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wtf is webgl-fluid-simulation?

paveldogreat/webgl-fluid-simulation — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-24

★ 16,326JavaScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5LicenseSetup · easy

TL;DR

Browser-based interactive fluid simulation using WebGL on the GPU. You drag your mouse or finger and colorful fluid responds in real time.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((WebGL-Fluid-Simulation))
    Inputs
      Mouse drag
      Touch input
    Outputs
      Real-time fluid rendering
      Colorful splats
    Use Cases
      Visual demo
      Background effect
      Learn shaders
    Tech Stack
      JavaScript
      WebGL
      GLSL
    Concepts
      Navier-Stokes
      GPU compute

Code map

Detail Auto

An interactive map of this repo's files and how they connect — its source is parsed live in your browser. Click Visualize to build it.

filefunction / class

Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Embed an interactive fluid splash background on a landing page

REASON 2

Study GPU shader techniques for real-time Navier-Stokes simulation

REASON 3

Build a touch-friendly visual toy or screensaver for mobile browsers

What's in the stack?

JavaScriptWebGLGLSLHTML

How it stacks up

paveldogreat/webgl-fluid-simulationpqina/filepondmattboldt/typed.js
Stars16,32616,35916,275
LanguageJavaScriptJavaScriptJavaScript
Setup difficultyeasyeasyeasy
Complexity3/52/51/5
Audiencedeveloperdevelopervibe coder

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Open index.html in any modern browser with WebGL support, no build step needed.

MIT license: use, modify, and distribute freely for any purpose including commercial, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

Wtf does this do

WebGL Fluid Simulation is a browser-based interactive fluid simulation that lets you play with a colorful, responsive fluid using your mouse or touch input. It runs entirely in the browser using WebGL, a technology that lets websites use the GPU (graphics processor) directly, enabling smooth real-time rendering without any downloads or plugins. It also works on mobile devices. Based on the description and topics, this appears to be an implementation of Navier-Stokes fluid dynamics (the physics equations that govern how fluids flow) running on the GPU for performance. The README is very brief and does not provide further detail about its features, architecture, or configuration options, so a complete explanation is not possible from the provided data alone.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
Walk me through how WebGL-Fluid-Simulation implements the Navier-Stokes solver in GLSL shaders
Prompt 2
Show me how to embed WebGL-Fluid-Simulation as a fullscreen background behind my page content
Prompt 3
Help me tune the splat radius, dissipation, and curl parameters in WebGL-Fluid-Simulation
Prompt 4
Port the velocity and pressure shaders from WebGL-Fluid-Simulation to a Three.js scene

Frequently asked questions

wtf is webgl-fluid-simulation?

Browser-based interactive fluid simulation using WebGL on the GPU. You drag your mouse or finger and colorful fluid responds in real time.

What language is webgl-fluid-simulation written in?

Mainly JavaScript. The stack also includes JavaScript, WebGL, GLSL.

What license does webgl-fluid-simulation use?

MIT license: use, modify, and distribute freely for any purpose including commercial, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

How hard is webgl-fluid-simulation to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is webgl-fluid-simulation for?

Mainly developer.

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