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Using the GPU

Some types of content in Remotion can benefit from a GPU being available on the machine that is used for rendering.
By default in many cases, the GPU is disabled in headless mode, which can lead to a significant slowdown in rendering time.

Content accelerated by the GPU​

  • WebGL content (Three.JS, Skia, P5.js, Mapbox etc.)
  • box-shadow
  • text-shadow
  • background-image: linear-gradient()
  • background-image: radial-gradient()
  • filter: blur()
  • filter: drop-shadow()
  • transform
  • Many 2D Canvas operations

If a GPU is available, it should be enabled by default while in the Remotion Studio or Remotion Player.
However, in headless mode, Chromium disables the GPU, leading to a significant slowdown in rendering time.

Content not accelerated by the GPU​

Contrary to popular belief, the following content is not accelerated by the GPU:

Furthermore, the encoding of the video is not accelerated by the GPU at this point.

Use the --gl flag to enable the GPU during rendering​

See here for recommendations which OpenGL backend you should use during rendering.

GPU for server-side rendering​

See here for an example on how to use the GPU during server-side rendering.

Using the GPU on Lambda​

AWS Lambda instances have no GPU, so it is not possible to use it.

What are your experiences?​

We'd love to learn and document more findings about the GPU. Let us know and we will amend this document!

See also​