Constructor

WebGLRenderer( Object parameters )

parameters - (optional) object with properties defining the renderer's behavior. 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 false.
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 camera / logarithmicdepthbuffer example. reverseDepthBuffer - whether to use a reverse depth buffer. Requires the EXT_clip_control extension. This is a more faster and accurate version than logarithmic depth buffer. Default is false.

Properties

autoClear: Boolean

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

autoClearColor: Boolean

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

autoClearDepth: Boolean

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

autoClearStencil: Boolean

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

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.
- 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.
- reverseDepthBuffer: true if the reverseDepthBuffer was set to true in the constructor and the context supports the EXT_clip_control extension.
- vertexTextures: true if [property:Integer maxVertexTextures] is greater than 0 (i.e. vertex textures can be used).

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 [].

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.

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: 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
• See more: Extension list

- has( [param:String extensionName] ): true if the extension is supported.

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: 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: Boolean

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

properties: Object

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

renderLists: WebGLRenderLists

Used internally to handle ordering of scene object rendering.

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 [page:Renderer Renderer constants] for details.

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: Object

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

toneMapping: Constant

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

toneMappingExposure: Number

Exposure level of tone mapping. Default is 1.

transmissionResolutionScale: Number

The normalized resolution scale for the transmission render target, measured in percentage of viewport dimensions. Lowering this value can result in significant improvements to MeshPhysicalMaterial transmission performance. Default is 1.

xr: WebXRManager

Provides access to the WebXR related interface of the renderer.

Methods

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

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

clearDepth(): undefined

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

clearStencil(): undefined

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

compile(Object3D scene, Camera camera, Scene targetScene): Set

Compiles all materials in the scene with the camera. This is useful to precompile shaders before the first rendering. If you want to add a 3D object to an existing scene, use the third optional parameter for applying the target scene.
Note that the (target) scene's lighting and environment should be configured before calling this method.

compileAsync(Object3D scene, Camera camera, Scene targetScene): Promise

Asynchronous version of .compile(). The method returns a Promise that resolves when the given scene can be rendered without unnecessary stalling due to shader compilation.

This method makes use of the *KHR_parallel_shader_compile* WebGL extension.

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

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

copyTextureToTexture(Texture srcTexture, Texture dstTexture, Box2 srcRegion | Box3 srcRegion, Vector2 dstPosition | Vector3 dstPosition, Number srcLevel, Number dstLevel): undefined

Copies the pixels of a texture in the bounds 'srcRegion' in the destination texture starting from the given position. 2D Texture, 3D Textures, or a mix of the two can be used as source and destination texture arguments for copying between layers of 3d textures. The depthTexture and texture property of render targets are supported as well.
When using render target textures as srcTexture and dstTexture, you must make sure both render targets are initialized e.g. via .initRenderTarget().

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(): undefined

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

forceContextRestore(): undefined

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

getClearAlpha(): Float

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

getClearColor(Color target): Color

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

getContext(): WebGL2RenderingContext

Return the current WebGL context.

getContextAttributes(): WebGLContextAttributes

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

getActiveCubeFace(): Integer

Returns the current active cube face.

getActiveMipmapLevel(): Integer

Returns the current active mipmap level.

getRenderTarget(): RenderTarget

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

getCurrentViewport(Vector4 target): Vector4

target — the result will be copied into this Vector4.

Returns the current viewport.

getDrawingBufferSize(Vector2 target): Vector2

target — the result will be copied into this Vector2.

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

getPixelRatio(): number

Returns current device pixel ratio used.

getScissor(Vector4 target): Vector4

target — the result will be copied into this Vector4.

Returns the scissor region.

getScissorTest(): Boolean

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

getSize(Vector2 target): Vector2

target — the result will be copied into this Vector2.

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

getViewport(Vector4 target): Vector4

target — the result will be copied into this Vector4.

Returns the viewport.

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).

initRenderTarget(WebGLRenderTarget target): undefined

Initializes the given WebGLRenderTarget memory. Useful for initializing a render target so data can be copied into it using .copyTextureToTexture before it has been rendered to.

resetGLState(): undefined

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

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

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

readRenderTargetPixelsAsync(WebGLRenderTarget renderTarget, Float x, Float y, Float width, Float height, TypedArray buffer, Integer activeCubeFaceIndex): Promise

Asynchronous, non-blocking version of .readRenderTargetPixels. The returned promise resolves once the buffer data is ready to be used.

See the interactive / cubes / gpu example.

render(Object3D scene, 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(): 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 callback): 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(Float alpha): undefined

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

setClearColor(Color color, Float alpha): undefined

Sets the clear color and opacity.

setPixelRatio(number value): undefined

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

setRenderTarget(WebGLRenderTarget renderTarget, Integer activeCubeFace, Integer activeMipmapLevel): 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(Integer x, Integer y, Integer width, Integer height): undefined

setScissor(Vector4 vector): 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(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 method): undefined

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

setTransparentSort(Function method): undefined

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

setSize(Integer width, Integer height, Boolean updateStyle): 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(Integer x, Integer y, Integer width, Integer height): undefined

setViewport(Vector4 vector): 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.