Porting SIMD code targeting WebAssembly

Emscripten supports the WebAssembly SIMD proposal when using the WebAssembly LLVM backend. To enable SIMD, pass the -msimd128 flag at compile time. This will also turn on LLVM's autovectorization passes, so no source modifications are necessary to benefit from SIMD.

At the source level, the GCC/Clang SIMD Vector Extensions can be used and will be lowered to WebAssembly SIMD instructions where possible. In addition, there is a portable intrinsics header file that can be used.

#include <wasm_simd128.h>

Separate documentation for the intrinsics header is a work in progress, but its usage is straightforward and its source can be found at wasm_simd128.h. These intrinsics are under active development in parallel with the SIMD proposal and should not be considered any more stable than the proposal itself. Note that most engines will also require an extra flag to enable SIMD. For example, Node requires --experimental-wasm-simd.

WebAssembly SIMD is not supported when using the Fastcomp backend.

Limitations and behavioral differences

When porting native SIMD code, it should be noted that because of portability concerns, the WebAssembly SIMD specification does not expose the full native instruction sets. In particular the following changes exist:

  • Emscripten does not support x86 or any other native inline SIMD assembly or building .s assembly files, so all code should be written to use SIMD intrinsic functions or compiler vector extensions.

  • WebAssembly SIMD does not have control over managing floating point rounding modes or handling denormals.

  • Cache line prefetch instructions are not available, and calls to these functions will compile, but are treated as no-ops.

  • Asymmetric memory fence operations are not available, but will be implemented as fully synchronous memory fences when SharedArrayBuffer is enabled (-s USE_PTHREADS=1) or as no-ops when multithreading is not enabled (default, -s USE_PTHREADS=0).

SIMD-related bug reports are tracked in the Emscripten bug tracker with the label SIMD.

Compiling SIMD code targeting x86 SSE instruction set

Emscripten supports compiling existing codebases that use x86 SSE by passing the -msse directive to the compiler, and including the header <xmmintrin.h>.

Currently only the SSE1 and SSE2 instruction sets are supported.

The following table highlights the availability and expected performance of different SSE1 intrinsics. Even if you are directly targeting the native Wasm SIMD opcodes via wasm_simd128.h header, this table can be useful for understanding the performance limitations that the Wasm SIMD specification has when running on x86 hardware.

For detailed information on each SSE intrinsic function, visit the excellent Intel Intrinsics Guide on SSE1.

The following legend is used to highlight the expected performance of various instructions:

  • ✅ Wasm SIMD has a native opcode that matches the x86 SSE instruction, should yield native performance

  • 💡 while the Wasm SIMD spec does not provide a proper performance guarantee, given a suitably smart enough compiler and a runtime VM path, this intrinsic should be able to generate the identical native SSE instruction.

  • 🟡 there is some information missing (e.g. type or alignment information) for a Wasm VM to be guaranteed to be able to reconstruct the intended x86 SSE opcode. This might cause a penalty depending on the target CPU hardware family, especially on older CPU generations.

  • ⚠️ the underlying x86 SSE instruction is not available, but it is emulated via at most few other Wasm SIMD instructions, causing a small penalty.

  • ❌ the underlying x86 SSE instruction is not exposed by the Wasm SIMD specification, so it must be emulated via a slow path, e.g. a sequence of several slower SIMD instructions, or a scalar implementation.

  • 💣 the underlying x86 SSE opcode is not available in Wasm SIMD, and the implementation must resort to such a slow emulated path, that a workaround rethinking the algorithm at a higher level is advised.

  • 💭 the given SSE intrinsic is available to let applications compile, but does nothing.

  • ⚫ the given SSE intrinsic is not available. Referencing the intrinsic will cause a compiler error.

Certain intrinsics in the table below are marked "virtual". This means that there does not actually exist a native x86 SSE instruction set opcode to implement them, but native compilers offer the function as a convenience. Different compilers might generate a different instruction sequence for these.

x86 SSE intrinsics available via #include <xmmintrin.h>

Intrinsic name

WebAssembly SIMD support

_mm_set_ps

✅ wasm_f32x4_make

_mm_setr_ps

✅ wasm_f32x4_make

_mm_set_ss

💡 emulated with wasm_f32x4_make

_mm_set_ps1 (_mm_set1_ps)

✅ wasm_f32x4_splat

_mm_setzero_ps

💡 emulated with wasm_f32x4_const(0)

_mm_load_ps

🟡 wasm_v128_load. VM must guess type.
Unaligned load on x86 CPUs.

_mm_loadl_pi

❌ No Wasm SIMD support.
Emulated with scalar loads + shuffle.

_mm_loadh_pi

❌ No Wasm SIMD support.
Emulated with scalar loads + shuffle.

_mm_loadr_ps

💡 Virtual. Simd load + shuffle.

_mm_loadu_ps

🟡 wasm_v128_load. VM must guess type.

_mm_load_ps1 (_mm_load1_ps)

🟡 Virtual. Simd load + shuffle.

_mm_load_ss

❌ emulated with wasm_f32x4_make

_mm_storel_pi

❌ scalar stores

_mm_storeh_pi

❌ shuffle + scalar stores

_mm_store_ps

🟡 wasm_v128_store. VM must guess type.
Unaligned store on x86 CPUs.

_mm_stream_ps

🟡 wasm_v128_store. VM must guess type.
No cache control in Wasm SIMD.

_mm_prefetch

💭 No-op.

_mm_sfence

⚠️ A full barrier in multithreaded builds.

_mm_shuffle_ps

🟡 wasm_v32x4_shuffle. VM must guess type.

_mm_storer_ps

💡 Virtual. Shuffle + Simd store.

