GPUBuffer: usage property

Limited availability

This feature is not Baseline because it does not work in some of the most widely-used browsers.

Secure context: This feature is available only in secure contexts (HTTPS), in some or all supporting browsers.

Note: This feature is available in Web Workers.

The usage read-only property of the GPUBuffer interface contains the bitwise flags representing the allowed usages of the GPUBuffer.

usage is set via the usage property in the descriptor object passed into the originating GPUDevice.createBuffer() call.

Value

The bitwise flags representing the original usages set when the GPUBuffer was first created. The returned number is the sum of decimal values representing the different flags, as seen in the table below.

Bitwise flag Usage description Hex equiv. Decimal equiv.
GPUBufferUsage.COPY_SRC The buffer can be used as the source of a copy operation, for example the source argument of a copyBufferToBuffer() call. 0x0004 4
GPUBufferUsage.COPY_DST The buffer can be used as the destination of a copy/write operation, for example the destination argument of a copyTextureToBuffer() call. 0x0008 8
GPUBufferUsage.INDEX The buffer can be used as an index buffer, for example as the buffer argument passed to setIndexBuffer(). 0x0010 16
GPUBufferUsage.INDIRECT The buffer can be used to store indirect command arguments, for example as the indirectBuffer argument of a drawIndirect() or dispatchWorkgroupsIndirect() call. 0x0100 256
GPUBufferUsage.MAP_READ The buffer can be mapped for reading, for example when calling mapAsync() with a mode of GPUMapMode.READ. This flag may only be combined with GPUBufferUsage.COPY_DST. 0x0001 1
GPUBufferUsage.MAP_WRITE The buffer can be mapped for writing, for example when calling mapAsync() with a mode of GPUMapMode.WRITE. This flag may only be combined with GPUBufferUsage.COPY_SRC. 0x0002 2
GPUBufferUsage.QUERY_RESOLVE The buffer can be used to capture query results, for example as the destination argument of a resolveQuerySet() call. 0x0200 512
GPUBufferUsage.STORAGE The buffer can be used as a storage buffer, for example as a resource in a bind group entry when creating a GPUBindGroup (via createBindGroup()), which adheres to a GPUBindGroupLayout entry with a buffer binding layout type of "storage" or "read-only-storage". 0x0080 128
GPUBufferUsage.UNIFORM The buffer can be used as a uniform buffer, for example as a resource in a bind group entry when creating a GPUBindGroup (via createBindGroup()), which adheres to a GPUBindGroupLayout entry with a buffer binding layout type of "uniform". 0x0040 64
GPUBufferUsage.VERTEX The buffer can be used as a vertex buffer, for example as the buffer argument passed to setVertexBuffer(). 0x0020 32

Examples

js
const output = device.createBuffer({
  size: BUFFER_SIZE,
  usage: GPUBufferUsage.STORAGE | GPUBufferUsage.COPY_SRC,
});

console.log(output.usage); // 132

const stagingBuffer = device.createBuffer({
  size: BUFFER_SIZE,
  usage: GPUBufferUsage.MAP_READ | GPUBufferUsage.COPY_DST,
});

console.log(stagingBuffer.usage); // 9

Specifications

Specification
WebGPU
# dom-gpubuffer-usage

Browser compatibility

desktop mobile server
Chrome
Edge
Firefox
Opera
Safari
Chrome Android
Firefox for Android
Opera Android
Safari on iOS
Samsung Internet
WebView Android
WebView on iOS
Deno
usage
Chrome – Partial support
Chrome 113 (Release date: 2023-05-02)
footnote Partial support
footnote Supported on ChromeOS, macOS, and Windows.
footnote Supported on Linux (Intel Gen12+ GPUs only) since Chrome 144.
Edge – Partial support
Edge 113 (Release date: 2023-05-05)
footnote Partial support
footnote Supported on ChromeOS, macOS, and Windows.
footnote Supported on Linux (Intel Gen12+ GPUs only) since Edge 144.
Firefox – Partial support
Firefox 141 (Release date: 2025-07-22)
footnote Partial support
footnote Supports all contexts except service workers. See bug 1942431.
footnote Supports Windows since Firefox 141. See bug 1972486.
footnote Supports macOS Tahoe on Apple silicon since Firefox 145. See bug 1992212.
footnote Supports older macOS versions on Apple silicon since Firefox 147. See bug 1993341.
footnote Does not support macOS on Intel CPUs. See bug 2004105.
footnote Does not support Linux. See bug 2006676.
Opera – Partial support
Opera 99 (Release date: 2023-05-16)
footnote Partial support
footnote Supported on ChromeOS, macOS, and Windows.
footnote Supported on Linux (Intel Gen12+ GPUs only) since Opera 128.
Safari – Full support
Safari 26 (Release date: 2025-09-15)
footnote Full support
Chrome Android – Full support
Chrome Android 121 (Release date: 2024-01-23)
footnote Full support
Firefox for Android – No support
Firefox for Android
footnote No support
Opera Android – Full support
Opera Android 81 (Release date: 2024-03-14)
footnote Full support
Safari on iOS – Full support
Safari on iOS 26 (Release date: 2025-09-15)
footnote Full support
Samsung Internet – Full support
Samsung Internet 25 (Release date: 2024-04-24)
footnote Full support
WebView Android – Full support
WebView Android 121 (Release date: 2024-01-23)
footnote Full support
WebView on iOS – Full support
WebView on iOS 26 (Release date: 2025-09-15)
footnote Full support
Deno – No support
Deno 1.8 – 1.31 (Release date: 2021-03-02)
footnote Removed in 1.32 and later
Deno – No support
Deno 1.39 (Release date: 2023-12-14)
disabled
disabled From version 1.39 users must explicitly set the --unstable-webgpu runtime flag.

Legend

Tip: you can click/tap on a cell for more information.

Full support
Full support
Partial support
Partial support
No support
No support
User must explicitly enable this feature.
Has more compatibility info.

See also