Skip to main content

WebGLRenderer

The WebGL renderer displays your beautifully crafted scenes using WebGL.

Constructor​

WebGLRenderer​

function WebGLRenderer( parameters: Object ): void;

parameters - (optional) object with properties defining the renderer's behaviour. The constructor also accepts no parameters at all. In all cases, it will assume sane defaults when parameters are missing. The following are valid parameters:

canvas - A canvas where the renderer draws its output. This corresponds to the domElement property below. If not passed in here, a new canvas element will be created.
context - This can be used to attach the renderer to an existing RenderingContext. Default is null.
precision - Shader precision. Can be "highp", "mediump" or "lowp". Defaults to "highp" if supported by the device.
alpha - controls the default clear alpha value. When set to true, the value is 0. Otherwise it's 1. Default is false.
premultipliedAlpha - whether the renderer will assume that colors have premultiplied alpha. Default is true.
antialias - whether to perform antialiasing. Default is false.
stencil - whether the drawing buffer has a stencil buffer of at least 8 bits. Default is true.
preserveDrawingBuffer - whether to preserve the buffers until manually cleared or overwritten. Default is false.
powerPreference - Provides a hint to the user agent indicating what configuration of GPU is suitable for this WebGL context. Can be "high- performance", "low-power" or "default". Default is "default". See WebGL spec for details.
failIfMajorPerformanceCaveat - whether the renderer creation will fail upon low performance is detected. Default is false. See WebGL spec for details.
depth - whether the drawing buffer has a depth buffer of at least 16 bits. Default is true.
logarithmicDepthBuffer - whether to use a logarithmic depth buffer. It may be necessary to use this if dealing with huge differences in scale in a single scene. Note that this setting uses gl_FragDepth if available which disables the Early Fragment Test optimization and can cause a decrease in performance. Default is false. See the [example:webgl_camera_logarithmicdepthbuffer camera / logarithmicdepthbuffer] example.

Properties​

autoClear​

autoClear: Boolean;

Defines whether the renderer should automatically clear its output before rendering a frame.

autoClearColor​

autoClearColor: Boolean;

If .autoClear is true, defines whether the renderer should clear the color buffer. Default is true.

autoClearDepth​

autoClearDepth: Boolean;

If .autoClear is true, defines whether the renderer should clear the depth buffer. Default is true.

autoClearStencil​

autoClearStencil: Boolean;

If .autoClear is true, defines whether the renderer should clear the stencil buffer. Default is true.

debug​

debug: Object;

- checkShaderErrors: If it is true, defines whether material shader programs are checked for errors during compilation and linkage process. It may be useful to disable this check in production for performance gain. It is strongly recommended to keep these checks enabled during development. If the shader does not compile and link - it will not work and associated material will not render. Default is true.
- onShaderError( gl, program, glVertexShader, glFragmentShader ): A callback function that can be used for custom error reporting. The callback receives the WebGL context, an instance of WebGLProgram as well two instances of WebGLShader representing the vertex and fragment shader. Assigning a custom function disables the default error reporting. Default is null.

capabilities​

capabilities: Object;

An object containing details about the capabilities of the current RenderingContext.
- floatFragmentTextures: whether the context supports the OES_texture_float extension.
- floatVertexTextures: true if floatFragmentTextures and vertexTextures are both true.
- getMaxAnisotropy(): Returns the maximum available anisotropy.
- getMaxPrecision(): Returns the maximum available precision for vertex and fragment shaders.
- isWebGL2: true if the context in use is a WebGL2RenderingContext object.
- logarithmicDepthBuffer: true if the logarithmicDepthBuffer was set to true in the constructor and the context supports the EXT_frag_depth extension.
- maxAttributes: The value of gl.MAX_VERTEX_ATTRIBS.
- maxCubemapSize: The value of gl.MAX_CUBE_MAP_TEXTURE_SIZE. Maximum height * width of cube map textures that a shader can use.
- maxFragmentUniforms: The value of gl.MAX_FRAGMENT_UNIFORM_VECTORS. The number of uniforms that can be used by a fragment shader.
- maxSamples: The value of gl.MAX_SAMPLES. Maximum number of samples in context of Multisample anti-aliasing (MSAA).
- maxTextureSize: The value of gl.MAX_TEXTURE_SIZE. Maximum height * width of a texture that a shader use.
- maxTextures: The value of gl.MAX_TEXTURE_IMAGE_UNITS. The maximum number of textures that can be used by a shader.
- maxVaryings: The value of gl.MAX_VARYING_VECTORS. The number of varying vectors that can used by shaders.
- maxVertexTextures: The value of gl.MAX_VERTEX_TEXTURE_IMAGE_UNITS. The number of textures that can be used in a vertex shader.
- maxVertexUniforms: The value of gl.MAX_VERTEX_UNIFORM_VECTORS. The maximum number of uniforms that can be used in a vertex shader.
- precision: The shader precision currently being used by the renderer.
- vertexTextures: true if [property:Integer maxVertexTextures] is greater than 0 (i.e. vertex textures can be used).