_mm_store_ps1 (_mm_store1_ps)

🟡 Virtual. Emulated with shuffle.
Unaligned store on x86 CPUs.

_mm_store_ss

💡 emulated with scalar store

_mm_storeu_ps

🟡 wasm_v128_store. VM must guess type.

_mm_storeu_si16

💡 emulated with scalar store

_mm_storeu_si64

💡 emulated with scalar store

_mm_movemask_ps

💣 No Wasm SIMD support. Emulated in scalar. simd/#131

_mm_move_ss

💡 emulated with a shuffle. VM must guess type.

_mm_add_ps

✅ wasm_f32x4_add

_mm_add_ss

⚠️ emulated with a shuffle

_mm_sub_ps

✅ wasm_f32x4_sub

_mm_sub_ss

⚠️ emulated with a shuffle

_mm_mul_ps

✅ wasm_f32x4_mul

_mm_mul_ss

⚠️ emulated with a shuffle

_mm_div_ps

✅ wasm_f32x4_div

_mm_div_ss

⚠️ emulated with a shuffle

_mm_min_ps

TODO: pmin once it works

_mm_min_ss

⚠️ emulated with a shuffle

_mm_max_ps

TODO: pmax once it works

_mm_max_ss

⚠️ emulated with a shuffle

_mm_rcp_ps

❌ No Wasm SIMD support.
Emulated with full precision div. simd/#3

_mm_rcp_ss

❌ No Wasm SIMD support.
Emulated with full precision div+shuffle simd/#3

_mm_sqrt_ps

✅ wasm_f32x4_sqrt

_mm_sqrt_ss

⚠️ emulated with a shuffle

_mm_rsqrt_ps

❌ No Wasm SIMD support.
Emulated with full precision div+sqrt. simd/#3

_mm_rsqrt_ss

❌ No Wasm SIMD support.
Emulated with full precision div+sqrt+shuffle. simd/#3

_mm_unpackhi_ps

💡 emulated with a shuffle

_mm_unpacklo_ps

💡 emulated with a shuffle

_mm_movehl_ps

💡 emulated with a shuffle

_mm_movelh_ps

💡 emulated with a shuffle

_MM_TRANSPOSE4_PS

💡 emulated with a shuffle

_mm_cmplt_ps

✅ wasm_f32x4_lt

_mm_cmplt_ss

⚠️ emulated with a shuffle

_mm_cmple_ps

✅ wasm_f32x4_le

_mm_cmple_ss

⚠️ emulated with a shuffle

_mm_cmpeq_ps

✅ wasm_f32x4_eq

_mm_cmpeq_ss

⚠️ emulated with a shuffle

_mm_cmpge_ps

✅ wasm_f32x4_ge

_mm_cmpge_ss

⚠️ emulated with a shuffle

_mm_cmpgt_ps

✅ wasm_f32x4_gt

_mm_cmpgt_ss

⚠️ emulated with a shuffle

_mm_cmpord_ps

❌ emulated with 2xcmp+and

_mm_cmpord_ss

❌ emulated with 2xcmp+and+shuffle

_mm_cmpunord_ps

❌ emulated with 2xcmp+or

_mm_cmpunord_ss

❌ emulated with 2xcmp+or+shuffle

_mm_and_ps

🟡 wasm_v128_and. VM must guess type.

_mm_andnot_ps

🟡 wasm_v128_andnot. VM must guess type.

_mm_or_ps

🟡 wasm_v128_or. VM must guess type.

_mm_xor_ps

🟡 wasm_v128_xor. VM must guess type.

_mm_cmpneq_ps

✅ wasm_f32x4_ne

_mm_cmpneq_ss

⚠️ emulated with a shuffle

_mm_cmpnge_ps

⚠️ emulated with not+ge

_mm_cmpnge_ss

⚠️ emulated with not+ge+shuffle

_mm_cmpngt_ps

⚠️ emulated with not+gt

_mm_cmpngt_ss

⚠️ emulated with not+gt+shuffle

_mm_cmpnle_ps

⚠️ emulated with not+le

_mm_cmpnle_ss

⚠️ emulated with not+le+shuffle

_mm_cmpnlt_ps

⚠️ emulated with not+lt

_mm_cmpnlt_ss

⚠️ emulated with not+lt+shuffle

_mm_comieq_ss

❌ scalarized

_mm_comige_ss

❌ scalarized

_mm_comigt_ss

❌ scalarized

_mm_comile_ss

❌ scalarized

_mm_comilt_ss

❌ scalarized

_mm_comineq_ss

❌ scalarized

_mm_ucomieq_ss

❌ scalarized

_mm_ucomige_ss

❌ scalarized

_mm_ucomigt_ss

❌ scalarized

_mm_ucomile_ss

❌ scalarized

_mm_ucomilt_ss

❌ scalarized

_mm_ucomineq_ss

❌ scalarized

_mm_cvtsi32_ss (_mm_cvt_si2ss)

❌ scalarized

_mm_cvtss_si32 (_mm_cvt_ss2si)

💣 scalar with complex emulated semantics

_mm_cvttss_si32 (_mm_cvtt_ss2si)

💣 scalar with complex emulated semantics

_mm_cvtsi64_ss

❌ scalarized

_mm_cvtss_si64

💣 scalar with complex emulated semantics

_mm_cvttss_si64

💣 scalar with complex emulated semantics

_mm_cvtss_f32

💡 scalar get

_mm_malloc

✅ Allocates memory with specified alignment.

_mm_free

✅ Aliases to free().

_MM_GET_EXCEPTION_MASK

✅ Always returns all exceptions masked (0x1f80).

_MM_GET_EXCEPTION_STATE

❌ Exception state is not tracked. Always returns 0.

