saturate()

Baseline Widely available

This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since September 2016.

The saturate() CSS function super-saturates or desaturates the input image. Its result is a <filter-function>.

Note: saturate() is specified as a matrix operation on the RGB color. It does not actually convert the color to the HSL model, which is a non-linear operation. Therefore, it may not preserve the hue or lightness of the original color.

Try it

Syntax

css

saturate(amount)

Parameters

amount: The amount of the conversion, specified as a <number> or a <percentage>. A value under 100% desaturates the image, while a value over 100% super-saturates it. A value of 0% is completely unsaturated, while a value of 100% leaves the input unchanged. The initial value for interpolation is 1.

Formal syntax

<saturate()> = 
  saturate( [ <number> | <percentage> ]? )

Examples

Examples of correct values for saturate()

css

saturate(0)     /* Completely unsaturated */
saturate(.4)    /* 40% saturated */
saturate(100%)  /* No effect */
saturate(200%)  /* Double saturation */

saturate() does not preserve hue or lightness

The diagram below compares two color gradients with hsl(0 50% 50%) as the mid-point: the first is generated using saturate(), and the second uses actual HSL color values. Note how the saturate() gradient shows differences in hue and lightness towards the two ends.

html

<div>
  <p>Using <code>saturate()</code></p>
  <div id="saturate"></div>
</div>
<div>
  <p>Using <code>hsl()</code></p>
  <div id="hsl"></div>
</div>

#saturate,
#hsl {
  display: flex;
  margin: 1em 0;
}

#saturate div,
#hsl div {
  width: 2px;
  height: 100px;
}

const saturate = document.getElementById("saturate");
const hsl = document.getElementById("hsl");

for (let i = 0; i <= 200; i++) {
  const div1 = document.createElement("div");
  div1.style.backgroundColor = `hsl(0 ${i / 2}% 50%)`;
  hsl.appendChild(div1);

  const div2 = document.createElement("div");
  div2.style.backgroundColor = "hsl(0 50% 50%)";
  div2.style.filter = `saturate(${i}%)`;
  saturate.appendChild(div2);
}

Specifications

Specification
Filter Effects Module Level 1 # funcdef-filter-saturate

Browser compatibility

BCD tables only load in the browser