clippingPlanes​

clippingPlanes: Array;

User-defined clipping planes specified as THREE.Plane objects in world space. These planes apply globally. Points in space whose dot product with the plane is negative are cut away. Default is [].

domElement​

domElement: DOMElement;

A canvas where the renderer draws its output.
This is automatically created by the renderer in the constructor (if not provided already); you just need to add it to your page like so:

document.body.appendChild( renderer.domElement );

extensions​

extensions: Object;

- get( [param:String extensionName] ): Used to check whether various extensions are supported and returns an object with details of the extension if available. This method can check for the following extensions:

  • WEBGL_depth_texture
  • EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic
  • WEBGL_compressed_texture_s3tc
  • WEBGL_compressed_texture_pvrtc
  • WEBGL_compressed_texture_etc1

outputColorSpace​

outputColorSpace: string;

Defines the output color space of the renderer. Default is THREE.SRGBColorSpace.

If a render target has been set using .setRenderTarget then renderTarget.texture.colorSpace will be used instead.

See the texture constants page for details of other formats.

info​

info: Object;

An object with a series of statistical information about the graphics board memory and the rendering process. Useful for debugging or just for the sake of curiosity. The object contains the following fields:

  • memory:
    • geometries
    • textures
  • render:
    • calls
    • triangles
    • points
    • lines
    • frame
  • programs

By default these data are reset at each render call but when having multiple render passes per frame (e.g. when using post processing) it can be preferred to reset with a custom pattern. First, set autoReset to false.

renderer.info.autoReset = false;

Call reset() whenever you have finished to render a single frame.

renderer.info.reset();

localClippingEnabled​

localClippingEnabled: Boolean;

Defines whether the renderer respects object-level clipping planes. Default is false.

useLegacyLights​

useLegacyLights: Boolean;

Whether to use the legacy lighting mode or not. Default is true.

properties​

properties: Object;

Used internally by the renderer to keep track of various sub object properties.

renderLists​

renderLists: WebGLRenderLists;

Used internally to handle ordering of scene object rendering.

shadowMap​

shadowMap: WebGLShadowMap;

This contains the reference to the shadow map, if used.
- enabled: If set, use shadow maps in the scene. Default is false.
- autoUpdate: Enables automatic updates to the shadows in the scene. Default is true.
If you do not require dynamic lighting / shadows, you may set this to false when the renderer is instantiated.
- needsUpdate: When set to true, shadow maps in the scene will be updated in the next render call. Default is false.
If you have disabled automatic updates to shadow maps (shadowMap.autoUpdate = false), you will need to set this to true and then make a render call to update the shadows in your scene.
- type: Defines shadow map type (unfiltered, percentage close filtering, percentage close filtering with bilinear filtering in shader). Options are:

  • THREE.BasicShadowMap
  • THREE.PCFShadowMap (default)
  • THREE.PCFSoftShadowMap
  • THREE.VSMShadowMap

See Renderer constants for details.

sortObjects​

sortObjects: Boolean;

Defines whether the renderer should sort objects. Default is true.

Note: Sorting is used to attempt to properly render objects that have some degree of transparency. By definition, sorting objects may not work in all cases. Depending on the needs of application, it may be necessary to turn off sorting and use other methods to deal with transparency rendering e.g. manually determining each object's rendering order.

state​

state: Object;

Contains functions for setting various properties of the WebGLRenderer.context state.

toneMapping​

toneMapping: Constant;

Default is NoToneMapping. See the Renderer constants for other choices.

toneMappingExposure​

toneMappingExposure: Number;

Exposure level of tone mapping. Default is 1.

xr​

xr: WebXRManager;

Provides access to the WebXR related interface of the renderer.

