Configure imaging

Processing options

These are the default settings for processing images:

imaging:
  anchor: Smart
  bgColor: '#ffffff'
  compression: lossy
  quality: 75
  resampleFilter: box

[imaging]
  anchor = 'Smart'
  bgColor = '#ffffff'
  compression = 'lossy'
  quality = 75
  resampleFilter = 'box'

{
   "imaging": {
      "anchor": "Smart",
      "bgColor": "#ffffff",
      "compression": "lossy",
      "quality": 75,
      "resampleFilter": "box"
   }
}

anchor

(string) The focal point used when cropping or filling an image. Valid options include TopLeft, Top, TopRight, Left, Center, Right, BottomLeft, Bottom, BottomRight, or Smart. The Smart option utilizes the smartcrop.js library to identify the most interesting area of the image. Default is Smart.

bgColor

(string) The background color used when converting transparent images to formats that do not support transparency, such as PNG to JPEG. This color also fills the empty space created when rotating an image by a non-orthogonal angle if the space is not transparent and a background color is not specified in the processing specification. The value must be an RGB hexadecimal color. Default is #ffffff.

compression

New in v0.153.5

(string) The encoding strategy used for the image. Options are lossy or lossless. Note that lossless is only supported by the WebP format. Default is lossy.

quality

(int) The visual fidelity of the image, applicable to JPEG and WebP formats when using lossy compression. Expressed as a whole number from 1 to 100, inclusive. Lower numbers prioritize smaller file size, while higher numbers prioritize visual clarity. Default is 75.

resampleFilter

(string) The algorithm used to calculate new pixels when resizing, fitting, or filling an image. Common options include box, lanczos, catmullRom, mitchellNetravali, linear, or nearestNeighbor. Default is box.

Filter	Description
box	Simple and fast averaging filter appropriate for downscaling
lanczos	High-quality resampling filter for photographic images yielding sharp results
catmullRom	Sharp cubic filter that is faster than the Lanczos filter while providing similar results
mitchellNetravali	Cubic filter that produces smoother results with less ringing artifacts than CatmullRom
linear	Bilinear resampling filter, produces smooth output, faster than cubic filters
nearestNeighbor	Fastest resampling filter, no antialiasing

Refer to the source documentation for a complete list of available resampling filters. If you wish to improve image quality at the expense of performance, you may wish to experiment with the alternative filters.

WebP images

These are the default settings specific to processing WebP images:

imaging:
  webp:
    hint: photo
    method: 4
    useSharpYuv: true

[imaging]
  [imaging.webp]
    hint = 'photo'
    method = 4
    useSharpYuv = true

{
   "imaging": {
      "webp": {
         "hint": "photo",
         "method": 4,
         "useSharpYuv": true
      }
   }
}

hint

(string) The encoding preset used when processing WebP images, equivalent to the -preset flag for the cwebp CLI. Valid options include drawing, icon, photo, picture, or text. Default is photo.

Value	Example
drawing	Hand or line drawing with high-contrast details
icon	Small colorful image
photo	Outdoor photograph with natural lighting
picture	Indoor photograph such as a portrait
text	Image that is primarily text

method

(int) The effort level of the compression algorithm. Expressed as a whole number from 0 to 6, inclusive, equivalent to the -m flag for the cwebp CLI. Lower numbers prioritize processing speed, while higher numbers prioritize compression efficiency. Default is 4.

useSharpYuv

(bool) The conversion method used for RGB-to-YUV encoding, equivalent to the -sharp_yuv flag for the cwebp CLI. Enabling this prioritizes image sharpness at the expense of processing speed. Default is true.

Exif method

These are the default settings for the Exif method on an image Resource object:

imaging:
  exif:
    disableDate: false
    disableLatLong: false
    excludeFields: ''
    includeFields: ''

[imaging]
  [imaging.exif]
    disableDate = false
    disableLatLong = false
    excludeFields = ''
    includeFields = ''

{
   "imaging": {
      "exif": {
         "disableDate": false,
         "disableLatLong": false,
         "excludeFields": "",
         "includeFields": ""
      }
   }
}

disableDate

(bool) Whether to disable the [Date][] method by returning its zero value. Default is false.

disableLatLong

(bool) Whether to disable the [Lat][] and [Long][] methods by returning their zero values. Default is false.

excludeFields

(string) A regular expression matching the fields to exclude when extracting metadata.

By default, to improve performance and decrease cache size, Hugo excludes the following fields: ColorSpace, Contrast, Exif, ExposureBias, ExposureMode, ExposureProgram, Flash, GPS, JPEG, Metering, Resolution, Saturation, Sensing, Sharp, and WhiteBalance.

includeFields

(string) A regular expression matching the fields to include when extracting metadata. If empty, a default set excluding technical metadata is used. Set to '.*' to include all fields.

Meta method

These are the default settings for the Meta method on an image Resource object:

imaging:
  meta:
    fields: []
    sources:
    - exif
    - iptc

[imaging]
  [imaging.meta]
    fields = []
    sources = ['exif', 'iptc']

{
   "imaging": {
      "meta": {
         "fields": [],
         "sources": [
            "exif",
            "iptc"
         ]
      }
   }
}

fields

([]string) A glob slice matching the fields to include when extracting metadata. If empty, a default set excluding technical metadata is used. Set to ['**'] to include all fields.

By default, to improve performance and decrease cache size, Hugo excludes the following fields: ColorSpace, Contrast, Exif, ExposureBias, ExposureMode, ExposureProgram, Flash, GPS, JPEG, Metering, Resolution, Saturation, Sensing, Sharp, and WhiteBalance.

sources

([]string) The metadata sources to include, one or more of exif, iptc, or xmp. Default is ['exif', 'iptc']. The XMP metadata is excluded by default to improve performance.