---
name: "al_get_backbuffer"
section: "3"
platform: "linux"
package: "allegro"
version: "5.2.11.3-2"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/al_get_backbuffer"
---

# al\_get\_backbuffer(3)

Allegro 5 API

## NAME

al\_get\_backbuffer - Allegro 5 API

## SYNOPSIS

-

  ```
  #include <allegro5/allegro.h>
  ALLEGRO_BITMAP *al_get_backbuffer(ALLEGRO_DISPLAY *display)
  ```

## DESCRIPTION

Return a special bitmap representing the back-buffer of the display.

Care should be taken when using the backbuffer bitmap (and its sub-bitmaps) as the source bitmap (e.g as the bitmap argument to [al\_draw\_bitmap(3)](/al_draw_bitmap/3.md)). Only untransformed operations are hardware accelerated. These consist of [al\_draw\_bitmap(3)](/al_draw_bitmap/3.md) and [al\_draw\_bitmap\_region(3)](/al_draw_bitmap_region/3.md) when the current transformation is the identity. If the transformation is not the identity, or some other drawing operation is used, the call will be routed through the memory bitmap routines, which are slow. If you need those operations to be accelerated, then first copy a region of the backbuffer into a temporary bitmap (via the [al\_draw\_bitmap(3)](/al_draw_bitmap/3.md) and [al\_draw\_bitmap\_region(3)](/al_draw_bitmap_region/3.md)), and then use that temporary bitmap as the source bitmap.