Methods​

clear​

function clear( color: Boolean, depth: Boolean, stencil: Boolean ): undefined;

Tells the renderer to clear its color, depth or stencil drawing buffer(s). This method initializes the color buffer to the current clear color value.
Arguments default to true.

clearColor​

function clearColor( ): undefined;

Clear the color buffer. Equivalent to calling .clear( true, false, false ).

clearDepth​

function clearDepth( ): undefined;

Clear the depth buffer. Equivalent to calling .clear( false, true, false ).

clearStencil​

function clearStencil( ): undefined;

Clear the stencil buffers. Equivalent to calling .clear( false, false, true ).

compile​

function compile( scene: Object3D, camera: Camera ): undefined;

Compiles all materials in the scene with the camera. This is useful to precompile shaders before the first rendering.

copyFramebufferToTexture​

function copyFramebufferToTexture( position: Vector2, texture:
FramebufferTexture, level: Number ): undefined;

Copies pixels from the current WebGLFramebuffer into a 2D texture. Enables access to WebGLRenderingContext.copyTexImage2D.

copyTextureToTexture​

function copyTextureToTexture( position: Vector2, srcTexture: Texture,
dstTexture: Texture, level: Number ): undefined;

Copies all pixels of a texture to an existing texture starting from the given position. Enables access to WebGLRenderingContext.texSubImage2D.

copyTextureToTexture3D​

function copyTextureToTexture3D( sourceBox: Box3, position: Vector3,
srcTexture: Texture, dstTexture: Texture, level: Number ): undefined;

Copies the pixels of a texture in the bounds 'sourceBox' in the destination texture starting from the given position. Enables access to WebGL2RenderingContext.texSubImage3D.

dispose​

function dispose( ): undefined;

Frees the GPU-related resources allocated by this instance. Call this method whenever this instance is no longer used in your app.

forceContextLoss​

function forceContextLoss( ): undefined;

Simulate loss of the WebGL context. This requires support for the WEBGL_lose_context extensions.

forceContextRestore​

function forceContextRestore( ): undefined;

Simulate restore of the WebGL context. This requires support for the WEBGL_lose_context extensions.

getClearAlpha​

function getClearAlpha( ): Float;

Returns a float with the current clear alpha. Ranges from 0 to 1.

getClearColor​

function getClearColor( target: Color ): Color;

Returns a THREE.Color instance with the current clear color.

getContext​

function getContext( ): WebGL2RenderingContext;

Return the current WebGL context.

getContextAttributes​

function getContextAttributes( ): WebGLContextAttributes;

Returns an object that describes the attributes set on the WebGL context when it was created.

getActiveCubeFace​

function getActiveCubeFace( ): Integer;

Returns the current active cube face.

getActiveMipmapLevel​

function getActiveMipmapLevel( ): Integer;

Returns the current active mipmap level.

getRenderTarget​

function getRenderTarget( ): RenderTarget;

Returns the current RenderTarget if there are; returns null otherwise.

getCurrentViewport​

function getCurrentViewport( target: Vector4 ): Vector4;

target — the result will be copied into this Vector4.

Returns the current viewport.

getDrawingBufferSize​

function getDrawingBufferSize( target: Vector2 ): Vector2;

target — the result will be copied into this Vector2.

Returns the width and height of the renderer's drawing buffer, in pixels.

getPixelRatio​

function getPixelRatio( ): number;

Returns current device pixel ratio used.

getScissor​

function getScissor( target: Vector4 ): Vector4;

target — the result will be copied into this Vector4.

Returns the scissor region.

getScissorTest​

function getScissorTest( ): Boolean;

Returns true if scissor test is enabled; returns false otherwise.

getSize​

function getSize( target: Vector2 ): Vector2;

target — the result will be copied into this Vector2.

Returns the width and height of the renderer's output canvas, in pixels.

getViewport​

function getViewport( target: Vector4 ): Vector4;

target — the result will be copied into this Vector4.

