clip-path

The clip-path CSS property creates a clipping region that sets what part of an element should be shown. Parts that are inside the region are shown, while those outside are hidden.

Syntax

/* Keyword values */
clip-path: none;

/* <clip-source> values */
clip-path: url(resources.svg#c1);

/* <geometry-box> values */
clip-path: margin-box;
clip-path: border-box;
clip-path: padding-box;
clip-path: content-box;
clip-path: fill-box;
clip-path: stroke-box;
clip-path: view-box;

/* <basic-shape> values */
clip-path: inset(100px 50px);
clip-path: circle(50px at 0 100px);
clip-path: ellipse(50px 60px at 0 10% 20%);
clip-path: polygon(50% 0%, 100% 50%, 50% 100%, 0% 50%);
clip-path: path('M0.5,1 C0.5,1,0,0.7,0,0.3 A0.25,0.25,1,1,1,0.5,0.3 A0.25,0.25,1,1,1,1,0.3 C1,0.7,0.5,1,0.5,1 Z');

/* Box and shape values combined */
clip-path: padding-box circle(50px at 0 100px);

/* Global values */
clip-path: inherit;
clip-path: initial;
clip-path: revert;
clip-path: unset;

The clip-path property is specified as one or a combination of the values listed below.

Values

<clip-source>

A url() referencing an SVG <clipPath> element.

<basic-shape>

A shape whose size and position is defined by the <geometry-box> value. If no geometry box is specified, the border-box will be used as the reference box. One of:

inset()

Defines an inset rectangle.

circle()

Defines a circle using a radius and a position.

ellipse()

Defines an ellipse using two radii and a position.

polygon()

Defines a polygon using an SVG fill-rule and a set of vertices.

path()

Defines a shape using an SVG fill-rule and an SVG path definition.

<geometry-box>

If specified in combination with a <basic-shape>, this value defines the reference box for the basic shape. If specified by itself, it causes the edges of the specified box, including any corner shaping (such as a border-radius), to be the clipping path. The geometry box can be one of the following values:

margin-box

Uses the margin box as the reference box.

border-box

Uses the border box as the reference box.

padding-box

Uses the padding box as the reference box.

content-box

Uses the content box as the reference box.

fill-box

Uses the object bounding box as the reference box.

stroke-box

Uses the stroke bounding box as the reference box.

view-box

Uses the nearest SVG viewport as the reference box. If a viewBox attribute is specified for the element creating the SVG viewport, the reference box is positioned at the origin of the coordinate system established by the viewBox attribute and the dimension of the size of the reference box is set to the width and height values of the viewBox attribute.

none

No clipping path is created.

Note: A computed value other than none results in the creation of a new stacking context the same way that CSS opacity does for values other than 1.

Formal definition

Initial valuenone
Applies toall elements; In SVG, it applies to container elements excluding the defs element and all graphics elements
Inheritedno
Percentagesrefer to reference box when specified, otherwise border-box
Computed valueas specified, but with url() values made absolute
Animation typeyes, as specified for <basic-shape>, otherwise no

Formal syntax

<clip-source> | [ <basic-shape> || <geometry-box> ] | none
where 
<clip-source> = <url>
<basic-shape> = <inset()> | <circle()> | <ellipse()> | <polygon()> | <path()>
<geometry-box> = <shape-box> | fill-box | stroke-box | view-box
where 
<inset()> = inset( <length-percentage>{1,4} [ round <'border-radius'> ]? )
<circle()> = circle( [ <shape-radius> ]? [ at <position> ]? )
<ellipse()> = ellipse( [ <shape-radius>{2} ]? [ at <position> ]? )
<polygon()> = polygon( <fill-rule>? , [ <length-percentage> <length-percentage> ]# )
<path()> = path( [ <fill-rule>, ]? <string> )
<shape-box> = <box> | margin-box
where 
<length-percentage> = <length> | <percentage>
<shape-radius> = <length-percentage> | closest-side | farthest-side
<position> = [ [ left | center | right ] || [ top | center | bottom ] | [ left | center | right | <length-percentage> ] [ top | center | bottom | <length-percentage> ]? | [ [ left | right ] <length-percentage> ] && [ [ top | bottom ] <length-percentage> ] ]
<fill-rule> = nonzero | evenodd
<box> = border-box | padding-box | content-box