_MM_GET_FLUSH_ZERO_MODE

✅ Always returns _MM_FLUSH_ZERO_OFF.

_MM_GET_ROUNDING_MODE

✅ Always returns _MM_ROUND_NEAREST.

_mm_getcsr

✅ Always returns _MM_FLUSH_ZERO_OFF
| _MM_ROUND_NEAREST | all exceptions masked (0x1f80).

_MM_SET_EXCEPTION_MASK

⚫ Not available. Fixed to all exceptions masked.

_MM_SET_EXCEPTION_STATE

⚫ Not available. Fixed to zero/clear state.

_MM_SET_FLUSH_ZERO_MODE

⚫ Not available. Fixed to _MM_FLUSH_ZERO_OFF.

_MM_SET_ROUNDING_MODE

⚫ Not available. Fixed to _MM_ROUND_NEAREST.

_mm_setcsr

⚫ Not available.

_mm_undefined_ps

✅ Virtual
⚫ The following extensions that SSE1 instruction set brought to 64-bit wide MMX registers are not available:

  • _mm_avg_pu8, _mm_avg_pu16, _mm_cvt_pi2ps, _mm_cvt_ps2pi, _mm_cvt_pi16_ps, _mm_cvt_pi32_ps, _mm_cvt_pi32x2_ps, _mm_cvt_pi8_ps, _mm_cvt_ps_pi16, _mm_cvt_ps_pi32, _mm_cvt_ps_pi8, _mm_cvt_pu16_ps, _mm_cvt_pu8_ps, _mm_cvtt_ps2pi, _mm_cvtt_pi16_ps, _mm_cvttps_pi32, _mm_extract_pi16, _mm_insert_pi16, _mm_maskmove_si64, _m_maskmovq, _mm_max_pi16, _mm_max_pu8, _mm_min_pi16, _mm_min_pu8, _mm_movemask_pi8, _mm_mulhi_pu16, _m_pavgb, _m_pavgw, _m_pextrw, _m_pinsrw, _m_pmaxsw, _m_pmaxub, _m_pminsw, _m_pminub, _m_pmovmskb, _m_pmulhuw, _m_psadbw, _m_pshufw, _mm_sad_pu8, _mm_shuffle_pi16 and _mm_stream_pi.

Any code referencing these intrinsics will not compile.

The following table highlights the availability and expected performance of different SSE2 intrinsics. Refer to Intel Intrinsics Guide on SSE2.

x86 SSE2 intrinsics available via #include <emmintrin.h>

Intrinsic name

WebAssembly SIMD support

_mm_add_epi16

✅ wasm_i16x8_add

_mm_add_epi32

✅ wasm_i32x4_add

_mm_add_epi64

✅ wasm_i64x2_add

_mm_add_epi8

✅ wasm_i8x16_add

_mm_add_pd

✅ wasm_f64x2_add

_mm_add_sd

⚠️ emulated with a shuffle

_mm_adds_epi16

✅ wasm_i16x8_add_saturate

_mm_adds_epi8

✅ wasm_i8x16_add_saturate

_mm_adds_epu16

✅ wasm_u16x8_add_saturate

_mm_adds_epu8

✅ wasm_u8x16_add_saturate

_mm_and_pd

🟡 wasm_v128_and. VM must guess type.

_mm_and_si128

🟡 wasm_v128_and. VM must guess type.

_mm_andnot_pd

🟡 wasm_v128_andnot. VM must guess type.

_mm_andnot_si128

🟡 wasm_v128_andnot. VM must guess type.

_mm_avg_epu16

✅ wasm_u16x8_avgr

_mm_avg_epu8

✅ wasm_u8x16_avgr

_mm_castpd_ps

✅ no-op

_mm_castpd_si128

✅ no-op

_mm_castps_pd

✅ no-op

_mm_castps_si128

✅ no-op

_mm_castsi128_pd

✅ no-op

_mm_castsi128_ps

✅ no-op

_mm_clflush

💭 No-op. No cache hinting in Wasm SIMD.

