remotion-dev/remotion · critical · Error

Failed to create WebGL program

Error message

Failed to create WebGL program

What it means

During thermal vision effect `setup`, after both shaders compile, `gl.createProgram()` returned `null`. The WebGL2 context could not allocate a program object, indicating context loss or resource exhaustion. The error fires before shaders are attached.

Source

Thrown at packages/effects/src/thermal-vision.ts:179

	if (!gl.getShaderParameter(shader, gl.COMPILE_STATUS)) {
		const log = gl.getShaderInfoLog(shader);
		gl.deleteShader(shader);
		throw new Error(
			`Thermal vision 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(`Thermal vision program link failed: ${log ?? '(no log)'}`);
	}

	return program;
};

const createProgram = (
	gl: WebGL2RenderingContext,
	vertexSource: string,
	fragmentSource: string,

View on GitHub (pinned to 78fe4bb3fd)

Solutions

1. Lower concurrent webgl2 effect count.
2. Restart the session/render for a fresh context.
3. Verify headless Chrome WebGL2 support (`--use-gl=angle`).
4. Listen for `webglcontextlost` and reinitialize effect state.

const canCreateProgram = (): boolean => {
  try {
    const gl = document.createElement('canvas').getContext('webgl2');
    return !!gl?.createProgram();
  } catch {
    return false;
  }
};

try {
  thermalVision({...params});
} catch (e) {
  if (/Failed to create WebGL program/.test((e as Error).message)) {
    renderFallbackFrame();
  } else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Context lost between shader compilation and program creation; driver program-object budget exhausted; destroyed/degraded GL context.

Common situations: Many simultaneous webgl2 effect setups; long sessions after a driver reset; restrictive headless WebGL2 limits.

Related errors

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

AI-assisted analysis of remotion-dev/remotion@78fe4bb3fd (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/732047c92fa3f540. Report an issue: GitHub.