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node-canvas

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node-canvas is a Cairo-backed Canvas implementation for Node.js.

[!TIP] v3.0.0-rc2 is now available for testing on Linux (x64 glibc), macOS (x64) and Windows (x64)! It's the first version to use N-API and prebuild-install. Please give it a try and let us know if you run into any issues.

npm install canvas@next

Installation

$ npm install canvas

By default, pre-built binaries will be downloaded if you're on one of the following platforms:

If you want to build from source, use npm install --build-from-source and see the Compiling section below.

The minimum version of Node.js required is 18.12.0.

Compiling

If you don't have a supported OS or processor architecture, or you use --build-from-source, the module will be compiled on your system. This requires several dependencies, including Cairo and Pango.

For detailed installation information, see the wiki. One-line installation instructions for common OSes are below. Note that libgif/giflib, librsvg and libjpeg are optional and only required if you need GIF, SVG and JPEG support, respectively. Cairo v1.10.0 or later is required.

OSCommand
macOSUsing Homebrew:<br/>brew install pkg-config cairo pango libpng jpeg giflib librsvg pixman python-setuptools
Ubuntusudo apt-get install build-essential libcairo2-dev libpango1.0-dev libjpeg-dev libgif-dev librsvg2-dev
Fedorasudo yum install gcc-c++ cairo-devel pango-devel libjpeg-turbo-devel giflib-devel
Solarispkgin install cairo pango pkg-config xproto renderproto kbproto xextproto
OpenBSDdoas pkg_add cairo pango png jpeg giflib
WindowsSee the wiki
OthersSee the wiki

Mac OS X v10.11+: If you have recently updated to Mac OS X v10.11+ and are experiencing trouble when compiling, run the following command: xcode-select --install. Read more about the problem on Stack Overflow. If you have xcode 10.0 or higher installed, in order to build from source you need NPM 6.4.1 or higher.

Quick Example

const { createCanvas, loadImage } = require('canvas')
const canvas = createCanvas(200, 200)
const ctx = canvas.getContext('2d')

// Write "Awesome!"
ctx.font = '30px Impact'
ctx.rotate(0.1)
ctx.fillText('Awesome!', 50, 100)

// Draw line under text
var text = ctx.measureText('Awesome!')
ctx.strokeStyle = 'rgba(0,0,0,0.5)'
ctx.beginPath()
ctx.lineTo(50, 102)
ctx.lineTo(50 + text.width, 102)
ctx.stroke()

// Draw cat with lime helmet
loadImage('examples/images/lime-cat.jpg').then((image) => {
  ctx.drawImage(image, 50, 0, 70, 70)

  console.log('<img src="' + canvas.toDataURL() + '" />')
})

Upgrading from 1.x to 2.x

See the changelog for a guide to upgrading from 1.x to 2.x.

For version 1.x documentation, see the v1.x branch.

Documentation

This project is an implementation of the Web Canvas API and implements that API as closely as possible. For API documentation, please visit Mozilla Web Canvas API. (See Compatibility Status for the current API compliance.) All utility methods and non-standard APIs are documented below.

Utility methods

Non-standard APIs

createCanvas()

createCanvas(width: number, height: number, type?: 'PDF'|'SVG') => Canvas

Creates a Canvas instance. This method works in both Node.js and Web browsers, where there is no Canvas constructor. (See browser.js for the implementation that runs in browsers.)

const { createCanvas } = require('canvas')
const mycanvas = createCanvas(200, 200)
const myPDFcanvas = createCanvas(600, 800, 'pdf') // see "PDF Support" section

createImageData()

createImageData(width: number, height: number) => ImageData
createImageData(data: Uint8ClampedArray, width: number, height?: number) => ImageData
// for alternative pixel formats:
createImageData(data: Uint16Array, width: number, height?: number) => ImageData

Creates an ImageData instance. This method works in both Node.js and Web browsers.

const { createImageData } = require('canvas')
const width = 20, height = 20
const arraySize = width * height * 4
const mydata = createImageData(new Uint8ClampedArray(arraySize), width)

loadImage()

loadImage() => Promise<Image>

Convenience method for loading images. This method works in both Node.js and Web browsers.

