WebGPU

React Vello prefers WebGPU. The WASM Vello renderer is bundled with the package.

Requirements

• Use a browser with WebGPU enabled (current Chromium-based browsers are the most reliable path).
• Serve your page over a secure context (https or localhost).

If navigator.gpu is missing, the root still mounts. Rendering falls back to a Canvas 2D software path so the scene stays visible while you develop without GPU support.

How the root chooses a backend

createVelloRoot checks for WebGPU at creation time:

1. WebGPU available — load WASM, create the GPU renderer, and call onReady when the driver is ready.
2. WebGPU init fails — disable the GPU driver, switch backend to "canvas", and call onError then onReady.
3. No WebGPU — skip WASM init and call onReady on a microtask with backend: "canvas".

Inspect the active path with root.getContext().backend ("webgpu" | "canvas").

No extra WASM setup

You do not need to configure wasm-pack, copy assets by hand, or register a separate loader for the published package. The renderer ships inside react-vello and loads through the package's WASM bridge.

Tips

• Prefer Chromium for demos and stress tests that exercise the GPU path.
• Pass onError to createVelloRoot if you want to surface GPU init failures in your UI.
• Pass debug: true when you need per-stage frame timings via getContext().getStats().