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The ImageShader component allows you to use images as shaders, providing control over tiling, fitting, and transformations. This enables you to create patterns, textures, and complex visual effects.

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Image Shader

The ImageShader returns an image as a shader with configurable tiling modes. It uses cubic sampling for high-quality rendering.

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Props

NameTypeDescription
imageSkImageThe image instance to use as a shader
txTileModeHorizontal tiling mode: clamp, repeat, mirror, or decal (default: decal)
tyTileModeVertical tiling mode: clamp, repeat, mirror, or decal (default: decal)
fitFitHow to fit the image in the destination rectangle (default: none)
rectSkRectDestination rectangle for fit calculation
transformTransform2dAdditional transformations to apply (see transformations)
samplingSamplingSampling method for the image (see sampling options)

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Basic Example

import { Canvas, Circle, ImageShader, useImage } from "@shopify/react-native-skia";

const ImageShaderDemo = () => {
  const image = useImage(require("./assets/oslo.jpg"));
  
  if (!image) {
    return null;
  }
  
  return (
    <Canvas style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <Circle cx={128} cy={128} r={128}>
        <ImageShader
          image={image}
          fit="cover"
          rect={{ x: 0, y: 0, width: 256, height: 256 }}
        />
      </Circle>
    </Canvas>
  );
};

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Tiling Modes

Control how the image repeats using tile modes:

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Clamp

Extends edge pixels: 
<ImageShader image={image} tx="clamp" ty="clamp" />

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Repeat

Repeats the image: 
import { Canvas, Rect, ImageShader, useImage } from "@shopify/react-native-skia";

const RepeatPattern = () => {
  const image = useImage(require("./assets/pattern.png"));
  
  return (
    <Canvas style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <Rect x={0} y={0} width={256} height={256}>
        <ImageShader image={image} tx="repeat" ty="repeat" />
      </Rect>
    </Canvas>
  );
};

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Mirror

Mirrors the image: 
<ImageShader image={image} tx="mirror" ty="mirror" />

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Decal

Draws the image once, transparent elsewhere: 
<ImageShader image={image} tx="decal" ty="decal" />

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Fitting Images

The fit property works with the rect property to control how the image fits within a rectangle:

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Contain

Fits the entire image within the bounds: 
<ImageShader
  image={image}
  fit="contain"
  rect={{ x: 0, y: 0, width: 256, height: 256 }}
/>

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Cover

Covers the entire rectangle, may crop the image: 
<ImageShader
  image={image}
  fit="cover"
  rect={{ x: 0, y: 0, width: 256, height: 256 }}
/>

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Fill

Stretches the image to fill the rectangle: 
<ImageShader
  image={image}
  fit="fill"
  rect={{ x: 0, y: 0, width: 256, height: 256 }}
/>

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Other Fit Options

  • fitWidth: Scales to match width
  • fitHeight: Scales to match height
  • scaleDown: Like contain, but never scales up
  • none: No fitting applied (default)

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Transformations

Apply transformations to image shaders: 
import { Canvas, Rect, ImageShader, useImage } from "@shopify/react-native-skia";

const TransformedImage = () => {
  const image = useImage(require("./assets/texture.jpg"));
  
  return (
    <Canvas style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <Rect x={0} y={0} width={256} height={256}>
        <ImageShader
          image={image}
          tx="repeat"
          ty="repeat"
          transform={[
            { scale: 0.5 },
            { rotate: Math.PI / 4 }
          ]}
        />
      </Rect>
    </Canvas>
  );
};

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Sampling Options

Control image quality with sampling options:

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Cubic Sampling (Best Quality)

import { Canvas, Rect, ImageShader, useImage, CubicSampling } from "@shopify/react-native-skia";

const HighQuality = () => {
  const image = useImage(require("./assets/photo.jpg"));
  
  return (
    <Canvas style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <Rect x={0} y={0} width={256} height={256}>
        <ImageShader
          image={image}
          fit="cover"
          rect={{ x: 0, y: 0, width: 256, height: 256 }}
          sampling={CubicSampling}
        />
      </Rect>
    </Canvas>
  );
};

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Filter Modes

import { FilterMode, MipmapMode } from "@shopify/react-native-skia";

<ImageShader
  image={image}
  sampling={{ 
    filter: FilterMode.Linear, 
    mipmap: MipmapMode.Linear 
  }}
/>

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Creating Patterns

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Tiled Pattern

import { Canvas, Fill, ImageShader, useImage } from "@shopify/react-native-skia";

const TiledPattern = () => {
  const pattern = useImage(require("./assets/tile.png"));
  
  return (
    <Canvas style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <Fill>
        <ImageShader
          image={pattern}
          tx="repeat"
          ty="repeat"
        />
      </Fill>
    </Canvas>
  );
};

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Kaleidoscope Effect

import { Canvas, Rect, ImageShader, useImage } from "@shopify/react-native-skia";

const Kaleidoscope = () => {
  const image = useImage(require("./assets/photo.jpg"));
  
  return (
    <Canvas style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <Rect x={0} y={0} width={256} height={256}>
        <ImageShader
          image={image}
          tx="mirror"
          ty="mirror"
          fit="cover"
          rect={{ x: 0, y: 0, width: 128, height: 128 }}
        />
      </Rect>
    </Canvas>
  );
};

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Combining with Other Shaders

Blend image shaders with other effects: 
import { 
  Canvas, 
  Rect, 
  Blend, 
  ImageShader, 
  LinearGradient,
  useImage,
  vec 
} from "@shopify/react-native-skia";

const BlendedImage = () => {
  const image = useImage(require("./assets/photo.jpg"));
  
  return (
    <Canvas style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <Rect x={0} y={0} width={256} height={256}>
        <Blend mode="multiply">
          <ImageShader
            image={image}
            fit="cover"
            rect={{ x: 0, y: 0, width: 256, height: 256 }}
          />
          <LinearGradient
            start={vec(0, 0)}
            end={vec(0, 256)}
            colors={["rgba(255,255,255,0)", "rgba(0,0,0,0.8)"]}
          />
        </Blend>
      </Rect>
    </Canvas>
  );
};

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Using with Runtime Shaders

Image shaders can be passed to custom runtime shaders: 
import { 
  Canvas, 
  Fill, 
  Shader, 
  ImageShader,
  Skia, 
  useImage 
} from "@shopify/react-native-skia";

const source = Skia.RuntimeEffect.Make(`
  uniform shader image;
  
  half4 main(float2 xy) {
    xy.x += sin(xy.y / 3) * 4;
    return image.eval(xy);
  }
`)!;

const WavyImage = () => {
  const image = useImage(require("./assets/oslo.jpg"));
  
  if (!image) return null;
  
  return (
    <Canvas style={{ width: 256, height: 256 }}>
      <Fill>
        <Shader source={source}>
          <ImageShader
            image={image}
            fit="cover"
            rect={{ x: 0, y: 0, width: 256, height: 256 }}
          />
        </Shader>
      </Fill>
    </Canvas>
  );
};

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Performance Tips

  • Reuse SkImage instances when possible
  • Use appropriate sampling modes for your use case
  • Consider using lower resolution images for patterns
  • Cache images loaded with useImage
  • Use decal tile mode when you don’t need tiling

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Loading Images

Images are loaded using the useImage hook: 
import { useImage } from "@shopify/react-native-skia";

// From bundle
const image1 = useImage(require("./assets/photo.jpg"));

// From network
const image2 = useImage("https://example.com/image.jpg");

// From native bundle (iOS/Android)
const image3 = useImage("Logo");
See the Images Overview for more details on loading images.

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See Also

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