Web/API/WebGLRenderingContext/clear

The WebGLRenderingContext.clear() method of the WebGL API clears buffers to preset values.

The preset values can be set by clearColor(), clearDepth() or clearStencil().

The scissor box, dithering, and buffer writemasks can affect the clear() method.

Syntax

void gl.clear(mask);

Parameters

mask: A GLbitfield bitwise OR mask that indicates the buffers to be cleared. Possible values are:

gl.COLOR_BUFFER_BIT gl.DEPTH_BUFFER_BIT gl.STENCIL_BUFFER_BIT

Return value

None.

Exceptions

If mask is not one of the listed possible values, a gl.INVALID_ENUM error is thrown.

Examples

The clear() method accepts multiple values.

gl.clear(gl.DEPTH_BUFFER_BIT);
gl.clear(gl.DEPTH_BUFFER_BIT | gl.COLOR_BUFFER_BIT);

To get the current clear values, query the COLOR_CLEAR_VALUE, DEPTH_CLEAR_VALUE, and STENCIL_CLEAR_VALUE constants.

gl.getParameter(gl.COLOR_CLEAR_VALUE);
gl.getParameter(gl.DEPTH_CLEAR_VALUE);
gl.getParameter(gl.STENCIL_CLEAR_VALUE);

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
WebGL 1.0The definition of 'clear' in that specification.	Recommendation	Initial definition.
OpenGL ES 2.0The definition of 'glClear' in that specification.	Standard	Man page of the OpenGL 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
`clear`	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

Legend

Full support: Full support