ImageDecoder

The ImageDecoder class decodes compressed image data (JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, AVIF) into VideoFrame objects that can be processed, edited, or re-encoded.

This implementation follows the W3C WebCodecs ImageDecoder specification.

Quick Example

Decode a JPEG or PNG image into a VideoFrame:

import { ImageDecoder } from 'node-webcodecs';
import { readFileSync } from 'fs';

// Read image file
const imageData = readFileSync('photo.jpg');

// Create decoder
const decoder = new ImageDecoder({
  data: imageData,
  type: 'image/jpeg',
});

// Wait for image to be fully parsed
await decoder.completed;

// Decode the image
const result = await decoder.decode();
const frame = result.image;

console.log(`Decoded ${frame.codedWidth}x${frame.codedHeight} image`);

// Process the frame...

// IMPORTANT: Always close frames when done
frame.close();
decoder.close();

Always call frame.close() on decoded imagesDecoded VideoFrame objects hold native memory that is not tracked by JavaScript’s garbage collector. Forgetting to close frames will cause memory leaks.

// Good
const result = await decoder.decode();
processFrame(result.image);
result.image.close();  // Release memory

// Bad - memory leak!
const result = await decoder.decode();
processFrame(result.image);
// Forgot to close!

Supported Formats

Format	MIME Type	Animated
JPEG	image/jpeg	No
PNG	image/png	No
WebP	image/webp	Yes
GIF	image/gif	Yes
AVIF	image/avif	Yes

Use ImageDecoder.isTypeSupported() to check format support at runtime.

Constructor

new ImageDecoder(init: ImageDecoderInit): ImageDecoder

Creates a new ImageDecoder instance.

Parameters

ImageDecoderInit

required

Configuration object for the decoder.

Show ImageDecoderInit properties

BufferSource | ReadableStream<BufferSource>

required

The compressed image data. Can be a Buffer, ArrayBuffer, TypedArray, or a ReadableStream for progressive loading.

string

required

The MIME type of the image (e.g., 'image/jpeg', 'image/png', 'image/webp').

'default' | 'none'

default:"'default'"

How to handle color space conversion.

'default': Convert to sRGB color space
'none': Keep original color space

number

Desired output width for scaling. The decoder may scale during decode for efficiency.

number

Desired output height for scaling. The decoder may scale during decode for efficiency.

boolean

default:"true"

For images with both animated and static representations (like APNG), whether to prefer the animated version.

Example

import { ImageDecoder } from 'node-webcodecs';

// From Buffer
const decoder = new ImageDecoder({
  data: imageBuffer,
  type: 'image/png',
});

// With scaling
const thumbnailDecoder = new ImageDecoder({
  data: imageBuffer,
  type: 'image/jpeg',
  desiredWidth: 200,
  desiredHeight: 200,
});

// From ReadableStream (progressive loading)
const streamDecoder = new ImageDecoder({
  data: readableStream,
  type: 'image/webp',
});

Accessors

boolean

Whether all image data has been received and parsed.For images loaded from a Buffer, this is true immediately after construction. For images loaded from a ReadableStream, this becomes true when the stream ends.

Promise<void>

A promise that resolves when complete becomes true.Use this to wait for the image to be fully loaded before decoding:

const decoder = new ImageDecoder({ data: stream, type: 'image/gif' });
await decoder.completed;
console.log('Image fully loaded, ready to decode');

string

The MIME type of the image being decoded.

console.log(decoder.type); // 'image/jpeg'

Static Methods

isTypeSupported()

static isTypeSupported(type: string): Promise<boolean>

Check if a MIME type is supported for decoding.

Example: Check format support

import { ImageDecoder } from 'node-webcodecs';

async function checkSupport() {
  const formats = ['image/jpeg', 'image/png', 'image/webp', 'image/avif', 'image/gif'];

  for (const format of formats) {
    const supported = await ImageDecoder.isTypeSupported(format);
    console.log(`${format}: ${supported ? 'Supported' : 'Not supported'}`);
  }
}

checkSupport();
// Output:
// image/jpeg: Supported
// image/png: Supported
// image/webp: Supported
// image/avif: Supported
// image/gif: Supported

Parameters:

type (string): The MIME type to check

Returns: Promise<boolean> - Resolves to true if the format is supported

Instance Methods

decode()

decode(options?: ImageDecodeOptions): Promise<ImageDecodeResult>

Decode an image frame.

Example: Basic decode

const decoder = new ImageDecoder({
  data: imageBuffer,
  type: 'image/jpeg',
});

const result = await decoder.decode();

console.log(`Decoded: ${result.image.codedWidth}x${result.image.codedHeight}`);
console.log(`Complete: ${result.complete}`);

result.image.close();

Example: Animated GIF frame extraction

import { ImageDecoder } from 'node-webcodecs';
import { readFileSync } from 'fs';

async function extractGifFrames(gifPath: string) {
  const gifData = readFileSync(gifPath);

  const decoder = new ImageDecoder({
    data: gifData,
    type: 'image/gif',
  });

  await decoder.completed;

  const frames = [];
  let frameIndex = 0;

  while (true) {
    try {
      const result = await decoder.decode({ frameIndex });

      // Clone the frame if you need to keep it after decoding more frames
      const frameClone = result.image.clone();
      frames.push(frameClone);

      // Close the original
      result.image.close();

      console.log(`Extracted frame ${frameIndex}: ${frameClone.codedWidth}x${frameClone.codedHeight}`);

      // Check if this was the last frame
      if (result.complete) {
        break;
      }

      frameIndex++;
    } catch (error) {
      // No more frames
      break;
    }
  }

  console.log(`Extracted ${frames.length} frames from GIF`);

  // Process frames...

