# Render with transparency
**URL:** https://discourse.glfw.org/t/render-with-transparency/251
**Category:** support
**Created:** [February 1, 2012, 8:43pm UTC](https://discourse.glfw.org/t/render-with-transparency/251 "2012-02-01T20:43:28Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@system](https://discourse.glfw.org/u/system)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2012, 8:43pm UTC](https://discourse.glfw.org/t/render-with-transparency/251/1 "2012-02-01T20:43:28Z")
**anonymous** wrote on [Wednesday, February 01, 2012](https://sourceforge.net/p/glfw/discussion/247562/thread/404c4c2e/#404d):
I’m using glfw to render models in memory. So i’m not using a window at all.
I’m using glReadPixels() to read all the ‘rendered’ data from the back
buffer, which in return i use to display the pixels in another program. So far
so good.
The next thing i want to do is render it with a transparent background. So i’m
trying to use glClearColor with transparency, but it isn’t working. I was
hoping anyone here had an idea on how to do this.
I’m calling this every render:
```
void render(void)
{
glColorMask(GL_TRUE, GL_TRUE, GL_TRUE, GL_TRUE);
glClear(GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT | GL_DEPTH_BUFFER_BIT);
glClearColor(0.1f,0.1f,0.1f,0.5f);
renderCube();
}
```
So basically what i want to achieve is that the cube is render on a
transparent background. So that i can place the read pixels ontop of another
image. But its not giving me any transparency.
Anyone any idea how to do this?
---
### Author:  [@system](https://discourse.glfw.org/u/system)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2012, 10:02pm UTC](https://discourse.glfw.org/t/render-with-transparency/251/2 "2012-02-01T22:02:41Z")
**[elmindreda](https://sourceforge.net/u/elmindreda/)** wrote on [Wednesday, February 01, 2012](https://sourceforge.net/p/glfw/discussion/247562/thread/404c4c2e/#11b4):
This is a question about OpenGL, not GLFW. You should ask on a forum for
OpenGL.