_mm_cmpeq_epi16

✅ wasm_i16x8_eq

_mm_cmpeq_epi32

✅ wasm_i32x4_eq

_mm_cmpeq_epi8

✅ wasm_i8x16_eq

_mm_cmpeq_pd

✅ wasm_f64x2_eq

_mm_cmpeq_sd

⚠️ emulated with a shuffle

_mm_cmpge_pd

✅ wasm_f64x2_ge

_mm_cmpge_sd

⚠️ emulated with a shuffle

_mm_cmpgt_epi16

✅ wasm_i16x8_gt

_mm_cmpgt_epi32

✅ wasm_i32x4_gt

_mm_cmpgt_epi8

✅ wasm_i8x16_gt

_mm_cmpgt_pd

✅ wasm_f64x2_gt

_mm_cmpgt_sd

⚠️ emulated with a shuffle

_mm_cmple_pd

✅ wasm_f64x2_le

_mm_cmple_sd

⚠️ emulated with a shuffle

_mm_cmplt_epi16

✅ wasm_i16x8_lt

_mm_cmplt_epi32

✅ wasm_i32x4_lt

_mm_cmplt_epi8

✅ wasm_i8x16_lt

_mm_cmplt_pd

✅ wasm_f64x2_lt

_mm_cmplt_sd

⚠️ emulated with a shuffle

_mm_cmpneq_pd

✅ wasm_f64x2_ne

_mm_cmpneq_sd

⚠️ emulated with a shuffle

_mm_cmpnge_pd

⚠️ emulated with not+ge

_mm_cmpnge_sd

⚠️ emulated with not+ge+shuffle

_mm_cmpngt_pd

⚠️ emulated with not+gt

_mm_cmpngt_sd

⚠️ emulated with not+gt+shuffle

_mm_cmpnle_pd

⚠️ emulated with not+le

_mm_cmpnle_sd

⚠️ emulated with not+le+shuffle

_mm_cmpnlt_pd

⚠️ emulated with not+lt

_mm_cmpnlt_sd

⚠️ emulated with not+lt+shuffle

_mm_cmpord_pd

❌ emulated with 2xcmp+and

_mm_cmpord_sd

❌ emulated with 2xcmp+and+shuffle

_mm_cmpunord_pd

❌ emulated with 2xcmp+or

_mm_cmpunord_sd

❌ emulated with 2xcmp+or+shuffle

_mm_comieq_sd

❌ scalarized

_mm_comige_sd

❌ scalarized

_mm_comigt_sd

❌ scalarized

_mm_comile_sd

❌ scalarized

_mm_comilt_sd

❌ scalarized

_mm_comineq_sd

❌ scalarized

_mm_cvtepi32_pd

❌ scalarized

_mm_cvtepi32_ps

✅ wasm_f32x4_convert_i32x4

_mm_cvtpd_epi32

❌ scalarized

_mm_cvtpd_ps

❌ scalarized

_mm_cvtps_epi32

❌ scalarized

_mm_cvtps_pd

❌ scalarized

_mm_cvtsd_f64

✅ wasm_f64x2_extract_lane

_mm_cvtsd_si32

❌ scalarized

_mm_cvtsd_si64

❌ scalarized

_mm_cvtsd_si64x

❌ scalarized

_mm_cvtsd_ss

❌ scalarized

_mm_cvtsi128_si32

✅ wasm_i32x4_extract_lane

_mm_cvtsi128_si64 (_mm_cvtsi128_si64x)

✅ wasm_i64x2_extract_lane

_mm_cvtsi32_sd

❌ scalarized

_mm_cvtsi32_si128

💡 emulated with wasm_i32x4_make

_mm_cvtsi64_sd (_mm_cvtsi64x_sd)

❌ scalarized

_mm_cvtsi64_si128 (_mm_cvtsi64x_si128)

💡 emulated with wasm_i64x2_make

_mm_cvtss_sd

❌ scalarized

_mm_cvttpd_epi32

❌ scalarized

_mm_cvttps_epi32

❌ scalarized

_mm_cvttsd_si32

❌ scalarized

_mm_cvttsd_si64 (_mm_cvttsd_si64x)

❌ scalarized

_mm_div_pd

✅ wasm_f64x2_div

_mm_div_sd

⚠️ emulated with a shuffle

_mm_extract_epi16

✅ wasm_u16x8_extract_lane

_mm_insert_epi16

✅ wasm_i16x8_replace_lane

_mm_lfence

⚠️ A full barrier in multithreaded builds.

_mm_load_pd

🟡 wasm_v128_load. VM must guess type.
Unaligned load on x86 CPUs.

_mm_load1_pd (_mm_load_pd1)

🟡 Virtual. wasm_v64x2_load_splat, VM must guess type.

_mm_load_sd

❌ emulated with wasm_f64x2_make

_mm_load_si128

🟡 wasm_v128_load. VM must guess type.
Unaligned load on x86 CPUs.

_mm_loadh_pd

❌ No Wasm SIMD support.
Emulated with scalar loads + shuffle.

_mm_loadl_epi64

❌ No Wasm SIMD support.
Emulated with scalar loads + shuffle.

_mm_loadl_pd

❌ No Wasm SIMD support.
Emulated with scalar loads + shuffle.

_mm_loadr_pd

💡 Virtual. Simd load + shuffle.

_mm_loadu_pd

🟡 wasm_v128_load. VM must guess type.

_mm_loadu_si128

🟡 wasm_v128_load. VM must guess type.

_mm_loadu_si32

❌ emulated with wasm_i32x4_make

_mm_madd_epi16

❌ scalarized

_mm_maskmoveu_si128

❌ scalarized

_mm_max_epi16

✅ wasm_i16x8_max

_mm_max_epu8

✅ wasm_u8x16_max

_mm_max_pd

TODO: migrate to wasm_f64x2_pmax

_mm_max_sd

⚠️ emulated with a shuffle

_mm_mfence

⚠️ A full barrier in multithreaded builds.

_mm_min_epi16

✅ wasm_i16x8_min

_mm_min_epu8

✅ wasm_u8x16_min

_mm_min_pd

TODO: migrate to wasm_f64x2_pmin

_mm_min_sd

⚠️ emulated with a shuffle

_mm_move_epi64

💡 emulated with a shuffle. VM must guess type.

_mm_move_sd

💡 emulated with a shuffle. VM must guess type.

_mm_movemask_epi8

❌ scalarized

_mm_movemask_pd

❌ scalarized

_mm_mul_epu32

❌ scalarized

_mm_mul_pd

✅ wasm_f64x2_mul

_mm_mul_sd

⚠️ emulated with a shuffle

_mm_mulhi_epi16

⚠️ emulated with a SIMD four widen+two mul+generic shuffle

_mm_mulhi_epu16

⚠️ emulated with a SIMD four widen+two mul+generic shuffle

_mm_mullo_epi16

✅ wasm_i16x8_mul

_mm_or_pd

🟡 wasm_v128_or. VM must guess type.

_mm_or_si128

🟡 wasm_v128_or. VM must guess type.

_mm_packs_epi16

✅ wasm_i8x16_narrow_i16x8

_mm_packs_epi32

✅ wasm_i16x8_narrow_i32x4

_mm_packus_epi16

✅ wasm_u8x16_narrow_i16x8

_mm_pause

💭 No-op.

