Webgpu Errors Validation

WebGPU Validation and Errors

Capture and diagnose WebGPU validation failures with error scopes and the uncapturederror event. WebGPU errors are asynchronous and contagious, not synchronous like WebGL's gl.getError().

Quick Reference

WebGPU 1.0-stable (Chrome 113+, Safari 26+, Firefox 141+).

Error types: the three GPUError subtypes

Every GPUError subtype carries a human-readable message string. ALWAYS read error.message. ALWAYS identify the concrete subtype with error.constructor.name.

Error scope API

Error scopes form a LIFO stack. A scope captures ONLY errors matching its filter type. Errors are captured on the device timeline, so popErrorScope() is asynchronous.

Decision Tree

Error scope vs uncapturederror

Do I need to tie an error to a specific call site?
├─ YES (diagnosing a failing call)
│    -> Bracket the call with pushErrorScope / popErrorScope.
└─ NO (catch-all telemetry / last-resort logging)
     -> Add an uncapturederror event listener once at init.

ALWAYS use BOTH: error scopes for targeted diagnosis during development, plus a single uncapturederror listener as a safety net for everything not bracketed.

Which filter to push

What kind of failure am I investigating?
├─ A descriptor is rejected, alignment is wrong, layout mismatch
│    -> pushErrorScope("validation")
├─ createBuffer / createTexture for a large resource fails
│    -> pushErrorScope("out-of-memory")
└─ An operation fails with no app-level cause (driver fault)
     -> pushErrorScope("internal")

A "validation" scope NEVER captures an out-of-memory error and vice versa. To catch any error type around one call, push all three scopes (nested LIFO) and pop them in reverse order, or rely on uncapturederror.

Validation error vs shader compilation error

Did createShaderModule succeed but the pipeline still fails?
├─ WGSL syntax / type error
│    -> NOT a GPUError. Use shaderModule.getCompilationInfo().
│       See webgpu-errors-debugging.
└─ Pipeline / resource API misuse
     -> A GPUValidationError. Use error scopes (this skill).

Core Patterns

Pattern 1: ALWAYS bracket a suspect call with a push and a pop

device.pushErrorScope("validation");
const pipeline = device.createRenderPipeline(descriptor);
const error = await device.popErrorScope();
if (error) {
  console.error("Pipeline invalid:", error.message);
}

The scope localises the failure to exactly one operation. popErrorScope() is a Promise: ALWAYS await it. NEVER read its result synchronously.

Pattern 2: ALWAYS register one uncapturederror listener at init

device.addEventListener("uncapturederror", (event) => {
  console.error(
    "Uncaptured WebGPU error:",
    event.error.constructor.name,
    event.error.message,
  );
});

This catches every error not inside an active scope. It is a telemetry net. It CANNOT tell you which call site produced the error.

Pattern 3: NEVER treat uncapturederror like gl.getError()

WebGL's gl.getError() is synchronous and returns the error of the last call. WebGPU's uncapturederror event fires asynchronously and only reports the error object, not the call that caused it. To attribute an error to a call, use Pattern

1. To diagnose, also set a label on every descriptor (see webgpu-errors-debugging) so error.message names the object.

Pattern 4: ALWAYS chase the FIRST error, not a downstream one

WebGPU errors are contagious. An object created from an invalid descriptor becomes an invalid object. Operations that consume that invalid object also fail, producing a cascade of validation errors. The FIRST reported error is the root cause. NEVER fix a later error in the cascade first: once the root object is valid, the dependent errors disappear.

device.pushErrorScope("validation");
const layout = device.createBindGroupLayout(layoutDesc); // root failure here
const group = device.createBindGroup({ layout, entries }); // contagious failure
const error = await device.popErrorScope();
// error is the FIRST captured error: the bad bind group layout.

Pattern 5: NEVER push a scope and forget to pop it

Every pushErrorScope MUST be paired with a popErrorScope. An unpopped scope keeps capturing errors that should have surfaced via uncapturederror, hiding them. Pop scopes in strict LIFO order: last pushed, first popped.

Pattern 6: ALWAYS match the filter to the error type

A scope with filter "validation" resolves to null for an out-of-memory failure, because that error was not its type and fell through to the next scope or to uncapturederror. To probe an allocation, push "out-of-memory":

device.pushErrorScope("out-of-memory");
const huge = device.createBuffer({ size: 4_000_000_000, usage });
const oom = await device.popErrorScope();
if (oom) console.error("Allocation failed:", oom.message);

Common Anti-Patterns

1. Relying solely on uncapturederror and treating it like gl.getError(). WHY it fails: the event fires asynchronously and carries only the error object. It CANNOT tie an error to a call site. Fix: bracket suspect calls with pushErrorScope / popErrorScope.

2. Not bracketing a suspect call at all. WHY it fails: the error surfaces later via uncapturederror (or not at all if a stale scope swallows it), so the failing operation is unknown. Fix: wrap the resource-creation block with a push and an awaited pop.

3. Chasing a downstream contagious error instead of the first one. WHY it fails: an invalid object produces a cascade of dependent validation errors; fixing a later one does nothing while the root object stays invalid. Fix: read and fix the FIRST captured error.

Critical Warnings

• NEVER read popErrorScope() synchronously. It returns a Promise<GPUError | null>. ALWAYS await it.
• NEVER assume uncapturederror identifies a call site. It does not.
• NEVER leave a pushed scope unpopped. It silently swallows later errors.
• NEVER push the wrong filter. A "validation" scope ignores out-of-memory and internal errors.
• NEVER fix a downstream contagious error first. The first error is the root cause.
• NEVER expect a synchronous error API. WebGPU has no getError() equivalent.

Reference Files

• references/methods.md: GPUError subtypes, pushErrorScope/popErrorScope, the uncapturederror event, error filters.
• references/examples.md: verified code for bracketing a suspect call and for an uncapturederror handler.
• references/anti-patterns.md: common validation-failure mistakes with WHY-it-fails explanations.

Related skills

• webgpu-errors-debugging: shader compilation diagnostics via getCompilationInfo(), object labels, debug groups.
• webgpu-errors-device-loss: the device.lost promise and recovery after device loss.
• webgpu-core-memory-model: alignment rules whose violation produces most GPUValidationErrors.
• webgpu-core-architecture: the device timeline and the WebGPU runtime model.