remotion-dev/remotion · error · Error

Failed to create WebGL vertex array

Error message

Failed to create WebGL vertex array

What it means

Thrown by setupDropShadow when gl.createVertexArray() returns null. A null VAO means the WebGL2 context is lost, destroyed, or resource-exhausted. Reached after the four programs are built, while constructing the shared fullscreen-quad geometry.

Source

Thrown at packages/effects/src/drop-shadow/drop-shadow-runtime.ts:166

	const programHorizontal = createProgram(
		gl,
		DROP_SHADOW_VS,
		DROP_SHADOW_BLUR_FS_HORIZONTAL,
	);
	const programVertical = createProgram(
		gl,
		DROP_SHADOW_VS,
		DROP_SHADOW_BLUR_FS_VERTICAL,
	);
	const programComposite = createProgram(
		gl,
		DROP_SHADOW_VS,
		DROP_SHADOW_COMPOSITE_FS,
	);

	const vao = gl.createVertexArray();
	if (!vao) {
		throw new Error('Failed to create WebGL vertex array');
	}

	gl.bindVertexArray(vao);

	const data = new Float32Array([
		-1, -1, 0, 0, 1, -1, 1, 0, -1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
	]);

	const vbo = gl.createBuffer();
	if (!vbo) {
		throw new Error('Failed to create WebGL buffer');
	}

	gl.bindBuffer(gl.ARRAY_BUFFER, vbo);
	gl.bufferData(gl.ARRAY_BUFFER, data, gl.STATIC_DRAW);

	gl.enableVertexAttribArray(0);
	gl.vertexAttribPointer(0, 2, gl.FLOAT, false, 16, 0);

View on GitHub (pinned to 78fe4bb3fd)

Solutions

1. Verify cleanupDropShadow runs (it calls gl.deleteVertexArray on unmount).
2. Cut down the number of WebGL2 effects mounted at once.
3. Reload to recover from a lost context; update GPU drivers.
4. Use SwiftShader with adequate memory for headless runs.

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

try {
  state = setupDropShadow(canvas);
} catch (err) {
  if (err instanceof Error && /vertex array/i.test(err.message)) {
    console.error('Drop-shadow VAO allocation failed:', err.message);
  } else {
    throw err;
  }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Lost WebGL2 context, exhausted VAO object limit, or GPU memory pressure. Triggered inside setupDropShadow() during geometry allocation.

Common situations: Effects leaking VAOs (cleanup paths skipped); many drop-shadow instances; GPU driver crash; long Studio sessions; headless rendering with constrained software GL.

Related errors

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

AI-assisted analysis of remotion-dev/remotion@78fe4bb3fd (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d91b4fb9f5caf36a. Report an issue: GitHub.