959: TypeScript on the GPU with TypeGPU creator Iwo Plaza
Scott and CJ sit down live at JSNation NYC with Iwo Plaza, creator of TypeGPU, to dig into how WebGPU is unlocking a new wave of graphics and compute power on the web. They chat about shader authoring in TypeScript, the future of GPU-powered AI in the browser, and what it takes to build a killer developer-friendly graphics library.
Show Notes
00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
00:32 What is TypeGPU? High-level overview and why it exists
01:20 WebGPU vs WebGL – the new era of GPU access on the web
01:47 Why shader languages are hard + making them accessible
02:24 Iwo’s background in C++, OpenGL, and discovering JS
03:06 Sharing graphics work on the web vs native platforms
03:29 WebGPU frustrations that inspired TypeGPU
04:17 Making GPU–CPU data exchange easier with Zod-like schemas
05:01 Writing shaders in JavaScript + the unified type system
05:38 How the “use_gpu” directive works under the hood
06:05 Building a compiler that turns TypeScript into shader code
07:00 Type inference, primitives, structs, and TypeScript magic
08:21 Leveraging existing tooling via Unplugin + bundler integration
09:15 How TypeGPU extracts ASTs and generates TinyEST metadata
10:10 Runtime shader generation vs build-time macros
11:07 How the AST is traversed + maintaining transparency in output
11:43 Example projects like Jelly Shader and community reception
12:05 Brought to you by Sentry.io
12:30 Does TypeGPU replace 3JS? How it fits the existing ecosystem
13:20 Low-level control vs high-level abstractions
14:04 Upcoming Three.js integration – plugging TypeGPU into materials compute shaders
15:34 Making GPU development more approachable
16:26 Docs, examples, and the philosophy behind TypeGPU documentation
17:03 Building features by building examples first
18:13 Using examples as a test suite + how docs shape API design
19:00 Docs as a forcing function for intuitive APIs
20:21 GPU for AI – browser inference and future abstractions
21:11 How AI examples inform new libraries (noise, inference, etc.)
21:57 Keeping the core package small and flexible
22:44 Building “TypeGPU AI”-style extensions without bloating the core
23:07 The cost of AI examples and building everything from scratch
23:41 Standard library design and future of the ecosystem
24:04 Closing thoughts from Iwo – OSS, GPU renaissance, and encouragement
24:34 Sick Picks & Shameless Plugs
Sick Picks
Iwo: Perogies
Shameless Plugs
Iwo: Syntax Podcast
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