_mm_sad_epu8

⚠️ emulated with eleven SIMD instructions+const

_mm_set_epi16

✅ wasm_i16x8_make

_mm_set_epi32

✅ wasm_i32x4_make

_mm_set_epi64 (_mm_set_epi64x)

✅ wasm_i64x2_make

_mm_set_epi8

✅ wasm_i8x16_make

_mm_set_pd

✅ wasm_f64x2_make

_mm_set_sd

💡 emulated with wasm_f64x2_make

_mm_set1_epi16

✅ wasm_i16x8_splat

_mm_set1_epi32

✅ wasm_i32x4_splat

_mm_set1_epi64 (_mm_set1_epi64x)

✅ wasm_i64x2_splat

_mm_set1_epi8

✅ wasm_i8x16_splat

_mm_set1_pd (_mm_set_pd1)

✅ wasm_f64x2_splat

_mm_setr_epi16

✅ wasm_i16x8_make

_mm_setr_epi32

✅ wasm_i32x4_make

_mm_setr_epi64

✅ wasm_i64x2_make

_mm_setr_epi8

✅ wasm_i8x16_make

_mm_setr_pd

✅ wasm_f64x2_make

_mm_setzero_pd

💡 emulated with wasm_f64x2_const

_mm_setzero_si128

💡 emulated with wasm_i64x2_const

_mm_shuffle_epi32

💡 emulated with a general shuffle

_mm_shuffle_pd

💡 emulated with a general shuffle

_mm_shufflehi_epi16

💡 emulated with a general shuffle

_mm_shufflelo_epi16

💡 emulated with a general shuffle

_mm_sll_epi16

❌ scalarized

_mm_sll_epi32

❌ scalarized

_mm_sll_epi64

❌ scalarized

_mm_slli_epi16

💡 wasm_i16x8_shl
✅ if shift count is immediate constant.

_mm_slli_epi32

💡 wasm_i32x4_shl
✅ if shift count is immediate constant.

_mm_slli_epi64

💡 wasm_i64x2_shl
✅ if shift count is immediate constant.

_mm_slli_si128 (_mm_bslli_si128)

💡 emulated with a general shuffle

_mm_sqrt_pd

✅ wasm_f64x2_sqrt

_mm_sqrt_sd

⚠️ emulated with a shuffle

_mm_sra_epi16

❌ scalarized

_mm_sra_epi32

❌ scalarized

_mm_srai_epi16

💡 wasm_i16x8_shr
✅ if shift count is immediate constant.

_mm_srai_epi32

💡 wasm_i32x4_shr
✅ if shift count is immediate constant.

_mm_srl_epi16

❌ scalarized

_mm_srl_epi32

❌ scalarized

_mm_srl_epi64

❌ scalarized

_mm_srli_epi16

💡 wasm_u16x8_shr
✅ if shift count is immediate constant.

_mm_srli_epi32

💡 wasm_u32x4_shr
✅ if shift count is immediate constant.

_mm_srli_epi64

💡 wasm_u64x2_shr
✅ if shift count is immediate constant.

_mm_srli_si128 (_mm_bsrli_si128)

💡 emulated with a general shuffle

_mm_store_pd

🟡 wasm_v128_store. VM must guess type.
Unaligned store on x86 CPUs.

_mm_store_sd

💡 emulated with scalar store

_mm_store_si128

🟡 wasm_v128_store. VM must guess type.
Unaligned store on x86 CPUs.

_mm_store1_pd (_mm_store_pd1)

🟡 Virtual. Emulated with shuffle.
Unaligned store on x86 CPUs.

_mm_storeh_pd

❌ shuffle + scalar stores

_mm_storel_epi64

❌ scalar store

_mm_storel_pd

❌ scalar store

_mm_storer_pd

❌ shuffle + scalar stores

_mm_storeu_pd

🟡 wasm_v128_store. VM must guess type.

_mm_storeu_si128

🟡 wasm_v128_store. VM must guess type.

_mm_storeu_si32

💡 emulated with scalar store

_mm_stream_pd

🟡 wasm_v128_store. VM must guess type.
No cache control in Wasm SIMD.

_mm_stream_si128

🟡 wasm_v128_store. VM must guess type.
No cache control in Wasm SIMD.

_mm_stream_si32

🟡 wasm_v128_store. VM must guess type.
No cache control in Wasm SIMD.

_mm_stream_si64

🟡 wasm_v128_store. VM must guess type.
No cache control in Wasm SIMD.

_mm_sub_epi16

✅ wasm_i16x8_sub

_mm_sub_epi32

✅ wasm_i32x4_sub

_mm_sub_epi64

✅ wasm_i64x2_sub

_mm_sub_epi8

✅ wasm_i8x16_sub

_mm_sub_pd

✅ wasm_f64x2_sub

_mm_sub_sd

⚠️ emulated with a shuffle

_mm_subs_epi16

✅ wasm_i16x8_sub_saturate

_mm_subs_epi8

✅ wasm_i8x16_sub_saturate

_mm_subs_epu16

✅ wasm_u16x8_sub_saturate

_mm_subs_epu8

✅ wasm_u8x16_sub_saturate

_mm_ucomieq_sd

❌ scalarized

_mm_ucomige_sd

❌ scalarized

_mm_ucomigt_sd

❌ scalarized

_mm_ucomile_sd

❌ scalarized

_mm_ucomilt_sd

❌ scalarized

_mm_ucomineq_sd

❌ scalarized

_mm_undefined_pd

✅ Virtual

_mm_undefined_si128

✅ Virtual

_mm_unpackhi_epi16

💡 emulated with a shuffle

_mm_unpackhi_epi32

💡 emulated with a shuffle

_mm_unpackhi_epi64

💡 emulated with a shuffle

_mm_unpackhi_epi8

💡 emulated with a shuffle

_mm_unpachi_pd

💡 emulated with a shuffle

_mm_unpacklo_epi16

💡 emulated with a shuffle

_mm_unpacklo_epi32

💡 emulated with a shuffle

_mm_unpacklo_epi64

💡 emulated with a shuffle

_mm_unpacklo_epi8

💡 emulated with a shuffle

_mm_unpacklo_pd

💡 emulated with a shuffle

_mm_xor_pd

🟡 wasm_v128_or. VM must guess type.

