No Login Data Private Local Save

CSS Paint Worklet Playground - Online Houdini Backgrounds

Developer Tools Educational background CSS Houdini Paint Worklet
50
0
0
0

🎨 CSS Paint Worklet Playground Houdini

Requires Chromium-based browser
paintWorklet.js
Live Preview
40px
0px
CSS Usage

📚 Frequently Asked Questions

What is CSS Paint Worklet?

CSS Paint Worklet is part of the CSS Houdini API suite. It lets developers programmatically generate images via JavaScript that can be used anywhere CSS expects an image — like background-image, border-image, or mask-image. The rendering happens on a separate worklet thread for performance.

Which browsers support Paint Worklet?

As of 2024, Paint Worklet is supported in Chromium-based browsers (Chrome, Edge, Opera, Brave) and Safari 16.4+. Firefox has not yet implemented it. Check CSS.paintWorklet in your console to verify support.

How do I use a Paint Worklet in my project?

1. Create a JS file with registerPaint('myPainter', class { ... }). 2. Load it via CSS.paintWorklet.addModule('path/to/worklet.js'). 3. Reference it in CSS: background-image: paint(myPainter). The worklet runs on a separate thread.

Can I pass parameters to a Paint Worklet?

Yes! Use CSS custom properties. Declare them in the static get inputProperties() method, then read them in paint() via properties.get('--my-var'). Set values in your CSS: --my-var: 20px; on the element.

What's the performance advantage?

Paint Worklets run on a dedicated worklet thread, not the main thread. This means complex background patterns won't block UI responsiveness. The browser also caches the output when input properties remain unchanged.

How is this different from Canvas or SVG backgrounds?

Unlike Canvas (which requires JavaScript DOM manipulation), Paint Worklets integrate directly into CSS and respond to element size changes automatically. Compared to inline SVG, they can be more dynamic and don't add DOM nodes. They also support CSS custom property reactivity.

What are inputProperties and inputArguments?

inputProperties lets you declare which CSS custom properties the worklet should listen to — changes trigger a repaint. inputArguments allows passing values directly from CSS, like paint(myPainter, 20px, red), though browser support for arguments is more limited.

Can I animate a Paint Worklet?

Yes! Since the worklet responds to CSS custom property changes, you can animate those properties using CSS transitions, @keyframes, or JavaScript. However, the animation runs at the element's repaint rate — for 60fps animations, test performance carefully.

🔧 Related Tools