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    lovell/sharp

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    High performance Node.js image processing, the fastest module to resize JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF and TIFF images. Uses the libvips library.

    computer-vision
    backend
    avif
    crop
    exif
    icc
    image
    JavaScript
    Apache-2.0
    32.4K stars
    1.4K forks
    32.4K GitHub watchers
    Updated 6/23/2026
    View on GitHub

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    Use Cases & Benefits

    • Sharp is a high-performance Node.js module for fast image processing and resizing of JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, and TIFF formats using the libvips library.
    • Key features include image resizing, rotation, extraction, compositing, gamma correction, and support for color profiles and alpha transparency.
    • Strengths are its speed (4-5x faster than ImageMagick), broad format support, and no extra dependencies on modern OS; limitation is it requires Node-API v9 support.
    • Organizations can integrate Sharp into web services or applications to efficiently process and optimize images for web delivery, improving load times and user experience.
    • Ideal use cases include web image optimization, thumbnail generation, real-time image transformations, and batch processing of large image sets.

    About sharp

    sharp

    sharp logo

    The typical use case for this high speed Node-API module is to convert large images in common formats to smaller, web-friendly JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF and AVIF images of varying dimensions.

    It can be used with all JavaScript runtimes that provide support for Node-API v9, including Node.js (^18.17.0 or >= 20.3.0), Deno and Bun.

    Resizing an image is typically 4x-5x faster than using the quickest ImageMagick and GraphicsMagick settings due to its use of libvips.

    Colour spaces, embedded ICC profiles and alpha transparency channels are all handled correctly. Lanczos resampling ensures quality is not sacrificed for speed.

    As well as image resizing, operations such as rotation, extraction, compositing and gamma correction are available.

    Most modern macOS, Windows and Linux systems do not require any additional install or runtime dependencies.

    Documentation

    Visit sharp.pixelplumbing.com for complete installation instructions, API documentation, benchmark tests and changelog.

    Examples

    npm install sharp
    
    const sharp = require('sharp');
    

    Callback

    sharp(inputBuffer)
      .resize(320, 240)
      .toFile('output.webp', (err, info) => { ... });
    

    Promise

    sharp('input.jpg')
      .rotate()
      .resize(200)
      .jpeg({ mozjpeg: true })
      .toBuffer()
      .then( data => { ... })
      .catch( err => { ... });
    

    Async/await

    const semiTransparentRedPng = await sharp({
      create: {
        width: 48,
        height: 48,
        channels: 4,
        background: { r: 255, g: 0, b: 0, alpha: 0.5 }
      }
    })
      .png()
      .toBuffer();
    

    Stream

    const roundedCorners = Buffer.from(
      '<svg><rect x="0" y="0" width="200" height="200" rx="50" ry="50"/></svg>'
    );
    
    const roundedCornerResizer =
      sharp()
        .resize(200, 200)
        .composite([{
          input: roundedCorners,
          blend: 'dest-in'
        }])
        .png();
    
    readableStream
      .pipe(roundedCornerResizer)
      .pipe(writableStream);
    

    Contributing

    A guide for contributors covers reporting bugs, requesting features and submitting code changes.

    Licensing

    Copyright 2013 Lovell Fuller and others.

    Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

    Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.

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