diff --git a/ext/gl/gstglutils.c b/ext/gl/gstglutils.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ca5e8ab06c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ext/gl/gstglutils.c
@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+/* 
+ * GStreamer
+ * Copyright (C) 2016 Matthew Waters <matthew@centricular.com>
+ *
+ * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Library General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Library General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Library General Public
+ * License along with this library; if not, write to the
+ * Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor,
+ * Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.
+ */
+
+#ifdef HAVE_CONFIG_H
+#include "config.h"
+#endif
+
+#include <gst/gst.h>
+#include "gstglutils.h"
+
+struct _compile_shader
+{
+  GstGLShader **shader;
+  const gchar *vertex_src;
+  const gchar *fragment_src;
+};
+
+static void
+_compile_shader (GstGLContext * context, struct _compile_shader *data)
+{
+  GstGLShader *shader;
+  GstGLSLStage *vert, *frag;
+  GError *error = NULL;
+
+  shader = gst_gl_shader_new (context);
+
+  if (data->vertex_src) {
+    vert = gst_glsl_stage_new_with_string (context, GL_VERTEX_SHADER,
+        GST_GLSL_VERSION_NONE,
+        GST_GLSL_PROFILE_ES | GST_GLSL_PROFILE_COMPATIBILITY, data->vertex_src);
+    if (!gst_glsl_stage_compile (vert, &error)) {
+      GST_ERROR_OBJECT (vert, "%s", error->message);
+      gst_object_unref (vert);
+      gst_object_unref (shader);
+      return;
+    }
+    if (!gst_gl_shader_attach (shader, vert)) {
+      gst_object_unref (shader);
+      return;
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (data->fragment_src) {
+    frag = gst_glsl_stage_new_with_string (context, GL_FRAGMENT_SHADER,
+        GST_GLSL_VERSION_NONE,
+        GST_GLSL_PROFILE_ES | GST_GLSL_PROFILE_COMPATIBILITY,
+        data->fragment_src);
+    if (!gst_glsl_stage_compile (frag, &error)) {
+      GST_ERROR_OBJECT (frag, "%s", error->message);
+      gst_object_unref (frag);
+      gst_object_unref (shader);
+      return;
+    }
+    if (!gst_gl_shader_attach (shader, frag)) {
+      gst_object_unref (shader);
+      return;
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (!gst_gl_shader_link (shader, &error)) {
+    GST_ERROR_OBJECT (shader, "%s", error->message);
+    g_error_free (error);
+    error = NULL;
+    gst_gl_context_clear_shader (context);
+    gst_object_unref (shader);
+    return;
+  }
+
+  *data->shader = shader;
+}
+
+/* Called by glfilter */
+gboolean
+gst_gl_context_gen_shader (GstGLContext * context, const gchar * vert_src,
+    const gchar * frag_src, GstGLShader ** shader)
+{
+  struct _compile_shader data;
+
+  g_return_val_if_fail (frag_src != NULL || vert_src != NULL, FALSE);
+  g_return_val_if_fail (shader != NULL, FALSE);
+
+  data.shader = shader;
+  data.vertex_src = vert_src;
+  data.fragment_src = frag_src;
+
+  gst_gl_context_thread_add (context, (GstGLContextThreadFunc) _compile_shader,
+      &data);
+
+  return *shader != NULL;
+}
diff --git a/ext/gl/gstglutils.h b/ext/gl/gstglutils.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ee8d363995
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ext/gl/gstglutils.h
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+/*
+ * GStreamer
+ * Copyright (C) 2016 Matthew Waters <matthew@centricular.com>
+ *
+ * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Library General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Library General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Library General Public
+ * License along with this library; if not, write to the
+ * Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor,
+ * Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.
+ */
+
+#ifndef __EXT_GL_GST_GL_UTILS_H__
+#define __EXT_GL_GST_GL_UTILS_H__
+
+#include <gst/gl/gl.h>
+
+G_BEGIN_DECLS
+
+GST_EXPORT
+gboolean gst_gl_context_gen_shader (GstGLContext * context,
+    const gchar * shader_vertex_source,
+    const gchar * shader_fragment_source, GstGLShader ** shader);
+
+G_END_DECLS
+
+#endif /* __EXT_GL_GST_GL_UTILS_H__ */