remotion-dev/remotion · error · Error

Halftone shader compile failed: ${log ?? '(no log)'}

Error message

Halftone shader compile failed: ${log ?? '(no log)'}

What it means

Thrown by compileShader() in the halftone effect when gl.getShaderParameter(shader, gl.COMPILE_STATUS) is false. The driver's shader-info log is appended (or '(no log)'). Because the GLSL source is a fixed string shipped with @remotion/effects, a compile failure means the driver rejected valid GLSL ES 3.00 — a driver bug, a WebGL2 implementation gap, or feature-descriptors mismatch.

Source

Thrown at packages/effects/src/halftone.ts:365

	line: 2,
};

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(`Halftone 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);

View on GitHub (pinned to 78fe4bb3fd)

Solutions

1. Read the driver info log embedded in the message — it names the line and reason the compiler rejected.
2. Render on a machine with a working WebGL2/GLSL ES 3.00 stack (hardware acceleration, or Remotion's default headless shell).
3. Update the GPU driver to a version with complete GLSL ES 3.00 support.
4. If transient (context loss), restart the render once.

try {
  // ...use halftone()
} catch (e) {
  if (e instanceof Error && e.message.startsWith('Halftone shader compile failed')) {
    // driver info log is in e.message; switch to a known-good WebGL2 stack
    console.error(e.message);
  } else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Compiling the halftone shaders on a GPU/driver whose GLSL ES 3.00 compiler rejects constructs the shader uses (e.g. certain loop bounds, textureGrad, integer math); headless software GL backends with incomplete compilers; a GPU driver crash mid-compile.

Common situations: Headless render with swiftshader or an outdated mesa; remote Linux rendering with nouveau; resumed-from-sleep context; rare transient driver faults.

Related errors

• Halftone program link failed: ${log ?? '(no log)'}
• Failed to create WebGL shader
• Checkerboard shader compile failed: ${log ?? '(no log)'}
• Failed to create WebGL shader
• Shader compile failed: ${log ?? '(no log)'}

AI-assisted analysis of remotion-dev/remotion@78fe4bb3fd (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/e2e031cffb19def7. Report an issue: GitHub.