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Blur

Use the blur transformation to soften a delivered image variant.

Overview​

Blur is useful for soft backgrounds, loading states, placeholder imagery, privacy-minded previews, and design treatments where image detail should be reduced.

Syntax​

FieldValue
Canonical parameterblur
Aliasbl
Accepted valuestrue, or a sigma value from 0.3 through 100

Example​

https://cdn.imgwire.dev/{organization_id}/{environment_id}/{image_id}?blur=12
image.url({
  blur: 12,
  format: 'auto',
  quality: 'auto',
});
imgwire images url img_123 --blur 12 --format auto --quality auto

Before and after​

Demo image with blur applied
Original transformation demo image

Best practices​

  • Use modest blur values for background treatments.
  • Use stronger blur values for placeholders or privacy previews.
  • Pair blur with smaller dimensions when the blurred asset is used only as a lightweight placeholder.

Common mistakes​

  • Serving a large blurred image when a smaller version would work.
  • Using blur as private access control. Blurred public URLs are still public delivery URLs.
  • Applying blur to UI-critical images that users need to inspect.

Last updated at: May 9, 2026