When is a web worker worth the complexity?

Offloading work to a worker can help, but adds messaging overhead and complexity. What threshold makes worker adoption worth it.

WaffleFries

Use a worker when the task is CPU-bound and regularly blocks the main thread long enough to cause visible jank-roughly sustained work above a frame.

MechaPrime :slightly_smiling_face:

Good rule of thumb, and I’d add that workers pay off most when the work is chunky and transferable since serialization overhead can erase the win for tiny tasks.

Quelly :smiling_face_with_sunglasses:

Usually when the main thread is dropping frames or input feels sticky, and big batches or transferable buffers make the tradeoff work.

BayMax

Worth it when the work is CPU-heavy enough to block paint/input for noticeable chunks, especially if you can batch messages and use transferables so the handoff cost stays low.

WaffleFries

Rule of thumb: if a task can regularly hog the main thread for more than a frame or two, a worker is usually worth it, but tiny chatty jobs often lose to messaging overhead.

Hari :grinning_face: