GitHub - gogpu/wgpu: Pure Go WebGPU Implementation

Pure Go WebGPU Implementation
No Rust. No CGO. Just Go.

_{Part of the GoGPU ecosystem}

Overview

wgpu is a complete WebGPU implementation written entirely in Go. It provides direct GPU access through multiple hardware abstraction layer (HAL) backends without requiring Rust, CGO, or any external dependencies.

Key Features

Installation

go get github.com/gogpu/wgpu

Requirements: Go 1.25+

Build:

Note: wgpu uses Pure Go FFI via cgo_import_dynamic, which requires CGO_ENABLED=0. This enables zero C compiler dependency and easy cross-compilation.

Quick Start

package main

import (
    "fmt"

    "github.com/gogpu/wgpu"
    _ "github.com/gogpu/wgpu/hal/allbackends" // Auto-register platform backends
)

func main() {
    // Create instance
    instance, _ := wgpu.CreateInstance(nil)
    defer instance.Release()

    // Request high-performance GPU
    adapter, _ := instance.RequestAdapter(&wgpu.RequestAdapterOptions{
        PowerPreference: wgpu.PowerPreferenceHighPerformance,
    })
    defer adapter.Release()

    // Get adapter info
    info := adapter.Info()
    fmt.Printf("GPU: %s (%s)\n", info.Name, info.Backend)

    // Create device
    device, _ := adapter.RequestDevice(nil)
    defer device.Release()

    // Create a GPU buffer
    buffer, _ := device.CreateBuffer(&wgpu.BufferDescriptor{
        Label: "My Buffer",
        Size:  1024,
        Usage: wgpu.BufferUsageStorage | wgpu.BufferUsageCopyDst,
    })
    defer buffer.Release()

    // Write data to buffer
    if err := device.Queue().WriteBuffer(buffer, 0, []byte{1, 2, 3, 4}); err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
}

Compute Shaders

// Create shader module from WGSL
shader, _ := device.CreateShaderModule(&wgpu.ShaderModuleDescriptor{
    Label: "Compute Shader",
    WGSL:  wgslSource,
})
defer shader.Release()

// Create compute pipeline
pipeline, _ := device.CreateComputePipeline(&wgpu.ComputePipelineDescriptor{
    Label:      "Compute Pipeline",
    Layout:     pipelineLayout,
    Module:     shader,
    EntryPoint: "main",
})
defer pipeline.Release()

// Record and submit commands
encoder, _ := device.CreateCommandEncoder(nil)
pass, _ := encoder.BeginComputePass(nil)
pass.SetPipeline(pipeline)
pass.SetBindGroup(0, bindGroup, nil)
pass.Dispatch(64, 1, 1)
pass.End()

cmdBuffer, _ := encoder.Finish()
device.Queue().Submit(cmdBuffer)

Guides: Getting Started | Backend Differences

Features: WGSL compute shaders, storage/uniform buffers, indirect dispatch, GPU timestamp queries (Vulkan), GPU-to-CPU readback.

Architecture

wgpu/
├── *.go                # Public API (import "github.com/gogpu/wgpu")
├── core/               # Validation, state tracking, resource management
├── hal/                # Hardware Abstraction Layer
│   ├── allbackends/    # Platform-specific backend auto-registration
│   ├── noop/           # No-op backend (testing)
│   ├── software/       # CPU software rasterizer (~11K LOC)
│   ├── gles/           # OpenGL ES 3.0+ (~10K LOC)
│   ├── vulkan/         # Vulkan 1.3 (~38K LOC)
│   ├── metal/          # Metal (~5K LOC)
│   └── dx12/           # DirectX 12 (~14K LOC)
├── examples/
│   ├── compute-copy/   # GPU buffer copy with compute shader
│   └── compute-sum/    # Parallel reduction on GPU
└── cmd/
    ├── vk-gen/         # Vulkan bindings generator
    └── ...             # Backend integration tests

