<feComposite>

The <feComposite> SVG filter primitive performs the combination of two input images pixel-wise in image space using one of the Porter-Duff compositing operations: over, in, atop, out, xor, lighter, or arithmetic.

The table below shows each of these operations using an image of the MDN logo composited with a red circle:

Operation Description

over over operator

The source graphic defined by the in attribute (the MDN logo) is placed over the destination graphic defined by the in2 attribute (the circle).

This is the default operation, which will be used if no operation or an unsupported operation is specified.

in in operator

The parts of the source graphic defined by the in attribute that overlap the destination graphic defined in the in2 attribute, replace the destination graphic.

out out operator

The parts of the source graphic defined by the in attribute that fall outside the destination graphic defined in the in2 attribute, are displayed.

atop atop operator

The parts of the source graphic defined in the in attribute, which overlap the destination graphic defined in the in2 attribute, replace the destination graphic. The parts of the destination graphic that do not overlap with the source graphic stay untouched.

xor xor operator

The non-overlapping regions of the source graphic defined in the in attribute and the destination graphic defined in the in2 attribute are combined.

lighter lighter operator

The sum of the source graphic defined in the in attribute and the destination graphic defined in the in2 attribute is displayed.

arithmetic arithmetic operator

The arithmetic operation is useful for combining the output from the <feDiffuseLighting> and <feSpecularLighting> filters with texture data. If the arithmetic operation is chosen, each result pixel is computed using the following formula: 

result = k1*i1*i2 + k2*i1 + k3*i2 + k4

where:

  • i1 and i2 indicate the corresponding pixel channel values of the input image, which map to in and in2 respectively
  • k1, k2, k3, and k4 indicate the values of the attributes with the same name.

Usage context

Categories Filter primitive element
Permitted content Any number of the following elements, in any order:
<animate>, <set>

Attributes

Global attributes

Specific attributes

  • in: First input for the given filter primitive.
  • in2: Second input for the given filter primitive (works the same as the in attribute).
  • operator: over | in | out | atop | xor | lighter | arithmetic
  • k1, k2, k3, k4: Values used for calculating the result pixel in arithmetic operator filter primitives.

DOM Interface

This element implements the SVGFECompositeElement interface.

Example

This example defines filters for each of the supported operations (over, atop, lighter, etc.), which composite an input SourceGraphic with an image of the MDN logo. The filters are each applied to a circle element, which is then used as the SourceGraphic.

Note: BackgroundImage cannot be used as a compositing source on modern browsers, so we can't define a filter that composites using whatever pixels happen to be under the filter as one of the sources. The approach taken here is a workaround because we can't use BackgroundImage.

SVG

<svg style="width:800px; height:400px; display: inline;" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">
  <defs>
    <filter id="imageOver">
      <feImage xlink:href="mdn_logo_only_color.png" x="10px" y="10px" width="160px" />
      <feComposite in2="SourceGraphic" operator="over"/>
    </filter>
    <filter id="imageIn">
      <feImage xlink:href="mdn_logo_only_color.png" x="10px" y="10px" width="160px" />
      <feComposite in2="SourceGraphic" operator="in"/>
    </filter>
    <filter id="imageOut">
      <feImage xlink:href="mdn_logo_only_color.png" x="10px" y="10px" width="160px" />
      <feComposite in2="SourceGraphic" operator="out"/>
    </filter>
    <filter id="imageAtop">
      <feImage xlink:href="mdn_logo_only_color.png" x="10px" y="10px" width="160px" />
      <feComposite in2="SourceGraphic" operator="atop"/>
    </filter>
    <filter id="imageXor">
      <feImage xlink:href="mdn_logo_only_color.png" x="10px" y="10px" width="160px" />
      <feComposite in2="SourceGraphic" operator="xor"/>
    </filter>
    <filter id="imageArithmetic">
      <feImage xlink:href="mdn_logo_only_color.png" x="10px" y="10px" width="160px" />
      <feComposite in2="SourceGraphic" operator="arithmetic" k1="0.1" k2="0.2" k3="0.3" k4="0.4" />
    </filter>
    <filter id="imageLighter">
      <feImage xlink:href="mdn_logo_only_color.png" x="10px" y="10px" width="160px" />
      <feComposite in2="SourceGraphic" operator="lighter"/>
    </filter>
  </defs>
  <g transform="translate(0,25)">
    <circle cx="90px" cy="80px" r="70px" fill="#c00" style="filter:url(#imageOver)"/>
    <text x="80" y="-5">over</text>
  </g>
  <g transform="translate(200,25)">
    <circle cx="90px" cy="80px" r="70px" fill="#c00" style="filter:url(#imageIn)"/>
    <text x="80" y="-5">in</text>
  </g>
  <g transform="translate(400,25)">
    <circle cx="90px" cy="80px" r="70px" fill="#c00" style="filter:url(#imageOut)"/>
    <text x="80" y="-5">out</text>
  </g>
  <g transform="translate(600,25)">
    <circle cx="90px" cy="80px" r="70px" fill="#c00" style="filter:url(#imageAtop)"/>
    <text x="80" y="-5">atop</text>
  </g>
  <g transform="translate(0,240)">
    <circle cx="90px" cy="80px" r="70px" fill="#c00" style="filter:url(#imageXor)"/>
    <text x="80" y="-5">xor</text>
  </g>
  <g transform="translate(200,240)">
    <circle cx="90px" cy="80px" r="70px" fill="#c00" style="filter:url(#imageArithmetic)"/>
    <text x="70" y="-5">arithmetic</text>
  </g>
  <g transform="translate(400,240)">
    <circle cx="90px" cy="80px" r="70px" fill="#c00" style="filter:url(#imageLighter)"/>
    <text x="80" y="-5">lighter</text>
  </g>
</svg>

Result

Specifications

Specification
Filter Effects Module Level 2 (Filter Effects 2)
# feCompositeElement

Browser compatibility

Desktop Mobile
Chrome Edge Firefox Internet Explorer Opera Safari WebView Android Chrome Android Firefox for Android Opera Android Safari on IOS Samsung Internet
feComposite
1
≤18
Yes
Yes
≤12.1
6
Yes
Yes
Yes
≤12.1
6
1.5
in
1
≤18
Before Edge 79, BackgroundImage and BackgroundAlpha were supported.
Yes
Yes
15
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
14
Yes
1.5
in2
1
≤18
Before Edge 79, BackgroundImage and BackgroundAlpha were supported.
Yes
Yes
15
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
14
Yes
1.5
k1
1
≤79
Yes
Yes
15
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
14
Yes
1.5
k2
1
≤79
Yes
Yes
15
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
14
Yes
1.5
k3
1
≤79
Yes
Yes
15
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
14
Yes
1.5
k4
1
≤79
Yes
Yes
15
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
14
Yes
1.5
operator
1
≤18
Yes
Yes
15
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
14
Yes
Yes

See also

© 2005–2021 MDN contributors.
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/SVG/Element/feComposite