How to Download DirectX 12 Agility SDK [Installation Guide]

The DirectX 12 Agility SDK package is critical to developers, allowing them to deliver a more nuanced gaming experience. The latest, DirectX 12 Agility SDK, includes support for key features like ray tracing and the latest graphics APIs for NVIDIA and AMD GPUs.

Even for users who run apps that rely on DirectX 12 Agility SDK, several errors come up when key components are missing, outdated, or incompatible. And fixing this won’t take much time, as you will find out in the following section!

How can I download and install the DirectX 12 Agility SDK?

1. With Visual Studio

1. If you don’t already have it, download Visual Studio Code on your PC.
2. Now, open your project within Visual Studio Code, click on Project in the top bar, and select Manage NuGet Packages.
3. Now, enter DirectX 12 Agility in the text field with the Package source set as nuget.org, select the latest release from the Version dropdown menu, and then click on Install.
4. Once it’s completed, the components for DirectX 12 Agility SDK will be added to the D3D12 directory in the same folder that stores the application’s executable (.exe file).

Remember, it’s not recommended to have the DirectX 12 Agility Software Development Kit components stored in the same folder as the applications’s executable, as it can trigger conflicts. So, make sure to change the path after installation.

Also, for the installation, it’s preferable to have Visual Studio 2019. Although the Visual Studio 2017 version will work fine for most.

2. Manually extract the files

1. Go to Microsoft’s official website, and click the download link for the latest stable version of DirectX 12 Agility SDK.
2. On the NuGet website, click the Download package option on the right.
3. Right-click on the downloaded .nupkg file, select Rename, and then replace the extension with .zip.
4. Once done, right-click on the ZIP file and select Extract all.
5. Set a location for the extracted files, and click on Extract.
6. After extracting the files, move D3D12Core.dll and other critical components/files to the same directory as the applications executable under a folder named D3D12.

In my opinion, manually extracting the files is a relatively simpler method for installing DirectX 12 Agility SDK (Software Development Kit) on Windows. But, with it, you run the risk of missing critical files, which can trigger errors later on!

Also, Microsoft’s website lists another method to download and extract the DirectX 12 Agility Software Development Kit. It involves employing two commands in PowerShell. The first command downloads the NuGet package while the second extracts its contents!

How do I fix common DirectX 12 Agility SDK errors?

Here are the common reasons that trigger DirectX 12 Agility SDK errors and the solutions for each:

• Running an outdated Windows version: The Agility SDK requires Windows Version 1903 or higher. If running an older version, you will get the DirectX 12 Agility SDK could not be loaded error. To fix this, install all pending Windows updates.
• Running outdated or incompatible drivers: If you see DirectX 12 is not supported on your system, it’s likely that the installed drivers are not compatible with the features in the DirectX 12 Agility Software Development Kit. To fix this, update the graphics driver on the PC. Make sure you check the manufacturer’s official website for the latest driver version.
• Other components are not supported: When running an incompatible version of Visual Studio, PIX, or DirectX Shader Compiler, you are likely to face issues. So, check the official website for accurate and up-to-date information about all three.

Now that you have installed DirectX 12 Agility SDK in Windows (64-bit), both app development and functioning should remain optimal, and you shouldn’t face any errors.

Before you leave, learn how to install and update DirectX 12 on your Windows PC and witness apps and games run smoothly!

For any queries or to share which method worked best for you, drop a comment below.