Web/API/WebGLRenderingContext/isContextLost

The WebGLRenderingContext.isContextLost() method returns a Boolean indicating whether or not the WebGL context has been lost and must be re-established before rendering can resume.

Syntax

let isLost = gl.isContextLost();

Return value

A Boolean which is true if the context is lost, or false if not.

Usage notes

There are several reasons why a WebGL context may be lost, making it necessary to re-establish the context before resuming rendering. Examples include:

Two or more pages are using the GPU, but together place too high a demand on the GPU, so the browser tells the two contexts that they've lost the connection, then selects one of the two to restore access for.
The user's computer has multiple graphics processors (such as a laptop with both mobile and desktop class GPUs, the former used primarily when on battery power), and the user or system decides to switch GPUs. In this case, all contexts are lost, then restored after switching GPUs.
Another page running in the user's browser performs an operation using the GPU that takes too long, causing hte browser to decide to reset the GPU in order to break the stall. This would cause every WebGL context to be lost throughout the entire browser.
The user updates their graphics driver on an operating system that allows graphics drivers to be updated without restarting the system.

Examples

For example, when checking for program linking success, you could also check if the context is not lost:

gl.linkProgram(program);

if (!gl.getProgramParameter(program, gl.LINK_STATUS) && !gl.isContextLost()) {
  var info = gl.getProgramInfoLog(program);
  console.log('Error linking program:\n' + info);
}

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
WebGL 1.0The definition of 'WebGLRenderingContext.isContextLost' in that specification.	Recommendation	Initial definition.

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
`isContextLost`	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