  // Clean up
  frames.forEach(frame => frame.close());
  decoder.close();

  return frames.length;
}

extractGifFrames('animation.gif');

Example: WebP animation processing

import { ImageDecoder, VideoEncoder, VideoFrame } from 'node-webcodecs';

async function convertWebpToVideo(webpPath: string, outputPath: string) {
  const webpData = readFileSync(webpPath);

  const decoder = new ImageDecoder({
    data: webpData,
    type: 'image/webp',
    preferAnimation: true,
  });

  await decoder.completed;

  // Get first frame to determine dimensions
  const firstResult = await decoder.decode({ frameIndex: 0 });
  const { codedWidth, codedHeight } = firstResult.image;

  const chunks: Buffer[] = [];
  const encoder = new VideoEncoder({
    output: (chunk) => {
      const buffer = Buffer.alloc(chunk.byteLength);
      chunk.copyTo(buffer);
      chunks.push(buffer);
    },
    error: console.error,
  });

  encoder.configure({
    codec: 'avc1.42E01E',
    width: codedWidth,
    height: codedHeight,
    bitrate: 2_000_000,
  });

  // Encode first frame
  encoder.encode(firstResult.image, { keyFrame: true });
  firstResult.image.close();

  // Encode remaining frames
  let frameIndex = 1;
  while (true) {
    try {
      const result = await decoder.decode({ frameIndex });
      encoder.encode(result.image);
      result.image.close();

      if (result.complete) break;
      frameIndex++;
    } catch {
      break;
    }
  }

  await encoder.flush();
  encoder.close();
  decoder.close();

  writeFileSync(outputPath, Buffer.concat(chunks));
}

Parameters:

ImageDecodeOptions

Optional decode options.

Show ImageDecodeOptions properties

number

default:"0"

The index of the frame to decode. For static images, this is always 0. For animated images (GIF, WebP, AVIF), use this to decode specific frames.

boolean

default:"true"

Whether to only return complete frames. When true, the promise will not resolve until the frame is fully decoded. When false, partial frames may be returned for progressive images.

Returns: Promise<ImageDecodeResult> - Resolves to an object containing the decoded frame

reset()

reset(): void

Reset the decoder state. Aborts any pending decode operations.

Example: Reset and re-decode

const decoder = new ImageDecoder({
  data: imageBuffer,
  type: 'image/png',
});

// Decode first frame
const result1 = await decoder.decode();
result1.image.close();

// Reset decoder state
decoder.reset();

// Decode again
const result2 = await decoder.decode();
result2.image.close();

decoder.close();

Returns: void

close()

close(): void

Close the decoder and release all resources. The decoder cannot be used after calling this method.

Example: Proper cleanup

const decoder = new ImageDecoder({
  data: imageBuffer,
  type: 'image/jpeg',
});

try {
  const result = await decoder.decode();
  // Process frame...
  result.image.close();
} finally {
  // Always close the decoder
  decoder.close();
}

Returns: void

Interfaces

ImageDecodeResult

The result of a decode operation.

VideoFrame

required

The decoded image as a VideoFrame. You must call close() on this frame when done to release memory.

boolean

required

Whether the image is fully decoded. For animated images, this indicates whether this is the last frame.

ImageDecodeOptions

Options for the decode() method.

number

The index of the frame to decode (0-based). Defaults to 0.

boolean

Whether to only return complete frames. Defaults to true.

ImageDecoderInit

Configuration for creating an ImageDecoder.

BufferSource | ReadableStream<BufferSource>

required

The compressed image data.

string

required

The MIME type of the image.

'default' | 'none'

Color space conversion mode.

number

Desired output width for scaling.

number

Desired output height for scaling.

boolean

Whether to prefer animated representation.

VideoFrame

Learn about the VideoFrame class returned by decode()

VideoEncoder

Encode decoded images into video

Thumbnail Generation

Generate thumbnails from images and videos

Video Transcoding

Complete transcoding workflow

Getting Started

Migration Guides

API Reference

Guides

Cookbook

Examples

Help

ImageDecoder

ImageDecoder

Quick Example

Supported Formats

Constructor

Parameters

Example

Accessors

Static Methods

isTypeSupported()

Instance Methods

decode()

reset()

close()

Interfaces

ImageDecodeResult

ImageDecodeOptions

ImageDecoderInit

See Also

VideoFrame

VideoEncoder

Thumbnail Generation

Video Transcoding

​ImageDecoder

​Quick Example

​Supported Formats

​Constructor

​Parameters

​Example

​Accessors

​Static Methods

​isTypeSupported()

​Instance Methods

​decode()

​reset()

​close()

​Interfaces

​ImageDecodeResult

​ImageDecodeOptions

​ImageDecoderInit

​See Also

VideoFrame

VideoEncoder

Thumbnail Generation

Video Transcoding

ImageDecoder

Quick Example

Supported Formats

Constructor

Parameters

Example

Accessors

Static Methods

isTypeSupported()

Instance Methods

decode()

reset()

close()

Interfaces

ImageDecodeResult

ImageDecodeOptions

ImageDecoderInit

See Also