Web/API/WebGLRenderingContext/bufferData

The WebGLRenderingContext.bufferData() method of the WebGL API initializes and creates the buffer object's data store.

Syntax

// WebGL1: 
void gl.bufferData(target, size, usage); 
void gl.bufferData(target, ArrayBuffer? srcData, usage); 
void gl.bufferData(target, ArrayBufferView srcData, usage); 

// WebGL2: 
void gl.bufferData(target, ArrayBufferView srcData, usage, srcOffset, length);

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.

size: A GLsizeiptr setting the size in bytes of the buffer object's data store.
srcData Optional: An ArrayBuffer, SharedArrayBuffer or one of the ArrayBufferView typed array types that will be copied into the data store. If null, a data store is still created, but the content is uninitialized and undefined.
usage: A GLenum specifying the intended usage pattern of the data store for optimization purposes. Possible values:

gl.STATIC_DRAW

The contents are intended to be specified once by the application, and used many times as the source for WebGL drawing and image specification commands.
gl.DYNAMIC_DRAW: The contents are intended to be respecified repeatedly by the application, and used many times as the source for WebGL drawing and image specification commands.
gl.STREAM_DRAW: The contents are intended to be specified once by the application, and used at most a few times as the source for WebGL drawing and image specification commands.
When using a WebGL 2 context, the following values are available additionally:

gl.STATIC_READ

- The contents are intended to be specified once by reading data from WebGL, and queried many times by the application.
- gl.DYNAMIC_READ: The contents are intended to be respecified repeatedly by reading data from WebGL, and queried many times by the application.
- gl.STREAM_READ: The contents are intended to be specified once by reading data from WebGL, and queried at most a few times by the application
- gl.STATIC_COPY: The contents are intended to be specified once by reading data from WebGL, and used many times as the source for WebGL drawing and image specification commands.
- gl.DYNAMIC_COPY: The contents are intended to be respecified repeatedly by reading data from WebGL, and used many times as the source for WebGL drawing and image specification commands.
- gl.STREAM_COPY: The contents are intended to be specified once by reading data from WebGL, and used at most a few times as the source for WebGL drawing and image specification commands.

srcOffset: A GLuint specifying the element index offset where to start reading the buffer.
length Optional: A GLuint defaulting to 0.

Return value

None.

Exceptions

A gl.OUT_OF_MEMORY error is thrown if the context is unable to create a data store with the given size.
A gl.INVALID_VALUE error is thrown if size is negative.
A gl.INVALID_ENUM error is thrown if target or usage are not one of the allowed enums.

Examples

Using bufferData

var canvas = document.getElementById('canvas');
var gl = canvas.getContext('webgl');
var buffer = gl.createBuffer();
gl.bindBuffer(gl.ARRAY_BUFFER, buffer);
gl.bufferData(gl.ARRAY_BUFFER, 1024, gl.STATIC_DRAW);

Getting buffer information

To check the current buffer usage and buffer size, use the WebGLRenderingContext.getBufferParameter() method.

gl.getBufferParameter(gl.ARRAY_BUFFER, gl.BUFFER_SIZE);
gl.getBufferParameter(gl.ARRAY_BUFFER, gl.BUFFER_USAGE);

Getting size of a typed array

To calculate size parameter for a typed array.

var dataArray = new Float32Array([1, 2, 3, 4]);
var sizeInBytes = dataArray.length * dataArray.BYTES_PER_ELEMENT;

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
WebGL 1.0The definition of 'bufferData' in that specification.	Recommendation	Initial definition.
OpenGL ES 2.0The definition of 'glBufferData' in that specification.	Standard	Man page of the OpenGL API.
OpenGL ES 3.0The definition of 'glBufferData' in that specification.	Standard	Man page of the (similar) OpenGL ES 3 API. 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` Adds new `usage` hints: `gl.STATIC_READ`, `gl.DYNAMIC_READ`, `gl.STREAM_READ`, `gl.STATIC_COPY`, `gl.DYNAMIC_COPY`, `gl.STREAM_COPY`.

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
`bufferData`	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