const { loadImage } = require('canvas')
const myimg = loadImage('http://server.com/image.png')

myimg.then(() => {
  // do something with image
}).catch(err => {
  console.log('oh no!', err)
})

// or with async/await:
const myimg = await loadImage('http://server.com/image.png')
// do something with image

registerFont()

registerFont(path: string, { family: string, weight?: string, style?: string }) => void

To use a font file that is not installed as a system font, use registerFont() to register the font with Canvas. This must be done before the Canvas is created.

const { registerFont, createCanvas } = require('canvas')
registerFont('comicsans.ttf', { family: 'Comic Sans' })

const canvas = createCanvas(500, 500)
const ctx = canvas.getContext('2d')

ctx.font = '12px "Comic Sans"'
ctx.fillText('Everyone hates this font :(', 250, 10)

The second argument is an object with properties that resemble the CSS properties that are specified in @font-face rules. You must specify at least family. weight, and style are optional and default to 'normal'.

deregisterAllFonts()

deregisterAllFonts() => void

Use deregisterAllFonts to unregister all fonts that have been previously registered. This method is useful when you want to remove all registered fonts, such as when using the canvas in tests

const { registerFont, createCanvas, deregisterAllFonts } = require('canvas')

describe('text rendering', () => {
    afterEach(() => {
        deregisterAllFonts();
    })
    it('should render text with Comic Sans', () => {
        registerFont('comicsans.ttf', { family: 'Comic Sans' })

        const canvas = createCanvas(500, 500)
        const ctx = canvas.getContext('2d')
        
        ctx.font = '12px "Comic Sans"'
        ctx.fillText('Everyone loves this font :)', 250, 10)
        
        // assertScreenshot()
    })
})

Image#src

img.src: string|Buffer

As in browsers, img.src can be set to a data: URI or a remote URL. In addition, node-canvas allows setting src to a local file path or Buffer instance.

const { Image } = require('canvas')

// From a buffer:
fs.readFile('images/squid.png', (err, squid) => {
  if (err) throw err
  const img = new Image()
  img.onload = () => ctx.drawImage(img, 0, 0)
  img.onerror = err => { throw err }
  img.src = squid
})

// From a local file path:
const img = new Image()
img.onload = () => ctx.drawImage(img, 0, 0)
img.onerror = err => { throw err }
img.src = 'images/squid.png'

// From a remote URL:
img.src = 'http://picsum.photos/200/300'
// ... as above

// From a `data:` URI:
img.src = 'data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAUAAAAFCAYAAACNbyblAAAAHElEQVQI12P4//8/w38GIAXDIBKE0DHxgljNBAAO9TXL0Y4OHwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg=='
// ... as above

Note: In some cases, img.src= is currently synchronous. However, you should always use img.onload and img.onerror, as we intend to make img.src= always asynchronous as it is in browsers. See https://github.com/Automattic/node-canvas/issues/1007.

Image#dataMode

img.dataMode: number

Applies to JPEG images drawn to PDF canvases only.

Setting img.dataMode = Image.MODE_MIME or Image.MODE_MIME|Image.MODE_IMAGE enables MIME data tracking of images. When MIME data is tracked, PDF canvases can embed JPEGs directly into the output, rather than re-encoding into PNG. This can drastically reduce filesize and speed up rendering.

const { Image, createCanvas } = require('canvas')
const canvas = createCanvas(w, h, 'pdf')
const img = new Image()
img.dataMode = Image.MODE_IMAGE // Only image data tracked
img.dataMode = Image.MODE_MIME // Only mime data tracked
img.dataMode = Image.MODE_MIME | Image.MODE_IMAGE // Both are tracked

If working with a non-PDF canvas, image data must be tracked; otherwise the output will be junk.

Enabling mime data tracking has no benefits (only a slow down) unless you are generating a PDF.

Canvas#toBuffer()

canvas.toBuffer((err: Error|null, result: Buffer) => void, mimeType?: string, config?: any) => void
canvas.toBuffer(mimeType?: string, config?: any) => Buffer

Creates a Buffer object representing the image contained in the canvas.

Return value

If no callback is provided, a Buffer. If a callback is provided, none.

