gfx-rs/wgpu · error

buffer slice can not be empty

Error message

buffer slice can not be empty

What it means

Panic from BufferSlice's size_expect_nonzero (reached via set_index_buffer): the slice size is 0, which is not a valid index buffer binding. The faulty input is an empty (zero-size) buffer slice passed to set_index_buffer.

Source

Thrown at wgpu/src/api/buffer.rs:681

    /// You should usually not need to call this, and if you received the buffer from code you
    /// do not control, you should refrain from accessing the buffer outside the bounds of the
    /// slice. Nevertheless, it’s possible to get this access, so this method makes it simple.
    pub fn buffer(&self) -> &'a Buffer {
        self.buffer
    }

    /// Returns the offset in [`Self::buffer()`] this slice starts at.
    pub fn offset(&self) -> BufferAddress {
        self.offset
    }

    /// Returns the size of this slice.
    pub fn size(&self) -> BufferAddress {
        self.size
    }

    pub(crate) fn size_expect_nonzero(&self) -> BufferSize {
        BufferSize::new(self.size).expect("buffer slice can not be empty")
    }
}

impl<'a> TryFrom<BufferSlice<'a>> for crate::BufferBinding<'a> {
    type Error = ();

    /// Convert a [`BufferSlice`] to an equivalent [`BufferBinding`],
    /// provided that it will be used without a dynamic offset.
    fn try_from(value: BufferSlice<'a>) -> Result<Self, Self::Error> {
        Ok(BufferBinding {
            buffer: value.buffer,
            offset: value.offset,
            size: Some(NonZero::new(value.size()).ok_or(())?),
        })
    }
}

impl<'a> TryFrom<BufferSlice<'a>> for crate::BindingResource<'a> {

View on GitHub (pinned to 3e11ff59bf)

Solutions

1. Bind a non-empty slice covering actual index data
2. Check buffer.size() > 0 before constructing/binding the slice

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at wgpu/src/api/buffer.rs:681 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of gfx-rs/wgpu@3e11ff59bf (2026-09-03). Data as JSON: /api/errors/bf0fe5594945ff05. Report an issue: GitHub.