Returns the viewport.

initTexture​

function initTexture( texture: Texture ): undefined;

Initializes the given texture. Useful for preloading a texture rather than waiting until first render (which can cause noticeable lags due to decode and GPU upload overhead).

resetGLState​

function resetGLState( ): undefined;

Reset the GL state to default. Called internally if the WebGL context is lost.

readRenderTargetPixels​

function readRenderTargetPixels( renderTarget: WebGLRenderTarget, x: Float, y:
Float, width: Float, height: Float, buffer: TypedArray, activeCubeFaceIndex:
Integer ): undefined;

buffer - Uint8Array is the only destination type supported in all cases, other types are renderTarget and platform dependent. See WebGL spec for details.

Reads the pixel data from the renderTarget into the buffer you pass in. This is a wrapper around WebGLRenderingContext.readPixels().

See the [example:webgl_interactive_cubes_gpu interactive / cubes / gpu] example.

For reading out a WebGLCubeRenderTarget use the optional parameter activeCubeFaceIndex to determine which face should be read.

render​

function render( scene: Object3D, camera: Camera ): undefined;

Render a scene or another type of object using a camera.
The render is done to a previously specified renderTarget set by calling .setRenderTarget or to the canvas as usual.
By default render buffers are cleared before rendering but you can prevent this by setting the property autoClear to false. If you want to prevent only certain buffers being cleared you can set either the autoClearColor, autoClearStencil or autoClearDepth properties to false. To forcibly clear one or more buffers call .clear.

resetState​

function resetState( ): undefined;

Can be used to reset the internal WebGL state. This method is mostly relevant for applications which share a single WebGL context across multiple WebGL libraries.

setAnimationLoop​

function setAnimationLoop( callback: Function ): undefined;

callback — The function will be called every available frame. If null is passed it will stop any already ongoing animation.

A built in function that can be used instead of requestAnimationFrame. For WebXR projects this function must be used.

setClearAlpha​

function setClearAlpha( alpha: Float ): undefined;

Sets the clear alpha. Valid input is a float between 0.0 and 1.0.

setClearColor​

function setClearColor( color: Color, alpha: Float ): undefined;

Sets the clear color and opacity.

setPixelRatio​

function setPixelRatio( value: number ): undefined;

Sets device pixel ratio. This is usually used for HiDPI device to prevent blurring output canvas.

setRenderTarget​

function setRenderTarget( renderTarget: WebGLRenderTarget, activeCubeFace:
Integer, activeMipmapLevel: Integer ): undefined;

renderTarget -- The renderTarget that needs to be activated. When null is given, the canvas is set as the active render target instead.
activeCubeFace -- Specifies the active cube side (PX 0, NX 1, PY 2, NY 3, PZ 4, NZ 5) of WebGLCubeRenderTarget. When passing a WebGLArrayRenderTarget or WebGL3DRenderTarget this indicates the z layer to render in to (optional).
activeMipmapLevel -- Specifies the active mipmap level (optional).

This method sets the active rendertarget.

setScissor​

function setScissor( x: Integer, y: Integer, width: Integer, height: Integer,
vector: Vector4 ): undefined;

The x, y, width, and height parameters of the scissor region.
Optionally, a 4-component vector specifying the parameters of the region.

Sets the scissor region from (x, y) to (x + width, y + height).
(x, y) is the lower-left corner of the scissor region.

setScissorTest​

function setScissorTest( boolean: Boolean ): undefined;

Enable or disable the scissor test. When this is enabled, only the pixels within the defined scissor area will be affected by further renderer actions.

setOpaqueSort​

function setOpaqueSort( method: Function ): undefined;

Sets the custom opaque sort function for the WebGLRenderLists. Pass null to use the default painterSortStable function.

setTransparentSort​

function setTransparentSort( method: Function ): undefined;

Sets the custom transparent sort function for the WebGLRenderLists. Pass null to use the default reversePainterSortStable function.

setSize​

function setSize( width: Integer, height: Integer, updateStyle: Boolean ):
undefined;

Resizes the output canvas to (width, height) with device pixel ratio taken into account, and also sets the viewport to fit that size, starting in (0, 0). Setting updateStyle to false prevents any style changes to the output canvas.

setViewport​

function setViewport( x: Integer, y: Integer, width: Integer, height: Integer,
vector: Vector4 ): undefined;

The x, y, width, and height parameters of the viewport.
Optionally, a 4-component vector specifying the parameters of a viewport.

Sets the viewport to render from (x, y) to (x + width, y + height).
(x, y) is the lower-left corner of the region.

Source​

src/renderers/WebGLRenderer.js