Quick answer: Vulkan mesh shader pipeline rejected because shader stage flag missing? Mesh shaders require explicit VK_SHADER_STAGE_MESH_BIT_EXT - declare in pipeline create info.
Mesh shader pipeline; validation error: 'shader stage not declared'.
Set stage bit
shaderStages[0].stage =
VK_SHADER_STAGE_MESH_BIT_EXT;Explicit; pipeline create accepts.
Verify extension loaded
VK_EXT_mesh_shader must be enabled at device creation. Without it, no mesh stage.
Audit stage flags
Each pipeline lists its stages. Mismatched declarations surface as validation errors.
“Vulkan pipeline stages are explicit. Extension stages are extension-specific.”
Mesh shaders are a frontier. The setup is more involved than vertex/fragment; document.