Examples

// Default: buf contains a PNG-encoded image
const buf = canvas.toBuffer()

// PNG-encoded, zlib compression level 3 for faster compression but bigger files, no filtering
const buf2 = canvas.toBuffer('image/png', { compressionLevel: 3, filters: canvas.PNG_FILTER_NONE })

// JPEG-encoded, 50% quality
const buf3 = canvas.toBuffer('image/jpeg', { quality: 0.5 })

// Asynchronous PNG
canvas.toBuffer((err, buf) => {
  if (err) throw err // encoding failed
  // buf is PNG-encoded image
})

canvas.toBuffer((err, buf) => {
  if (err) throw err // encoding failed
  // buf is JPEG-encoded image at 95% quality
}, 'image/jpeg', { quality: 0.95 })

// BGRA pixel values, native-endian
const buf4 = canvas.toBuffer('raw')
const { stride, width } = canvas
// In memory, this is `canvas.height * canvas.stride` bytes long.
// The top row of pixels, in BGRA order on little-endian hardware,
// left-to-right, is:
const topPixelsBGRALeftToRight = buf4.slice(0, width * 4)
// And the third row is:
const row3 = buf4.slice(2 * stride, 2 * stride + width * 4)

// SVG and PDF canvases
const myCanvas = createCanvas(w, h, 'pdf')
myCanvas.toBuffer() // returns a buffer containing a PDF-encoded canvas
// With optional metadata:
myCanvas.toBuffer('application/pdf', {
  title: 'my picture',
  keywords: 'node.js demo cairo',
  creationDate: new Date()
})

Canvas#createPNGStream()

canvas.createPNGStream(config?: any) => ReadableStream

Creates a ReadableStream that emits PNG-encoded data.

Examples

const fs = require('fs')
const out = fs.createWriteStream(__dirname + '/test.png')
const stream = canvas.createPNGStream()
stream.pipe(out)
out.on('finish', () =>  console.log('The PNG file was created.'))

To encode indexed PNGs from canvases with pixelFormat: 'A8' or 'A1', provide an options object:

const palette = new Uint8ClampedArray([
  //r    g    b    a
    0,  50,  50, 255, // index 1
   10,  90,  90, 255, // index 2
  127, 127, 255, 255
  // ...
])
canvas.createPNGStream({
  palette: palette,
  backgroundIndex: 0 // optional, defaults to 0
})

Canvas#createJPEGStream()

canvas.createJPEGStream(config?: any) => ReadableStream

Creates a ReadableStream that emits JPEG-encoded data.

Note: At the moment, createJPEGStream() is synchronous under the hood. That is, it runs in the main thread, not in the libuv threadpool.

Examples

const fs = require('fs')
const out = fs.createWriteStream(__dirname + '/test.jpeg')
const stream = canvas.createJPEGStream()
stream.pipe(out)
out.on('finish', () =>  console.log('The JPEG file was created.'))

// Disable 2x2 chromaSubsampling for deeper colors and use a higher quality
const stream = canvas.createJPEGStream({
  quality: 0.95,
  chromaSubsampling: false
})

Canvas#createPDFStream()

canvas.createPDFStream(config?: any) => ReadableStream

Applies to PDF canvases only. Creates a ReadableStream that emits the encoded PDF. canvas.toBuffer() also produces an encoded PDF, but createPDFStream() can be used to reduce memory usage.

Canvas#toDataURL()

This is a standard API, but several non-standard calls are supported. The full list of supported calls is:

dataUrl = canvas.toDataURL() // defaults to PNG
dataUrl = canvas.toDataURL('image/png')
dataUrl = canvas.toDataURL('image/jpeg')
dataUrl = canvas.toDataURL('image/jpeg', quality) // quality from 0 to 1
canvas.toDataURL((err, png) => { }) // defaults to PNG
canvas.toDataURL('image/png', (err, png) => { })
canvas.toDataURL('image/jpeg', (err, jpeg) => { }) // sync JPEG is not supported
canvas.toDataURL('image/jpeg', {...opts}, (err, jpeg) => { }) // see Canvas#createJPEGStream for valid options
canvas.toDataURL('image/jpeg', quality, (err, jpeg) => { }) // spec-following; quality from 0 to 1

CanvasRenderingContext2D#patternQuality

context.patternQuality: 'fast'|'good'|'best'|'nearest'|'bilinear'

Defaults to 'good'. Affects pattern (gradient, image, etc.) rendering quality.

