remotion-dev/remotion · critical · Error

Failed to create WebGL shader

Error message

Failed to create WebGL shader

What it means

Thrown by burlap's `compileShader` when `gl.createShader(type)` returns `null`. This is a resource/context-loss failure (the GL implementation refused to allocate a shader object), distinct from a GLSL compile error which is thrown separately with the info log.

Source

Thrown at packages/effects/src/burlap.ts:239

	vec3 rgb = texColor.rgb / alpha;
	float darkFiber = clamp(-texture * 3.2 + gaps * 0.12 + (dashH + dashV) * 0.18, 0.0, 1.0);
	vec3 shaded = mix(rgb, uColor.rgb, darkFiber * uColor.a);
	vec3 textured = clamp(shaded * (1.0 + max(texture, 0.0) * 0.45), 0.0, 1.0);
	rgb = mix(rgb, textured, uAmount);

	fragColor = vec4(rgb * alpha, alpha);
}
`;

const compileShader = (
	gl: WebGL2RenderingContext,
	type: number,
	source: string,
): WebGLShader => {
	const shader = gl.createShader(type);
	if (!shader) {
		throw new Error('Failed to create WebGL shader');
	}

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

	return shader;
};

const linkProgram = (
	gl: WebGL2RenderingContext,
	vs: WebGLShader,
	fs: WebGLShader,
): WebGLProgram => {

View on GitHub (pinned to 78fe4bb3fd)

Solutions

1. Check `gl.isContextLost()` before setup; reinitialize on restoration.
2. Call burlap's `cleanup` to release the program/shaders of unused states.
3. Limit concurrently active WebGL effects.
4. Run on hardware-accelerated WebGL2; update GPU drivers.

Example fix

const gl = canvas.getContext('webgl2');
if (!gl || gl.isContextLost()) {
  // do not setupBurlap; await context restoration
} else {
  burlap.setup(canvas);
}

if (gl.isContextLost()) { /* skip setupBurlap */ }

try {
  burlap.setup(canvas);
} catch (err) {
  if (/Failed to create WebGL shader/.test(err.message)) {
    // await restore or reduce effects, then retry
  } else { throw err; }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Fires at line 237-239 inside `setupBurlap` -> `compileShader` for either BURLAP_VS or BURLAP_FS, when `gl.createShader` returns null before source is attached.

Common situations: WebGL2 context lost during burlap setup; shader-object limit exhausted by many live effects; constrained software renderer in CI; GPU reset just before setup.

Related errors

• Failed to create WebGL shader
• Failed to create WebGL program
• Failed to create WebGL vertex array
• Failed to create WebGL shader
• Failed to create WebGL shader

AI-assisted analysis of remotion-dev/remotion@78fe4bb3fd (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6051a3c63ba25702. Report an issue: GitHub.