WebGLRenderingContext.bindTexture()

The WebGLRenderingContext.bindTexture() method of the WebGL API binds a given WebGLTexture to a target (binding point).

Syntax

void gl.bindTexture(target, texture);

Parameters

target
A GLenum specifying the binding point (target). Possible values:
  • gl.TEXTURE_2D: A two-dimensional texture.
  • gl.TEXTURE_CUBE_MAP: A cube-mapped texture.
  • When using a WebGL 2 context, the following values are available additionally:
    • gl.TEXTURE_3D: A three-dimensional texture.
    • gl.TEXTURE_2D_ARRAY: A two-dimensional array texture.
texture
A WebGLTexture object to bind.

Return value

None.

Exceptions

A gl.INVALID_ENUM error is thrown if target is not gl.TEXTURE_2D, gl.TEXTURE_CUBE_MAP, gl.TEXTURE_3D, or gl.TEXTURE_2D_ARRAY.

Examples

Binding a texture

var canvas = document.getElementById("canvas");
var gl = canvas.getContext("webgl");
var texture = gl.createTexture();

gl.bindTexture(gl.TEXTURE_2D, texture);

Getting current bindings

To check the current texture binding, query the gl.TEXTURE_BINDING_2D or gl.TEXTURE_BINDING_CUBE_MAP constants.

gl.getParameter(gl.TEXTURE_BINDING_2D);

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
WebGL 1.0
The definition of 'bindTexture' in that specification.
Recommendation Initial definition for WebGL.
OpenGL ES 2.0
The definition of 'glBindTexture' in that specification.
Standard Man page of the (similar) OpenGL ES 2.0 API.
WebGL 2.0
The definition of 'bindTexture' in that specification.
Editor's Draft Updated definition for WebGL 2.
Adds: gl.TEXTURE_3D and gl.TEXTURE_2D_ARRAY
OpenGL ES 3.0
The definition of 'glBindTexture' in that specification.
Standard Man page of the (similar) OpenGL ES 3.0 API.

Browser compatibility

Feature Chrome Edge Firefox (Gecko) Internet Explorer Opera Safari
Basic support 9 12 4.0 (2.0) 11 12 5.1
WebGL 2 No support [2] No support Nightly build [1] No support No support No support
Feature Android Chrome for Android Firefox Mobile (Gecko) Firefox OS IE Mobile Opera Mobile Safari Mobile
Basic support ? 25 4.0 (2.0) 1.0 ? 12 8.0
WebGL 2 No support No support No support No support No support No support No support

[1] WebGL 2 is enabled by default in Firefox Nightly. To enable it in a release version of Firefox, set the preference webgl.enable-prototype-webgl2 to true in about:config.

[2] To use an experimental implementation of WebGL 2 in Chrome, you have to start Chrome with the runtime flag --enable-unsafe-es3-apis.

See also

Document Tags and Contributors

 Contributors to this page: fscholz
 Last updated by: fscholz,