remotion-dev/remotion · critical · Error

Failed to create WebGL program

Error message

Failed to create WebGL program

What it means

In `linkProgram`, `gl.createProgram()` returned `null`. Per the WebGL2 spec this happens on context loss or severe resource exhaustion. The vertex and fragment shaders compiled successfully beforehand, so this is an environment/resource failure, not a shader bug.

Source

Thrown at packages/brand/src/effects/metallic-swirl-effect.ts:485

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

	return program;
};

export const metallicSwirl = createEffect<
	MetallicSwirlParams,
	MetallicSwirlState
>({

View on GitHub (pinned to 78fe4bb3fd)

Solutions

1. Reduce the number of live effects/contexts to free GPU object slots.
2. Verify the WebGL2 context is stable (listen for 'webglcontextlost').
3. Update GPU drivers / use a hardware-accelerated browser.
4. For batch rendering, ensure contexts are disposed between compositions.

const supportsWebGL2 = (): boolean => {
  try {
    const c = document.createElement('canvas');
    return !!c.getContext('webgl2');
  } catch {
    return false;
  }
};

const hasHealthyWebGL2 = (canvas: HTMLCanvasElement): boolean => {
  const gl = canvas.getContext('webgl2');
  return !!gl && !gl.isContextLost();
};

try {
  metallicSwirl({speed: 1})(...);
} catch (err) {
  if (err instanceof Error && /Failed to create WebGL program/.test(err.message)) {
    // reduce effect count or fall back
  } else {
    throw err;
  }
}

When it happens

Trigger: WebGL2 context lost between shader compile and program creation; GPU memory/object limit reached after creating many effects; broken context on virtual GPUs or headless software renderers.

Common situations: Many metallic-swirl effects mounted at once; long sessions leaking programs; rendering on under-resourced or virtualized GPUs; driver instability.

Related errors

• Failed to create WebGL shader
• Failed to create WebGL vertex array
• Failed to create WebGL buffer
• Metallic swirl shader compile failed: ${log ?? '(no log)'}
• Metallic swirl program link failed: ${log ?? '(no log)'}

AI-assisted analysis of remotion-dev/remotion@78fe4bb3fd (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c5d209ac68d5f104. Report an issue: GitHub.