959: TypeScript on the GPU with TypeGPU creator Iwo Plaza
Dec. 1, 2025, noon (1 day, 5 hours ago)
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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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