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WebGPU Requirements

Hyperscape requires WebGPU for rendering. WebGL is NOT supported.

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Why WebGPU-Only?

All Hyperscape materials use TSL (Three Shading Language) which only works with WebGPU:
  • Terrain shaders
  • Water rendering
  • Vegetation materials
  • Building materials
  • Post-processing effects (bloom, tone mapping)
  • Dissolve animations
  • Animated impostor atlases
There is NO WebGL fallback - the game will not render without WebGPU.

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Browser Support

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Desktop Browsers

BrowserMinimum VersionRelease DateStatus
Chrome113+May 2023✅ Recommended
Edge113+May 2023✅ Supported
Safari18+ (macOS 15+)September 2024✅ Supported
Firefox121+December 2023⚠️ Behind flag

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Mobile Browsers

BrowserMinimum VersionStatus
iOS Safari18+ (iOS 18+)✅ Supported
Android Chrome113+⚠️ Limited GPU support
Note: Use the native app (Capacitor) for better mobile performance.

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Checking WebGPU Support

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Online Checker

Visit webgpureport.org to check if your browser supports WebGPU.

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Browser Console

if ('gpu' in navigator) {
  const adapter = await navigator.gpu.requestAdapter();
  if (adapter) {
    console.log('✅ WebGPU supported');
    const info = await adapter.requestAdapterInfo();
    console.log('GPU:', info.description);
  } else {
    console.log('❌ WebGPU not supported');
  }
} else {
  console.log('❌ WebGPU API not available');
}

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Chrome GPU Info

Visit chrome://gpu and look for:
  • WebGPU: Hardware accelerated

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Enabling WebGPU

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Chrome/Edge

WebGPU is enabled by default in Chrome 113+. If disabled:
  1. Visit chrome://flags
  2. Search for “WebGPU”
  3. Enable “Unsafe WebGPU”
  4. Restart browser
Check hardware acceleration:
  1. Visit chrome://settings
  2. System → “Use hardware acceleration when available”
  3. Ensure it’s enabled

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Safari

WebGPU is enabled by default in Safari 18+ (macOS 15+). Requirements:
  • macOS Sequoia (15.0+)
  • Safari 18+
If not working:
  1. Safari → Preferences → Advanced
  2. Check “Show Develop menu in menu bar”
  3. Develop → Experimental Features
  4. Ensure “WebGPU” is checked

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Firefox

Not recommended - WebGPU is behind a flag. To enable:
  1. Visit about:config
  2. Search for dom.webgpu.enabled
  3. Set to true
  4. Restart browser

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Hardware Requirements

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Minimum GPU

Desktop:
  • NVIDIA GTX 1060 or newer
  • AMD RX 580 or newer
  • Intel Arc A380 or newer
  • Apple M1 or newer (macOS)
Laptop:
  • NVIDIA GTX 1650 or newer
  • AMD RX 5500M or newer
  • Intel Iris Xe or newer
  • Apple M1 or newer

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GPU Drivers

NVIDIA: AMD: Intel:

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Troubleshooting

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”WebGPU is REQUIRED but not available”

Cause: Browser doesn’t support WebGPU or hardware acceleration is disabled. Solution:
  1. Update browser to minimum version
  2. Enable hardware acceleration in browser settings
  3. Update GPU drivers
  4. Check webgpureport.org

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”Renderer initialization FAILED”

Cause: WebGPU is available but initialization failed. Solution:
  1. Update GPU drivers
  2. Try different browser
  3. Check for browser extensions blocking WebGPU
  4. Restart browser
  5. Check chrome://gpu for errors

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Black Screen / No Rendering

Cause: WebGPU initialized but rendering failed. Solution:
  1. Check browser console for errors
  2. Verify GPU is not overheating
  3. Close other GPU-intensive applications
  4. Restart browser
  5. Update GPU drivers

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”Hardware acceleration unavailable”

Cause: GPU drivers not installed or outdated. Solution:
  1. Update GPU drivers (see links above)
  2. Restart computer
  3. Check Device Manager (Windows) or System Information (macOS)
  4. Verify GPU is recognized by OS

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WebView Restrictions

Cause: Running in WebView that blocks WebGPU. Solution:
  1. Use native browser instead of WebView
  2. Enable WebGPU in WebView configuration
  3. Use native app (Capacitor) for mobile

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Server-Side Rendering (Vast.ai)

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Requirements

  • NVIDIA GPU with Vulkan support
  • Xorg or Xvfb display server
  • Chrome Dev channel (google-chrome-unstable)
  • ANGLE/Vulkan backend

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Validation

# Check GPU
nvidia-smi

# Check Vulkan
vulkaninfo --summary

# Check display
xdpyinfo -display $DISPLAY

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Configuration

# Display server
DISPLAY=:99

# GPU rendering mode
GPU_RENDERING_MODE=xorg  # or xvfb-vulkan

# Vulkan ICD
VK_ICD_FILENAMES=/usr/share/vulkan/icd.d/nvidia_icd.json

# Chrome configuration
STREAM_CAPTURE_CHANNEL=chrome-dev
STREAM_CAPTURE_ANGLE=vulkan
STREAM_CAPTURE_HEADLESS=false  # Must be false for WebGPU

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FAQ

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Can I use WebGL?

No. WebGL is not supported. All materials use TSL which requires WebGPU.

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What if my users don’t have WebGPU?

They must update their browser. WebGPU is widely available:
  • Chrome/Edge 113+ (May 2023)
  • Safari 18+ (September 2024)
  • ~95% of desktop browsers support WebGPU as of 2026

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Can I run Hyperscape in headless mode?

No. WebGPU requires a display server (Xorg or Xvfb). Pure headless mode is not supported. For server-side rendering (streaming), use Xvfb with NVIDIA Vulkan.

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Does WebGPU work on mobile?

Limited support:
  • iOS Safari 18+ (iOS 18+) - Good support
  • Android Chrome 113+ - Limited GPU support
Use the native app (Capacitor) for better mobile performance.

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How do I check if WebGPU is working?

Browser: 
const hasWebGPU = 'gpu' in navigator;
console.log('WebGPU API:', hasWebGPU);

if (hasWebGPU) {
  const adapter = await navigator.gpu.requestAdapter();
  console.log('WebGPU adapter:', adapter !== null);
}
Chrome:
  • Visit chrome://gpu
  • Look for “WebGPU: Hardware accelerated”
Safari:
  • Develop → Experimental Features → “WebGPU” (should be checked)