cables DocumentationHow To UseWorking with filesKeyboard ShortcutsUser Interface WalkthroughBeginner TutorialBeginner 1: Drawing A CircleBeginner 2: TransformationsBeginner 3: ColorMore TransformationsIntermediateImage CompositionsPost-Processing 3D ScenesExporting And EmbeddingHow to serve files externally and fix CORS headersExporting PatchesExport using the cables command line interfaceExport via IframeExport creating a standalone executableExport to github (pages)Export and deploy to netlifyExport full PatchExport a ZIP fileExternal triggers / functionsUsing variablesPreviewing / uploading exported cables patchesExamples for EmbeddingPermissionsUsersPatchesTeamsOpsMultiplayerPatchlistsCoding OpsCreating AttachmentsGeneral op/Port CallbacksPortsDynamic PortsArray PortsBoolean portsInteger Number PortsObject PortsString portsTrigger PortsFloating Point Number PortsGUI/UI attributesHello Op - Part 1LibrariesDeveloping OpsRenaming / Creating a new versionCreating Viz OpsGuidelinesObject PortsPatching Ops / SubPatchOpsWriting ShadersWeb Audio Op DevelopmentDeveloping CablesRepositoriesSet up local environmentScriptsHow to work with forksGenerated DocumentationUsing standalone to develop cablesCables StandaloneGeneralCoding OpsSharing opsUsing NPMImport/ExportStandalone - FAQLightingLightsShadowsWorking With AudioBasic Audio SetupWorking with EffectsReal-Time Audio Analyzation & Audio VisualizationOffline Audio Visualization & AnalyzationCommunicationcables APIOptimizing Performance In PatchesTools for debugging your patchHow to optimize cables patches with the Performance opHow to optimize cables patches with the ProfilerCommon pitfalls with the "usual suspects"Optimizing arraysDebugging Shaders with ShaderInfoFAQAudio in web browsersHow to make demoscene demos with cables.glEmbeddingHow to integrate my cables patch into my CMS (webflow/wix/squarespace/...)?How to remove grey rectangles on touch (mobile)?Why doesn't the DownloadTexture op work on iOS?How to disable page scrolling on mobile?Mobile tippsHow to run exported patches on your local machineTransparent CanvasFeatures and SupportHow to contribute code to cablesWill there be support for (animated) GIFs?Can i use a website as a texture?Screenshots and Video recordingHow to report a bug in cablesHow can I share a patch to get help?How can I support cables?Video playback in cablesGeneral questionsWhat is dev.cables.glHTML And CSS In CablesJavascript Frameworkscordova / phonegapelectronreactvuejsLicenses and paymentWhat license do i need to use cables?Will I have to pay for it in the future?How is my work licensed when using cables?Does cables support midi and OSC?Patch PermissionsMy User Profile & Social MediaShadertoyCables at schools and universitiesTechnical questionsWebGL1 and WebGL2

Common pitfalls with the "usual suspects"

After following the steps in the section before, you should have a clearer idea on what is causing your bottleneck. Here are a few usual suspects that degrade performance:

Some ops (like RandomCluster or Repeat) trigger their following ops multiple times. When using high values, you are executing the same branch multiple times. If the following ops are resource-intense, you are multiplying the amount of CPU & GPU work it takes by how often the above ops trigger their following ops. Try using Flow mode to see the increased activity, and see if reducing repetitions helps your performance and still keeps the visual result.

Instead of using a RandomCluster, you could use a MeshInstancer with a RandomNumbersArray3 to achieve a similar visual effect. This has the advantage that meshes get duplicated on the GPU instead of the CPU.

Another common pitfall are post processing effects. A commonly used effect includes the Blur. Blurring high resolution images will cause the patch to become slow. Try to reduce the size in the ImageCompose you are applying blur to. Instead of using the Blur op, you could also try using the FastBlur, which is considerably faster than the normal blur.


Found a problem? Edit this file on github and contribute to cables!