Minecraft: Java Edition can now draw the game with Vulkan instead of OpenGL, the graphics API it has used from the start. Vulkan reached snapshots on April 7, 2026 and shipped as an experimental option in Java 26.2 on June 16: you choose it under Options > Video Settings > Graphics API, then restart the game. Since 26.4 Snapshot 1, released on September 22, the Default setting uses Vulkan, while the current release, 26.3, still defaults to OpenGL.
How to switch between Vulkan and OpenGL
The Graphics API button sits in the Display section of Video Settings and has three values:
- Default: the choice Mojang recommends, and whose behaviour it can change. It uses OpenGL in the 26.2 and 26.3 releases, and Vulkan in 26.4 Snapshot 1.
- Prefer Vulkan (Experimental): tries Vulkan and falls back to OpenGL if it fails.
- Prefer OpenGL: tries OpenGL and falls back to Vulkan.
The change applies after a restart. To see which API is actually running, open the F3 debug screen and look at its system_specs section. On a laptop, note that Vulkan prefers the dedicated graphics card over integrated graphics, a change from OpenGL.
What changed from 26.2 to 26.4
- 26.2 Snapshot 1 (April 7): Vulkan and the new setting enter testing, and Default means Vulkan.
- 26.2 (June 16): Vulkan ships with the Chaos Cubed drop as an experimental option, and Default now means OpenGL. A crash at startup on Prefer Vulkan resets the setting to Default; a crash on Default moves it to Prefer OpenGL, which leaves Vulkan untouched.
- 26.3 (September 15): the setting is unchanged, but the changelog lists fixes for poor Vulkan performance on AMD GPUs and on Intel Arc GPUs (especially under Linux), a significant Vulkan performance regression, and screen tearing in fullscreen at low frame rates despite VSync.
- 26.4 Snapshot 1 (September 22): Default behaves like Prefer Vulkan, and a startup crash no longer changes the setting.
Mojang has published no benchmarks or frame rates. It expects Vulkan to bring "eventual performance gains" and more room to improve Java's graphics, and hopes it will mean fewer driver-related bugs; the switch is also a major step towards Vibrant Visuals on Java, which still has no date. For now, the 26.3 tooltip labels Vulkan experimental: it "might reduce performance or cause instability on some systems". Test both APIs on your own machine and keep the faster one.
Requirements, and what about Mac?
As of 26.2, the Vulkan renderer needs Vulkan 1.2 with dynamic rendering and push descriptors, a bar Mojang says may rise or fall. Hardware or drivers without it fall back to OpenGL, and GPUs ten years old or more may lack Vulkan support.
Java's official requirements also rose on July 21. The minimum, aimed at 1080p and 30 FPS on the Fast preset, now includes 8 GB of RAM (12 GB with integrated graphics), a four-core processor and a Vulkan 1.3 GPU with 2 GB of VRAM: an NVIDIA GTX 950, AMD Radeon RX 460 or Intel Arc A310 or newer, Intel Core i5-6400 integrated graphics or newer, an Apple M1 or newer, or a Qualcomm Snapdragon X.
For Mojang, the most important reason for the switch is the Mac: OpenGL is deprecated on macOS and will eventually stop running there. Java translates Vulkan to Apple's Metal with MoltenVK, which Mojang says costs no performance, and the minimum spec lists macOS 12 and the Apple M1. Older Intel-based Macs may fall below it: they should still launch Java, but may struggle, or fail to launch it in the future as the game leaves OpenGL behind.
If the game crashes or looks wrong
- 26.4 Snapshot 1 still falls back to OpenGL when Vulkan cannot start, but unlike 26.2 and 26.3, a startup crash no longer moves the setting to OpenGL for you. If the snapshot won't launch, open options.txt in your game folder and change
preferredGraphicsBackend:"default" to preferredGraphicsBackend:"opengl", the fix Mojang gave in 26.2 Pre-Release 1.
- Mods that render with OpenGL are affected and may need time to update, Mojang warned.
OpenGL will stay until Mojang judges Vulkan stable and fast enough across devices, and players will be warned before it goes. For the rest of 26.3, see our Minecraft 26.3 guide; the first 26.4 snapshot adds no new blocks or mobs, and the ice caves previewed for the next drop are in our Minecraft Live recap. Our Minecraft tools cover recipes, advancements and enchantments.
