remotion-dev/remotion · error · Error

Failed to create WebGL vertex array

Error message

Failed to create WebGL vertex array

What it means

Zigzag setup allocates a vertex array object (gl.createVertexArray) to bind its fullscreen-quad attributes; a null return means the GL context could not allocate the VAO, so the effect throws because every draw call depends on that VAO. This is a context/resource allocation failure, not an input problem.

Source

Thrown at packages/effects/src/zigzag.ts:432

};

const setupZigzag = (target: HTMLCanvasElement): ZigzagState => {
	const gl = target.getContext('webgl2', {
		premultipliedAlpha: true,
		alpha: true,
		preserveDrawingBuffer: true,
	});
	if (!gl) {
		throw createWebGL2ContextError('zigzag effect');
	}

	gl.pixelStorei(gl.UNPACK_PREMULTIPLY_ALPHA_WEBGL, true);

	const program = createProgram(gl, ZIGZAG_VS, ZIGZAG_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);

	const aPos = gl.getAttribLocation(program, 'aPos');
	const aUv = gl.getAttribLocation(program, 'aUv');

View on GitHub (pinned to 78fe4bb3fd)

Solutions

1. Verify WebGL2 context health (non-null getContext('webgl2'), isContextLost() false) before rendering.
2. Render headless with Remotion's bundled Chromium and its configured software GPU; avoid GPU-disabling flags.
3. Lower the count of simultaneously-active WebGL effects.
4. Re-mount the composition on webglcontextlost so setup re-runs against a fresh context.
5. Update GPU drivers or switch render host.

const gl = document.createElement('canvas').getContext('webgl2');
const webglOk = gl != null && gl.createVertexArray() != null && !gl.isContextLost();

const canAllocateVAO = (): boolean => {
  const gl = document.createElement('canvas').getContext('webgl2');
  return gl != null && !gl.isContextLost() && gl.createVertexArray() != null;
};

try {
  return <VideoEffects effects={[zigzag({colors: ['#ff0000', '#00ff00']})]} />;
} catch (err) {
  if (err instanceof Error && err.message === 'Failed to create WebGL vertex array') {
    return <Video />;
  }
  throw err;
}

When it happens

Trigger: setupZigzag calls gl.createVertexArray() and receives null on the first zigzag frame.

Common situations: Headless renderer with incomplete WebGL2 VAO support; context lost; VAO-object limit hit across many concurrent effects; software GPU that caps VAO allocation.

Related errors

• Failed to create white balance texture
• Failed to create white balance vertex array
• Failed to create white balance vertex buffer
• Failed to create WebGL resources
• Failed to create WebGL texture

AI-assisted analysis of remotion-dev/remotion@78fe4bb3fd (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f9e1bb5de56cf343. Report an issue: GitHub.