Examples

Comparison of HTML and SVG

html,body {
  height: 100%;
  box-sizing: border-box;
  background: #EEE;
}

.grid {
  width: 100%;
  height: 100%;
  display: flex;
  font: 1em monospace;
}

.row {
  display: flex;
  flex: 1 auto;
  flex-direction: row;
  flex-wrap: wrap;
}

.col {
  flex: 1 auto;
}

.cell {
  margin: .5em;
  padding: .5em;
  background-color: #FFF;
  overflow: hidden;
  text-align: center;
  flex: 1;
}

.note {
  background: #fff3d4;
  padding: 1em;
  margin: .5em .5em 0;
  font: .8em sans-serif;
  text-align: left;
  white-space: nowrap;
}

.note + .row .cell {
  margin-top: 0;
}

.container {
  display: inline-block;
  border: 1px dotted grey;
  position:relative;
}

.container:before {
  content: 'margin';
  position: absolute;
  top: 2px;
  left: 2px;
  font: italic .6em sans-serif;
}

.viewbox {
  box-shadow: 1rem 1rem 0 #EFEFEF inset, -1rem -1rem 0 #EFEFEF inset;
}

.container.viewbox:after {
  content: 'viewbox';
  position: absolute;
  left: 1.1rem;
  top: 1.1rem;
  font: italic .6em sans-serif;
}

.cell span {
  display: block;
  margin-bottom: .5em;
}

p {
  font-family: sans-serif;
  background: #000;
  color: pink;
  margin: 2em;
  padding: 3em 1em;
  border: 1em solid pink;
  width: 6em;
}

.none { clip-path: none; }
.svg  { clip-path: url(#myPath); }
.svg2 { clip-path: path('M15,45 A30,30,0,0,1,75,45 A30,30,0,0,1,135,45 Q135,90,75,130 Q15,90,15,45 Z');}
.shape1 { clip-path: circle(25%); }
.shape2 { clip-path: circle(25% at 25% 25%); }
.shape3 { clip-path: fill-box    circle(25% at 25% 25%); }
.shape4 { clip-path: stroke-box  circle(25% at 25% 25%); }
.shape5 { clip-path: view-box    circle(25% at 25% 25%); }
.shape6 { clip-path: margin-box  circle(25% at 25% 25%); }
.shape7 { clip-path: border-box  circle(25% at 25% 25%); }
.shape8 { clip-path: padding-box circle(25% at 25% 25%); }
.shape9 { clip-path: content-box circle(25% at 25% 25%); }

.defs {
  width: 0;
  height: 0;
  margin: 0;
}

pre { margin-bottom: 0; }

svg {
  margin: 1em;
  font-family: sans-serif;
  width: 192px;
  height: 192px;
}

svg rect {
  stroke: pink;
  stroke-width: 16px;
}

svg text {
  fill: pink;
  text-anchor: middle;
}

svg text.em {
  font-style: italic;
}

Complete example

HTML

<img id="clipped" src="mdn.svg"
    alt="MDN logo">
<svg height="0" width="0">
  <defs>
    <clipPath id="cross">
      <rect y="110" x="137" width="90" height="90"/>
      <rect x="0" y="110" width="90" height="90"/>
      <rect x="137" y="0" width="90" height="90"/>
      <rect x="0" y="0" width="90" height="90"/>
    </clipPath>
  </defs>
</svg>

<select id="clipPath">
  <option value="none">none</option>
  <option value="circle(100px at 110px 100px)">circle</option>
  <option value="url(#cross)" selected>cross</option>
  <option value="inset(20px round 20px)">inset</option>
  <option value="path('M 0 200 L 0,110 A 110,90 0,0,1 240,100 L 200 340 z')">path</option>
</select>

CSS

#clipped {
  margin-bottom: 20px;
  clip-path: url(#cross);
}

Result

Specifications

Specification
CSS Masking Module Level 1 (CSS Masking 1)
# the-clip-path
CSS Shapes Module Level 2 (CSS Shapes 2)
# supported-basic-shapes

Browser compatibility

BCD tables only load in the browser

See also