_mm_xor_si128

🟡 wasm_v128_or. VM must guess type.
⚫ The following extensions that SSE2 instruction set brought to 64-bit wide MMX registers are not available:

  • _mm_add_si64, _mm_movepi64_pi64, _mm_movpi64_epi64, _mm_mul_su32, _mm_sub_si64, _mm_cvtpd_pi32, _mm_cvtpi32_pd, _mm_cvttpd_pi32

Any code referencing these intrinsics will not compile.

The following table highlights the availability and expected performance of different SSE3 intrinsics. Refer to Intel Intrinsics Guide on SSE3.

x86 SSE3 intrinsics available via #include <pmmintrin.h>

Intrinsic name

WebAssembly SIMD support

_mm_lddqu_si128

✅ wasm_v128_load.

_mm_addsub_ps

⚠️ emulated with a SIMD add+mul+const

_mm_hadd_ps

⚠️ emulated with a SIMD add+two shuffles

_mm_hsub_ps

⚠️ emulated with a SIMD sub+two shuffles

_mm_movehdup_ps

💡 emulated with a general shuffle

_mm_moveldup_ps

💡 emulated with a general shuffle

_mm_addsub_pd

⚠️ emulated with a SIMD add+mul+const

_mm_hadd_pd

⚠️ emulated with a SIMD add+two shuffles

_mm_hsub_pd

⚠️ emulated with a SIMD add+two shuffles

_mm_loaddup_pd

🟡 Virtual. wasm_v64x2_load_splat, VM must guess type.

_mm_movedup_pd

💡 emulated with a general shuffle

_MM_GET_DENORMALS_ZERO_MODE

✅ Always returns _MM_DENORMALS_ZERO_ON. I.e. denormals are available.

_MM_SET_DENORMALS_ZERO_MODE

⚫ Not available. Fixed to _MM_DENORMALS_ZERO_ON.

_mm_monitor

⚫ Not available.

_mm_mwait

⚫ Not available.

The following table highlights the availability and expected performance of different SSSE3 intrinsics. Refer to Intel Intrinsics Guide on SSSE3.

x86 SSSE3 intrinsics available via #include <tmmintrin.h>

Intrinsic name

WebAssembly SIMD support

_mm_abs_epi8

✅ wasm_i8x16_abs

_mm_abs_epi16

✅ wasm_i16x8_abs

_mm_abs_epi32

✅ wasm_i32x4_abs

_mm_alignr_epi8

⚠️ emulated with a SIMD or+two shifts

_mm_hadd_epi16

⚠️ emulated with a SIMD add+two shuffles

_mm_hadd_epi32

⚠️ emulated with a SIMD add+two shuffles

_mm_hadds_epi16

⚠️ emulated with a SIMD adds+two shuffles

_mm_hsub_epi16

⚠️ emulated with a SIMD sub+two shuffles

_mm_hsub_epi32

⚠️ emulated with a SIMD sub+two shuffles

_mm_hsubs_epi16

⚠️ emulated with a SIMD subs+two shuffles

_mm_maddubs_epi16

⚠️ emulated with SIMD saturated add+four shifts+two muls+and+const

_mm_mulhrs_epi16

⚠️ emulated with SIMD four widen+two muls+four adds+complex shuffle+const

_mm_shuffle_epi8

⚠️ emulated with a SIMD swizzle+and+const

_mm_sign_epi8

⚠️ emulated with SIMD two cmp+two logical+add

_mm_sign_epi16

⚠️ emulated with SIMD two cmp+two logical+add

_mm_sign_epi32

⚠️ emulated with SIMD two cmp+two logical+add
⚫ The SSSE3 functions that deal with 64-bit wide MMX registers are not available:

  • _mm_abs_pi8, _mm_abs_pi16, _mm_abs_pi32, _mm_alignr_pi8, _mm_hadd_pi16, _mm_hadd_pi32, _mm_hadds_pi16, _mm_hsub_pi16, _mm_hsub_pi32, _mm_hsubs_pi16, _mm_maddubs_pi16, _mm_mulhrs_pi16, _mm_shuffle_pi8, _mm_sign_pi8, _mm_sign_pi16 and _mm_sign_pi32

Any code referencing these intrinsics will not compile.

The following table highlights the availability and expected performance of different SSE4.1 intrinsics. Refer to Intel Intrinsics Guide on SSE4.1.

