quickcrop

Crop an image before upload. One function, no dependencies, returns a Blob. Uses your modal system or brings its own.

Live demo →

const result = await quickcrop(file, { aspect: 1, maxWidth: 512 });
// result: { blob, dataURL, width, height } on confirm, null on cancel

Install

CDN, one file (simplest)

<script type="module">
  import quickcrop from 'https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/quickcrop@1/quickcrop.js';
</script>

The script injects its own styles. To theme via CSS instead, link the stylesheet (the script then skips injection):

<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/quickcrop@1/quickcrop.css">

Those URLs are served straight from npm by jsDelivr, no setup. The @1 pin tracks the latest 1.x release, so you get patches and minor updates but never a breaking major. Pin exactly with quickcrop@1.2.1 to freeze a version, or drop the pin (.../npm/quickcrop/quickcrop.js) to ride the newest major. The same files are on unpkg too: https://unpkg.com/quickcrop@1/quickcrop.js.

npm (bundlers)

npm install quickcrop

import quickcrop from 'quickcrop';
// optional, only if you want to theme via CSS:
import 'quickcrop/quickcrop.css';

Quick start

<input type="file" id="avatar" accept="image/*">

<script type="module">
  import quickcrop from 'https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/quickcrop@1/quickcrop.js';

  document.getElementById('avatar').addEventListener('change', async (e) => {
    const file = e.target.files[0];
    if (!file) return;
    e.target.value = ''; // allow re-selecting the same file

    const result = await quickcrop(file, { aspect: 1, maxWidth: 512 });
    if (!result) return; // cancelled

    const form = new FormData();
    form.append('avatar', result.blob, 'avatar' + (result.blob.type === 'image/png' ? '.png' : '.jpg'));
    await fetch('/upload', { method: 'POST', body: form });
  });
</script>

The user picks a file, a crop modal opens, they drag/resize the crop box (rule-of-thirds grid, corner handles, aspect lock if you set one), and confirm. You get back a Blob ready for FormData.

Result

quickcrop() returns a Promise that resolves to:

• { blob, dataURL, width, height } when the user confirms. blob is the cropped image, dataURL is the same image as a data URL (handy for instant previews), width/height are the output dimensions in pixels.
• null when the user cancels (Escape, backdrop click, or themodal's close button when themodal hosts).

It rejects on a non-File/Blob argument, an undecodable image, or a second call while a cropper is already open.

Options

Option	Default	Meaning
aspect	null	Width / height lock. null is a free crop. 1 is square, 16/9, 4/3, etc.
type	smart	Output mime type. Defaults to the input file's type when it is image/jpeg, image/png, or image/webp, otherwise image/png. A photo stays a jpeg instead of ballooning into a png.
quality	0.92	Encoder quality (0 to 1) for jpeg/webp. Ignored for png.
maxWidth	null	Cap the output width in pixels; the crop is downscaled proportionally. The upload-size lever.
maxHeight	null	Same for height. When both are set, the stricter one wins.
minSize	40	Minimum crop box edge in display pixels.
labels	{ confirm: 'Crop' }	Confirm button text.
modal	'auto'	'auto', 'builtin', a themodal instance, or a custom adapter (below).

Modal systems

quickcrop separates the crop stage from the modal that hosts it.

• 'auto' (default): if window.themodal (from hyperclayjs) is present, quickcrop renders inside it, so a Hyperclay page gets platform-consistent modals for free. Otherwise the built-in modal is used.
• 'builtin': always use the built-in modal, even when themodal is present.
• A themodal instance: quickcrop(file, { modal: themodal }) for ESM users who import themodal directly without globals.
• A custom adapter: plug in any modal system by normalizing it to one function:

const myAdapter = {
  open({ content, confirmLabel, onConfirm, onCancel }) {
    // content is a live HTMLElement (the crop stage); put it in your modal.
    // Call onConfirm() when the user accepts, onCancel() when they dismiss
    // (Esc, backdrop, a close button: dismissal affordances are yours).
    // Only call them from user interaction, never during open() itself.
    const dialog = document.createElement('dialog');
    dialog.append(content);
    // ... your confirm button wired to onConfirm, dismissal to onCancel ...
    document.body.append(dialog);
    dialog.showModal();
    return { close() { dialog.close(); dialog.remove(); } };
  },
  // optional: tell quickcrop how much room your modal has for the image
  fit() {
    return { width: window.innerWidth * 0.8, height: window.innerHeight * 0.7 };
  },
};

await quickcrop(file, { modal: myAdapter });

Theming

The default look is the warm "pixel quiet" palette. Override any of the CSS variables (set them after the stylesheet loads, or just link your own quickcrop.css):

:root {
  --qc-surface: #17191d;
  --qc-surface-hover: #1f242b;
  --qc-border: #2a2e35;
  --qc-text: #e7e9ee;
  --qc-on-dark: #0f1012;
}

Variable	Default	Used for
--qc-surface	#f7f2ea	Modal and button background
--qc-surface-hover	#efe7d8	Button hover
--qc-border	#cdbfa6	Modal and button borders
--qc-text	#2b241b	Text and the primary button background
--qc-text-hover	#463c2e	Primary button hover
--qc-on-dark	#efe7d8	Text on the primary button
--qc-overlay	rgba(43,36,27,.6)	Backdrop
--qc-dim	rgba(0,0,0,.55)	Dimming outside the crop box
--qc-radius	8px	Modal corner radius
--qc-crop-line	#fff	Crop box outline, grid, and handles
--qc-font	ui-sans-serif, system-ui, sans-serif	Modal font

Browser support

All modern browsers, mouse and touch. Needs ES modules, pointer events, and canvas.toBlob, which everything from 2020 onward has. EXIF orientation in photos is handled by the browser itself (image-orientation: from-image is the default everywhere now).

Device notes:

• Output is capped at ~16.7 million pixels, the canvas area iOS Safari can reliably encode; larger crops are downscaled proportionally. Use maxWidth/maxHeight to cap lower.
• The realized format is result.blob.type: engines without a webp canvas encoder (older Safari) fall back to png per spec.
• Browsers generally cannot decode HEIC/HEIF in <img>, so quickcrop rejects those files with could not decode image. In practice iOS file inputs transcode camera-roll HEIC to jpeg on selection, so upload flows rarely see one.

Develop / publish

npm run build   # syncs version + embedded CSS into quickcrop.js, README.md, llms.txt
npm test        # Playwright specs in test/
npm publish     # publishes quickcrop.js + quickcrop.css (runs build automatically)

License

MIT-0 (MIT No Attribution).