CanvasRenderingContext2D#quality

context.quality: 'fast'|'good'|'best'|'nearest'|'bilinear'

Defaults to 'good'. Like patternQuality, but applies to transformations affecting more than just patterns.

CanvasRenderingContext2D#textDrawingMode

context.textDrawingMode: 'path'|'glyph'

Defaults to 'path'. The effect depends on the canvas type:

In glyph mode, ctx.strokeText() and ctx.fillText() behave the same (aside from using the stroke and fill style, respectively).

This property is tracked as part of the canvas state in save/restore.

CanvasRenderingContext2D#globalCompositeOperation = 'saturate'

In addition to all of the standard global composite operations defined by the Canvas specification, the 'saturate' operation is also available.

CanvasRenderingContext2D#antialias

context.antialias: 'default'|'none'|'gray'|'subpixel'

Sets the anti-aliasing mode.

PDF Output Support

node-canvas can create PDF documents instead of images. The canvas type must be set when creating the canvas as follows:

const canvas = createCanvas(200, 500, 'pdf')

An additional method .addPage() is then available to create multiple page PDFs:

// On first page
ctx.font = '22px Helvetica'
ctx.fillText('Hello World', 50, 80)

ctx.addPage()
// Now on second page
ctx.font = '22px Helvetica'
ctx.fillText('Hello World 2', 50, 80)

canvas.toBuffer() // returns a PDF file
canvas.createPDFStream() // returns a ReadableStream that emits a PDF
// With optional document metadata (requires Cairo 1.16.0):
canvas.toBuffer('application/pdf', {
  title: 'my picture',
  keywords: 'node.js demo cairo',
  creationDate: new Date()
})

It is also possible to create pages with different sizes by passing width and height to the .addPage() method:

ctx.font = '22px Helvetica'
ctx.fillText('Hello World', 50, 80)
ctx.addPage(400, 800)

ctx.fillText('Hello World 2', 50, 80)

See also:

SVG Output Support

node-canvas can create SVG documents instead of images. The canvas type must be set when creating the canvas as follows:

const canvas = createCanvas(200, 500, 'svg')
// Use the normal primitives.
fs.writeFileSync('out.svg', canvas.toBuffer())

SVG Image Support

If librsvg is available when node-canvas is installed, node-canvas can render SVG images to your canvas context. This currently works by rasterizing the SVG image (i.e. drawing an SVG image to an SVG canvas will not preserve the SVG data).

const img = new Image()
img.onload = () => ctx.drawImage(img, 0, 0)
img.onerror = err => { throw err }
img.src = './example.svg'

Image pixel formats (experimental)

node-canvas has experimental support for additional pixel formats, roughly following the Canvas color space proposal.

const canvas = createCanvas(200, 200)
const ctx = canvas.getContext('2d', { pixelFormat: 'A8' })

By default, canvases are created in the RGBA32 format, which corresponds to the native HTML Canvas behavior. Each pixel is 32 bits. The JavaScript APIs that involve pixel data (getImageData, putImageData) store the colors in the order {red, green, blue, alpha} without alpha pre-multiplication. (The C++ API stores the colors in the order {alpha, red, green, blue} in native-endian ordering, with alpha pre-multiplication.)

These additional pixel formats have experimental support:

Notes and caveats:

Testing

First make sure you've built the latest version. Get all the deps you need (see compiling above), and run:

npm install --build-from-source

For visual tests: npm run test-server and point your browser to http://localhost:4000.

For unit tests: npm run test.

Benchmarks

Benchmarks live in the benchmarks directory.

Examples

Examples line in the examples directory. Most produce a png image of the same name, and others such as live-clock.js launch an HTTP server to be viewed in the browser.

Original Authors

License

node-canvas

(The MIT License)

Copyright (c) 2010 LearnBoost, and contributors <dev@learnboost.com>

Copyright (c) 2014 Automattic, Inc and contributors <dev@automattic.com>

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the 'Software'), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED 'AS IS', WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

BMP parser

See license