x86 SSE4.1 intrinsics available via #include <smmintrin.h>

Intrinsic name

WebAssembly SIMD support

_mm_blend_epi16

💡 emulated with a general shuffle

_mm_blend_pd

💡 emulated with a general shuffle

_mm_blend_ps

💡 emulated with a general shuffle

_mm_blendv_epi8

⚠️ emulated with a SIMD shr+and+andnot+or

_mm_blendv_pd

⚠️ emulated with a SIMD shr+and+andnot+or

_mm_blendv_ps

⚠️ emulated with a SIMD shr+and+andnot+or

_mm_ceil_pd

❌ scalarized

_mm_ceil_ps

❌ scalarized

_mm_ceil_sd

❌ scalarized

_mm_ceil_ss

❌ scalarized

_mm_cmpeq_epi64

⚠️ emulated with a SIMD cmp+and+shuffle

_mm_cvtepi16_epi32

✅ wasm_i32x4_widen_low_i16x8

_mm_cvtepi16_epi64

⚠️ emulated with a SIMD widen+const+cmp+shuffle

_mm_cvtepi32_epi64

⚠️ emulated with SIMD const+cmp+shuffle

_mm_cvtepi8_epi16

✅ wasm_i16x8_widen_low_i8x16

_mm_cvtepi8_epi32

⚠️ emulated with two SIMD widens

_mm_cvtepi8_epi64

⚠️ emulated with two SIMD widens+const+cmp+shuffle

_mm_cvtepu16_epi32

✅ wasm_i32x4_widen_low_u16x8

_mm_cvtepu16_epi64

⚠️ emulated with SIMD const+two shuffles

_mm_cvtepu32_epi64

⚠️ emulated with SIMD const+shuffle

_mm_cvtepu8_epi16

✅ wasm_i16x8_widen_low_u8x16

_mm_cvtepu8_epi32

⚠️ emulated with two SIMD widens

_mm_cvtepu8_epi64

⚠️ emulated with SIMD const+three shuffles

_mm_dp_pd

⚠️ emulated with SIMD mul+add+setzero+2xblend

_mm_dp_ps

⚠️ emulated with SIMD mul+add+setzero+2xblend

_mm_extract_epi32

✅ wasm_i32x4_extract_lane

_mm_extract_epi64

✅ wasm_i64x2_extract_lane

_mm_extract_epi8

✅ wasm_u8x16_extract_lane

_mm_extract_ps

✅ wasm_i32x4_extract_lane

_mm_floor_pd

❌ scalarized

_mm_floor_ps

❌ scalarized

_mm_floor_sd

❌ scalarized

_mm_floor_ss

❌ scalarized

_mm_insert_epi32

✅ wasm_i32x4_replace_lane

_mm_insert_epi64

✅ wasm_i64x2_replace_lane

_mm_insert_epi8

✅ wasm_i8x16_replace_lane

_mm_insert_ps

⚠️ emulated with generic non-SIMD-mapping shuffles

_mm_max_epi32

✅ wasm_i32x4_max

_mm_max_epi8

✅ wasm_i8x16_max

_mm_max_epu16

✅ wasm_u16x8_max

_mm_max_epu32

✅ wasm_u32x4_max

_mm_min_epi32

✅ wasm_i32x4_min

_mm_min_epi8

✅ wasm_i8x16_min

_mm_min_epu16

✅ wasm_u16x8_min

_mm_min_epu32

✅ wasm_u32x4_min

_mm_minpos_epu16

💣 scalarized

_mm_mpsadbw_epu8

💣 scalarized

_mm_mul_epi32

❌ scalarized

_mm_mullo_epi32

✅ wasm_i32x4_mul

_mm_packus_epi32

✅ wasm_u16x8_narrow_i32x4

_mm_round_pd

💣 scalarized

_mm_round_ps

💣 scalarized

_mm_round_sd

💣 scalarized

_mm_round_ss

💣 scalarized

_mm_stream_load_si128

🟡 wasm_v128_load. VM must guess type.
Unaligned load on x86 CPUs.

_mm_test_all_ones

❌ scalarized

_mm_test_all_zeros

❌ scalarized

_mm_test_mix_ones_zeros

❌ scalarized

_mm_testc_si128

❌ scalarized

_mm_test_nzc_si128

❌ scalarized

_mm_testz_si128

❌ scalarized

The following table highlights the availability and expected performance of different SSE4.2 intrinsics. Refer to Intel Intrinsics Guide on SSE4.2.

x86 SSE4.1 intrinsics available via #include <smmintrin.h>

Intrinsic name

WebAssembly SIMD support

_mm_cmpgt_epi64

❌ scalarized
⚫ The SSE4.2 functions that deal with string comparisons and CRC calculations are not available:

  • _mm_cmpestra, _mm_cmpestrc, _mm_cmpestri, _mm_cmpestrm, _mm_cmpestro, _mm_cmpestrs, _mm_cmpestrz, _mm_cmpistra, _mm_cmpistrc, _mm_cmpistri, _mm_cmpistrm, _mm_cmpistro, _mm_cmpistrs, _mm_cmpistrz, _mm_crc32_u16, _mm_crc32_u32, _mm_crc32_u64, _mm_crc32_u8

Any code referencing these intrinsics will not compile.

The following table highlights the availability and expected performance of different AVX intrinsics. Refer to Intel Intrinsics Guide on AVX.

x86 AVX intrinsics available via #include <immintrin.h>

Intrinsic name

WebAssembly SIMD support

_mm_broadcast_ss

✅ wasm_v32x4_load_splat

_mm_cmp_pd

⚠️ emulated with 1-2 SIMD cmp+and/or

_mm_cmp_ps

⚠️ emulated with 1-2 SIMD cmp+and/or

_mm_cmp_sd

⚠️ emulated with 1-2 SIMD cmp+and/or+move

_mm_cmp_ss

⚠️ emulated with 1-2 SIMD cmp+and/or+move

_mm_maskload_pd

⚠️ emulated with SIMD load+shift+and

_mm_maskload_ps

⚠️ emulated with SIMD load+shift+and

_mm_maskstore_pd

❌ scalarized

_mm_maskstore_ps

❌ scalarized

_mm_permute_pd

💡 emulated with a general shuffle

_mm_permute_ps

💡 emulated with a general shuffle

_mm_permutevar_pd

💣 scalarized

_mm_permutevar_ps

💣 scalarized

_mm_testc_pd

💣 emulated with complex SIMD+scalar sequence

_mm_testc_ps

💣 emulated with complex SIMD+scalar sequence

_mm_testnzc_pd

💣 emulated with complex SIMD+scalar sequence

_mm_testnzc_ps

💣 emulated with complex SIMD+scalar sequence

_mm_testz_pd

💣 emulated with complex SIMD+scalar sequence

_mm_testz_ps

💣 emulated with complex SIMD+scalar sequence

Only the 128-bit wide instructions from AVX instruction set are available. 256-bit wide AVX instructions are not provided.

