Web/API/WebGLRenderingContext/bindBuffer

The WebGLRenderingContext.bindBuffer() method of the WebGL API binds a given WebGLBuffer to a target.

Syntax

void gl.bindBuffer(target, buffer);

Parameters

target: A GLenum specifying the binding point (target). Possible values:

gl.ARRAY_BUFFER

Buffer containing vertex attributes, such as vertex coordinates, texture coordinate data, or vertex color data.
gl.ELEMENT_ARRAY_BUFFER: Buffer used for element indices.
When using a WebGL 2 context, the following values are available additionally:

gl.COPY_READ_BUFFER

- Buffer for copying from one buffer object to another.
- gl.COPY_WRITE_BUFFER: Buffer for copying from one buffer object to another.
- gl.TRANSFORM_FEEDBACK_BUFFER: Buffer for transform feedback operations.
- gl.UNIFORM_BUFFER: Buffer used for storing uniform blocks.
- gl.PIXEL_PACK_BUFFER: Buffer used for pixel transfer operations.
- gl.PIXEL_UNPACK_BUFFER: Buffer used for pixel transfer operations.

buffer: A WebGLBuffer to bind.

Return value

None.

Exceptions

Only one target can be bound to a given WebGLBuffer. An attempt to bind the buffer to another target will throw an INVALID_OPERATION error and the current buffer binding will remain the same.

A WebGLBuffer which has been marked for deletion with deleteBuffer cannot be (re-)bound. An attempt to do so will generate an INVALID_OPERATION error, and the current binding will remain untouched.

Examples

Binding a buffer to a target

var canvas = document.getElementById('canvas');
var gl = canvas.getContext('webgl');
var buffer = gl.createBuffer();

gl.bindBuffer(gl.ARRAY_BUFFER, buffer);

Getting current bindings

To check the current buffer bindings, query the ARRAY_BUFFER_BINDING and ELEMENT_ARRAY_BUFFER_BINDING constants.

gl.getParameter(gl.ARRAY_BUFFER_BINDING);
gl.getParameter(gl.ELEMENT_ARRAY_BUFFER_BINDING);

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
WebGL 1.0The definition of 'bindBuffer' in that specification.	Recommendation	Initial definition for WebGL.
OpenGL ES 2.0The definition of 'glBindBuffer' in that specification.	Standard	Man page of the (similar) OpenGL ES 2 API.
WebGL 2.0The definition of 'bindBuffer' in that specification.	Editor's Draft	Updated definition for WebGL 2. Adds new `target` buffers: `gl.COPY_READ_BUFFER`, `gl.COPY_WRITE_BUFFER`, `gl.TRANSFORM_FEEDBACK_BUFFER`, `gl.UNIFORM_BUFFER`, `gl.PIXEL_PACK_BUFFER`, `gl.PIXEL_UNPACK_BUFFER`
OpenGL ES 3.0The definition of 'glBindBuffer' in that specification.	Standard	Man page of the (similar) OpenGL ES 3 API.

Browser compatibility

The compatibility table in this page is generated from structured data. If you'd like to contribute to the data, please check out https://github.com/mdn/browser-compat-data and send us a pull request.

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
`bindBuffer`	Chrome Full support 9	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 4	IE Full support 11	Opera Full support 12	Safari Full support 5.1	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 25	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support 12	Safari iOS Full support 8	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.5
`WebGL2`	Chrome Full support 56	Edge Full support 79	Firefox Full support 51	IE No support No	Opera Full support 43	Safari No support No	WebView Android Full support 58	Chrome Android Full support 58	Firefox Android Full support 51	Opera Android Full support 43	Safari iOS No support No	Samsung Internet Android Full support 7.0

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support