remotion-dev/remotion · critical · Error

Failed to create WebGL program

Error message

Failed to create WebGL program

What it means

After successfully compiling both vertex and fragment shaders, the effect calls gl.createProgram() to allocate a linked GPU program object. If the WebGL2 context returns null, the effect cannot proceed with linking and throws immediately. A null return signals that the GL context is lost, exhausted, or already destroyed.

Source

Thrown at packages/effects/src/radial-progressive-blur/radial-progressive-blur-runtime.ts:65

	if (!gl.getShaderParameter(shader, gl.COMPILE_STATUS)) {
		const log = gl.getShaderInfoLog(shader);
		gl.deleteShader(shader);
		throw new Error(
			`Radial progressive blur shader compile failed: ${log ?? '(no log)'}`,
		);
	}

	return shader;
};

const linkProgram = (
	gl: WebGL2RenderingContext,
	vs: WebGLShader,
	fs: WebGLShader,
): WebGLProgram => {
	const program = gl.createProgram();
	if (!program) {
		throw new Error('Failed to create WebGL program');
	}

	gl.attachShader(program, vs);
	gl.attachShader(program, fs);
	gl.linkProgram(program);
	if (!gl.getProgramParameter(program, gl.LINK_STATUS)) {
		const log = gl.getProgramInfoLog(program);
		gl.deleteProgram(program);
		throw new Error(
			`Radial progressive blur program link failed: ${log ?? '(no log)'}`,
		);
	}

	return program;
};

const createProgram = (
	gl: WebGL2RenderingContext,

View on GitHub (pinned to 78fe4bb3fd)

Solutions

1. Listen for the 'webglcontextlost' event on the canvas and reinitialize effects after 'webglcontextrestored'
2. Reduce the number of simultaneous WebGL effects in the composition
3. Ensure the render is running on a machine with a stable GPU context (not a headless environment with a fragile software rasterizer)
4. Retry the effect setup after context restoration

canvas.addEventListener('webglcontextlost', (e) => { e.preventDefault(); }, false);
canvas.addEventListener('webglcontextrestored', () => {
  // re-initialize all WebGL effects here
}, false);

When it happens

Trigger: Calling setupRadialProgressiveBlur() when the WebGL2 context has been lost (e.g. after a GPU process crash or tab backgrounding on mobile), when the context's resource pool is exhausted, or when the context was externally destroyed between shader compilation and program creation.

Common situations: Mobile browsers that aggressively reclaim GPU memory; long-running renders with many simultaneous effects that exhaust GL object pools; switching GPU (hybrid laptops) mid-session; background tabs on power-constrained devices.

Related errors

• Failed to create WebGL texture
• Failed to create WebGL vertex array
• Failed to create WebGL buffer
• Failed to create WebGL framebuffer
• Failed to create WebGL shader

AI-assisted analysis of remotion-dev/remotion@78fe4bb3fd (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/325a927b5b5ab50d. Report an issue: GitHub.