Compiling SIMD code targeting ARM NEON instruction set

Emscripten supports compiling existing codebases that use ARM NEON by passing the -mfpu=neon directive to the compiler, and including the header <arm_neon.h>.

In terms of performance, it is very important to note that only instructions which operate on 128-bit wide vectors are supported cleanly. This means that nearly any instruction which is not of a "q" variant (i.e. "vaddq" as opposed to "vadd") will be scalarized.

These are pulled from SIMDe repository on Github. To update emscripten with the latest SIMDe version, run tools/simde_update.py.

The following table highlights the availability of various 128-bit wide intrinsics.

Similarly to above, the following legend is used:

  • ✅ Wasm SIMD has a native opcode that matches the NEON instruction, should yield native performance

  • 💡 while the Wasm SIMD spec does not provide a proper performance guarantee, given a suitably smart enough compiler and a runtime VM path, this intrinsic should be able to generate the identical native NEON instruction.

  • ⚠️ the underlying NEON instruction is not available, but it is emulated via at most few other Wasm SIMD instructions, causing a small penalty.

  • ❌ the underlying NEON instruction is not exposed by the Wasm SIMD specification, so it must be emulated via a slow path, e.g. a sequence of several slower SIMD instructions, or a scalar implementation.

  • ⚫ the given NEON intrinsic is not available. Referencing the intrinsic will cause a compiler error.

For detailed information on each intrinsic function, refer to NEON Intrinsics Reference.

NEON Intrinsics

Intrinsic name

Wasm SIMD Support

vaba

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vabal

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vabd

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vabdl

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vabs

native

vadd

native

vaddl

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vaddlv

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vaddv

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vaddw

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vand

native

vbic

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vbsl

native

vcagt

⚠ Does not have direct implementation, but is emulated using fast NEON instructions

vceq

💡 Depends on a smart enough compiler, but should be near native

vceqz

⚠ Does not have direct implementation, but is emulated using fast NEON instructions

vcge

native

vcgez

⚠ Does not have direct implementation, but is emulated using fast NEON instructions

vcgt

native

vcgtz

⚠ Does not have direct implementation, but is emulated using fast NEON instructions

vcle

native

vclez

⚠ Does not have direct implementation, but is emulated using fast NEON instructions

vcls

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vclt

native

vcltz

⚠ Does not have direct implementation, but is emulated using fast NEON instructions

vcnt

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vclz

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vcombine

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vcreate

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vdot

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vdot_lane

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vdup

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vdup_n

native

veor

native

vext

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vget_lane

native

vhadd

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vhsub

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vld1

native

vld2

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vld3

💡 Depends on a smart enough compiler, but should be near native

vld4

💡 Depends on a smart enough compiler, but should be near native

vmax

native

vmaxv

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vmin

native

vminv

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vmla

⚠ Does not have direct implementation, but is emulated using fast NEON instructions

vmlal

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vmls

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vmlsl

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vmovl

native

vmul

native

vmul_n

⚠ Does not have direct implementation, but is emulated using fast NEON instructions

vmull

⚠ Does not have direct implementation, but is emulated using fast NEON instructions

vmull_n

⚠ Does not have direct implementation, but is emulated using fast NEON instructions

vmull_high

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vmvn

native

vneg

native

vorn

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vorr

native

vpadal

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vpadd

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vpaddl

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vpmax

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vpmin

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vpminnm

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vqabs

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vqabsb

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vqadd

💡 Depends on a smart enough compiler, but should be near native

vqaddb

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vqdmulh

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vqneg

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vqnegb

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vqrdmulh

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vqrshl

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vqrshlb

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vqshl

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vqshlb

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vqsub

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vqsubb

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vqtbl1

⚠ Does not have direct implementation, but is emulated using fast NEON instructions

vqtbl2

⚠ Does not have direct implementation, but is emulated using fast NEON instructions

vqtbl3

⚠ Does not have direct implementation, but is emulated using fast NEON instructions

vqtbl4

⚠ Does not have direct implementation, but is emulated using fast NEON instructions

vqtbx1

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vqtbx2

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vqtbx3

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vqtbx4

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vrbit

⚠ Does not have direct implementation, but is emulated using fast NEON instructions

vreinterpret

💡 Depends on a smart enough compiler, but should be near native

vrev16

native

vrev32

native

vrev64

native

vrhadd

⚠ Does not have direct implementation, but is emulated using fast NEON instructions

vrshl

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vrshr_n

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vrsra_n

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vset_lane

native

vshl

scalaried

vshl_n

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vshr_n

⚠ Does not have direct implementation, but is emulated using fast NEON instructions

vsra_n

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vst1

native

vst1_lane

💡 Depends on a smart enough compiler, but should be near native

vst2

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vst3

💡 Depends on a smart enough compiler, but should be near native

vst4

💡 Depends on a smart enough compiler, but should be near native

vsub

native

vsubl

⚠ Does not have direct implementation, but is emulated using fast NEON instructions

vsubw

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vtbl1

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vtbl2

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vtbl3

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vtbl4

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vtbx1

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vtbx2

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vtbx3

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vtbx4

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vtrn

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vtrn1

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vtrn2

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vtst

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vuqadd

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vuqaddb

⚫ Not implemented, will trigger compiler error

vuzp

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vuzp1

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vuzp2

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vzip

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vzip1

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized

vzip2

❌ Will be emulated with slow instructions, or scalarized