Public API

The root package (import "github.com/gogpu/wgpu") provides a safe, ergonomic API aligned with the W3C WebGPU specification. It wraps core/ and hal/ into user-friendly types:

User Application
  ↓ import "github.com/gogpu/wgpu"
Root Package (public API)
  ↓ wraps
core/ (validation) + hal/ (backend interfaces)
  ↓
vulkan/ | metal/ | dx12/ | gles/ | software/

HAL Backend Integration

Backends auto-register via blank imports:

import _ "github.com/gogpu/wgpu/hal/allbackends"

// Platform-specific backends auto-registered:
// - Windows: Vulkan, DX12, GLES, Software
// - Linux:   Vulkan, GLES, Software
// - macOS:   Metal, Software

Backend Details

Platform Support

Vulkan Backend

Full Vulkan 1.3 implementation with:

• Auto-generated bindings from official vk.xml
• Buddy allocator for GPU memory (O(log n), minimal fragmentation)
• Dynamic rendering (VK_KHR_dynamic_rendering)
• Classic render pass fallback for Intel compatibility
• wgpu-style swapchain synchronization
• MSAA render pass with automatic resolve
• Complete resource management (Buffer, Texture, Pipeline, BindGroup)
• Surface creation: Win32, X11, Wayland, Metal (MoltenVK)
• Debug messenger for validation layer error capture (VK_EXT_debug_utils)
• Structured diagnostic logging via log/slog

Metal Backend

Native Apple GPU access via:

• Pure Go Objective-C bridge (goffi)
• Metal API via runtime message dispatch
• CAMetalLayer integration for surface presentation
• MSL shader compilation via naga

DirectX 12 Backend

Windows GPU access via:

• Pure Go COM bindings (syscall, no CGO)
• DXGI integration for swapchain and adapters
• Flip model with VRR support
• Descriptor heap management
• WGSL shader compilation (WGSL → HLSL via naga → DXBC via d3dcompiler_47.dll)
• Staging buffer GPU data transfer (WriteBuffer, WriteTexture)

OpenGL ES Backend

Cross-platform GPU access via OpenGL ES 3.0+:

• Pure Go EGL/GL bindings (goffi)
• Full rendering pipeline: VAO, FBO, MSAA, blend, stencil, depth
• WGSL shader compilation (WGSL → GLSL via naga)
• CopyTextureToBuffer readback for GPU → CPU data transfer
• Platform detection: X11, Wayland, Surfaceless (headless CI)
• Works with Mesa llvmpipe for software-only environments

Software Backend

Full-featured CPU rasterizer for headless rendering. Always compiled — no build tags or GPU hardware required.

// Software backend auto-registers via init().
// No explicit import needed when using hal/allbackends.
// For standalone usage:
import _ "github.com/gogpu/wgpu/hal/software"

// Use cases:
// - CI/CD testing without GPU
// - Server-side image generation
// - Reference implementation
// - Fallback when GPU unavailable
// - Embedded systems without GPU

Rasterization Features:

• Edge function triangle rasterization (Pineda algorithm)
• Perspective-correct interpolation
• Depth buffer (8 compare functions)
• Stencil buffer (8 operations)
• Blending (13 factors, 5 operations)
• 6-plane frustum clipping (Sutherland-Hodgman)
• 8x8 tile-based parallel rendering

Ecosystem

wgpu is the foundation of the GoGPU ecosystem.

Documentation

• Compute Shaders Guide — Getting started with compute
• Compute Backend Differences — Per-backend capabilities
• ARCHITECTURE.md — System architecture
• ROADMAP.md — Development milestones
• CHANGELOG.md — Release notes
• CONTRIBUTING.md — Contribution guidelines
• pkg.go.dev — API reference

References

• WebGPU Specification — W3C standard
• wgpu (Rust) — Reference implementation
• Dawn (C++) — Google's implementation

Contributing

Contributions welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Priority areas:

• Cross-platform testing
• Performance benchmarks
• Documentation improvements
• Bug reports and fixes

License

MIT License — see LICENSE for details.

wgpu — WebGPU in Pure Go