remotion-dev/remotion · critical · Error

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

Error message

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

What it means

A plain Error thrown by compileShader in the Liquid contours effect when gl.getShaderParameter(shader, gl.COMPILE_STATUS) is false. The shader is deleted and the info log is appended to the message. The VERTEX_SHADER and FRAGMENT_SHADER constants are static library GLSL, so a compile failure indicates a driver/GPU compatibility problem rather than any caller-controlled input.

Source

Thrown at packages/effects/src/liquid-contours.ts:293

	float selector = smoothstep(-edgeWidth, edgeWidth, wave);
	vec4 color = mix(uFirstColor, uSecondColor, selector);
	fragColor = vec4(color.rgb * color.a, color.a);
}
`;

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(
			`Liquid contours shader compile failed: ${log ?? '(no log)'}`,
		);
	}

	return shader;
};

const createProgram = (gl: WebGL2RenderingContext): WebGLProgram => {
	const vs = compileShader(gl, gl.VERTEX_SHADER, VERTEX_SHADER);
	const fs = compileShader(gl, gl.FRAGMENT_SHADER, FRAGMENT_SHADER);
	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);
	gl.deleteShader(vs);
	gl.deleteShader(fs);
	if (!gl.getProgramParameter(program, gl.LINK_STATUS)) {

View on GitHub (pinned to 78fe4bb3fd)

Solutions

1. Read the info log embedded in the message to find the rejected GLSL line/feature.
2. Update GPU driver / browser / Chromium build used to render.
3. Try a different GL backend (e.g. ANGLE over Vulkan/Metal/D3D or swiftshader).
4. Report the device + driver + info log to Remotion maintainers (shader source is fixed).

try {
  liquidContours(...);
} catch (err) {
  if (err instanceof Error && /shader compile failed/.test(err.message)) {
    // log the embedded info log, switch GL backend / update driver
  } else throw err;
}

When it happens

Trigger: The device's GLSL ES 3.00 compiler rejects the bundled Liquid contours shaders (e.g. simplex-noise helpers, smoothstep, mix). Cannot be triggered via liquidContours() params because user values are passed as uniforms, not interpolated into the shader text.

Common situations: Old or buggy GPU drivers; software GL with incomplete ES 3.00 support; a Chromium/ANGLE build with regressions. Read the embedded info log to confirm.

Related errors

• Lines shader compile failed: ${log ?? '(no log)'}
• Liquid contours program link failed: ${log ?? '(no log)'}
• Shader compile failed: ${log ?? '(no log)'}
• Program link failed: ${log ?? '(no log)'}
• Burlap shader compile failed: ${log ?? '(no log)'}

AI-assisted analysis of remotion-dev/remotion@78fe4bb3fd (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9c75bbcf271f10d1. Report an issue: GitHub.