: No specific integration evidence. Standard SKILL.md installation does not imply verified compatibility.
Files and excerpt
File metadata and permitted, redacted excerpts come from the recorded scan. Source links are pinned to that commit.
Browse files
Read excerpt
# Metal 4 Synchronization
## Overview
Metal 4 requires fully explicit synchronization — there is no driver hazard tracking. All resource dependencies between encoders and passes must be expressed through barriers, fences, or events. This is typically the longest phase of a port — expect barrier and synchronization work to account for a significant portion of total porting effort.
The key insight: **all source API synchronization models reduce to Metal 4 primitives** — producer barriers (on outgoing encoder), consumer barriers (on incoming encoder), intra-pass barriers (within an encoder), fences (between specific encoders on the same queue), and events (cross-queue or CPU-GPU). The source API determines *when* synchronization is needed. Metal 4's primitives determine *how* to express it.
## References
**Read the relevant Metal 4 SDK header before writing synchronization code** — the headers are the source of truth for property names, types, and method signatures.
- Metal 4 SDK headers - `$(xcrun --show-sdk-path)/System/Library/Frameworks/Metal.framework/Headers/` — focus on `MTL4CommandEncoder.h` (barriers), `MTLEvent.h` (events), `MTLFence.h` (fences)
- Apple documentation - [Resource synchronization](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/metal/resource-synchronization)