What is WebGPU?
The short answer
WebGPU is the newer browser graphics and compute API that succeeds WebGL, giving web pages closer-to-native access to the GPU for faster 3D and parallel computing.
WebGPU, explained
It enables heavier scenes and in-browser AI workloads. Sites typically use WebGPU where supported and fall back to WebGL elsewhere.
Questions people ask about WebGPU
What is WebGPU?
WebGPU is the newer browser graphics and compute API that succeeds WebGL, giving web pages closer-to-native access to the GPU for faster 3D and parallel computing.
Related terms
WebGL is the browser technology that draws hardware-accelerated 2D and 3D graphics inside a web page using the device's GPU, with no plugin.
ShaderA shader is a small program that runs on the GPU for every pixel or vertex, calculating colour and shape; shaders create effects like liquid metal, glow, ripples and gradients.
Three.jsThree.js is the most widely used JavaScript library for 3D on the web; it wraps WebGL with cameras, lights, materials and models so developers can build scenes quickly.
Micro-interactionsMicro-interactions are small, single-purpose animations that respond to what a visitor does, like a button that presses in, a heart that fills or a field that shakes on an error.
Part of the Web Encyclopedia by Apex Flow Digital. Definitions are general knowledge, kept current, with no invented statistics.