Watermark

Use Imgwire watermark transformations to overlay an image, text label, or public URL-based watermark on a delivered image variant.

Overview

Watermarks are applied at delivery time. The original uploaded image stays unchanged, and the watermark settings become part of the transformed CDN URL. This is useful for previews, generated image galleries, creator attribution, internal review assets, and branded derivatives.

Syntax

Parameter	Aliases	Value syntax
watermark	wm	image_id[:gravity[:x[:y]]], or an object with image_id or imageId
watermark_position	wmp, watermark_offset	gravity[:x[:y[:opacity[:blend]]]], or an object
watermark_size	wms	width[:height[:scale]], or an object
watermark_text	wmt	Text string, or an object with text and optional placement fields
watermark_url	wmu	Base64-encoded public HTTPS URL
watermark_rotate	wmr, wm_rot	angle, angle:background, or an object
watermark_shadow	wmsh	true, color[:blur[:x[:y]]], or an object

Offsets are signed pixels. For example, southeast:-24:-24 places the watermark inside the bottom-right corner by 24 pixels on each axis.

Image watermark example

This example uses an Imgwire-hosted watermark image and places it in the lower-right corner.

https://cdn.imgwire.dev/{organization_id}/{environment_id}/{image_id}?watermark=2ba49760-8654-49f1-a98e-e922278c990e&watermark_size=120&watermark_position=southeast:-24:-24:0.85

image.url({
  watermark: '2ba49760-8654-49f1-a98e-e922278c990e',
  watermark_size: '120',
  watermark_position: 'southeast:-24:-24:0.85',
  format: 'auto',
  quality: 'auto',
});

imgwire images url img_123 \
  --watermark 2ba49760-8654-49f1-a98e-e922278c990e \
  --watermark-size 120 \
  --watermark-position southeast:-24:-24:0.85

Before and after

OriginalWatermarked

Compare Original and Watermarked

More examples

Text watermark	Rotated image watermark	Image watermark with shadow

URL watermark example

Use watermark_url when the watermark source is a public HTTPS asset outside Imgwire. The URL must be base64-encoded before you place it in the transformation URL.

const watermarkUrl = btoa('https://example.com/watermark.png');

image.url({
  watermark_url: watermarkUrl,
  watermark_position: 'southeast:-24:-24:0.8',
  watermark_size: '120',
  format: 'auto',
});

Best practices

• Upload reusable watermark graphics to Imgwire and reference them by image ID.
• Use opacity and padding offsets so the watermark is visible without dominating the image.
• Use watermark_size so the overlay is predictable across different source dimensions.
• Keep watermark placement consistent across related image surfaces.

Common mistakes

• Using a watermark image from a different environment than the delivered image URL.
• Forgetting to size the watermark, which can make large source watermark images dominate the output.
• Passing raw public URLs to watermark_url instead of base64-encoding them.
• Treating watermarks as access control. Public transformed URLs are still public delivery URLs.

Related pages

• Adding Watermarks
• Gradient
• Format

Last updated at: May 9, 2026