Documentation

gradient

A color gradient.

Typst supports linear gradients through the gradient.linear function, radial gradients through the gradient.radial function, and conic gradients through the gradient.conic function.

A gradient can be used for the following purposes:

Examples

#stack(
  dir: ltr,
  spacing: 1fr,
  square(fill: gradient.linear(..color.map.rainbow)),
  square(fill: gradient.radial(..color.map.rainbow)),
  square(fill: gradient.conic(..color.map.rainbow)),
)
Preview

Gradients are also supported on text, but only when setting the relativeness to either auto (the default value) or "parent". To create word-by-word or glyph-by-glyph gradients, you can wrap the words or characters of your text in boxes manually or through a show rule.

#set text(fill: gradient.linear(red, blue))
#let rainbow(content) = {
  set text(fill: gradient.linear(..color.map.rainbow))
  box(content)
}

This is a gradient on text, but with a #rainbow[twist]!
Preview

Stops

A gradient is composed of a series of stops. Each of these stops has a color and an offset. The offset is a ratio between 0% and 100% or an angle between 0deg and 360deg. The offset is a relative position that determines how far along the gradient the stop is located. The stop's color is the color of the gradient at that position. You can choose to omit the offsets when defining a gradient. In this case, Typst will space all stops evenly.

Relativeness

The location of the 0% and 100% stops depends on the dimensions of a container. This container can either be the shape that it is being painted on, or the closest surrounding container. This is controlled by the relative argument of a gradient constructor. By default, gradients are relative to the shape they are being painted on, unless the gradient is applied on text, in which case they are relative to the closest ancestor container.

Typst determines the ancestor container as follows:

Color spaces and interpolation

Gradients can be interpolated in any color space. By default, gradients are interpolated in the Oklab color space, which is a perceptually uniform color space. This means that the gradient will be perceived as having a smooth progression of colors. This is particularly useful for data visualization.

However, you can choose to interpolate the gradient in any supported color space you want, but beware that some color spaces are not suitable for perceptually interpolating between colors. Consult the table below when choosing an interpolation space.

Color spacePerceptually uniform?
OklabYes
OklchYes
sRGBNo
linear-RGBYes
CMYKNo
GrayscaleYes
HSLNo
HSVNo
Preview

Direction

Some gradients are sensitive to direction. For example, a linear gradient has an angle that determines its direction. Typst uses a clockwise angle, with 0° being from left to right, 90° from top to bottom, 180° from right to left, and 270° from bottom to top.

#stack(
  dir: ltr,
  spacing: 1fr,
  square(fill: gradient.linear(red, blue, angle: 0deg)),
  square(fill: gradient.linear(red, blue, angle: 90deg)),
  square(fill: gradient.linear(red, blue, angle: 180deg)),
  square(fill: gradient.linear(red, blue, angle: 270deg)),
)
Preview

Presets

Typst predefines color maps that you can use with your gradients. See the color documentation for more details.

Note on file sizes

Gradients can be quite large, especially if they have many stops. This is because gradients are stored as a list of colors and offsets, which can take up a lot of space. If you are concerned about file sizes, you should consider the following:

Definitions
Question mark

linear

Creates a new linear gradient, in which colors transition along a straight line.

#rect(
  width: 100%,
  height: 20pt,
  fill: gradient.linear(
    ..color.map.viridis,
  ),
)
Preview

stops
color or array
RequiredPositional
Question mark
Variadic
Question mark

The color stops of the gradient.

space
any

The color space in which to interpolate the gradient.

Defaults to a perceptually uniform color space called Oklab.

Default: oklab

relative

The relative placement of the gradient.

For an element placed at the root/top level of the document, the parent is the page itself. For other elements, the parent is the innermost block, box, column, grid, or stack that contains the element.

VariantDetails
"self"

The gradient is relative to itself (its own bounding box).

"parent"

The gradient is relative to its parent (the parent's bounding box).

Default: auto

dir
direction
Positional
Question mark

The direction of the gradient.

Default: ltr

angle
angle
RequiredPositional
Question mark

The angle of the gradient.

radial

Creates a new radial gradient, in which colors radiate away from an origin.

The gradient is defined by two circles: the focal circle and the end circle. The focal circle is a circle with center focal-center and radius focal-radius, that defines the points at which the gradient starts and has the color of the first stop. The end circle is a circle with center center and radius radius, that defines the points at which the gradient ends and has the color of the last stop. The gradient is then interpolated between these two circles.

Using these four values, also called the focal point for the starting circle and the center and radius for the end circle, we can define a gradient with more interesting properties than a basic radial gradient.

#stack(
  dir: ltr,
  spacing: 1fr,
  circle(fill: gradient.radial(
    ..color.map.viridis,
  )),
  circle(fill: gradient.radial(
    ..color.map.viridis,
    focal-center: (10%, 40%),
    focal-radius: 5%,
  )),
)
Preview

stops
color or array
RequiredPositional
Question mark
Variadic
Question mark

The color stops of the gradient.

space
any

The color space in which to interpolate the gradient.

Defaults to a perceptually uniform color space called Oklab.

Default: oklab

relative

The relative placement of the gradient.

For an element placed at the root/top level of the document, the parent is the page itself. For other elements, the parent is the innermost block, box, column, grid, or stack that contains the element.

VariantDetails
"self"

The gradient is relative to itself (its own bounding box).

"parent"

The gradient is relative to its parent (the parent's bounding box).

Default: auto

center

The center of the end circle of the gradient.

A value of (50%, 50%) means that the end circle is centered inside of its container.

Default: (50%, 50%)

radius

The radius of the end circle of the gradient.

By default, it is set to 50%. The ending radius must be bigger than the focal radius.

Default: 50%

focal-center

The center of the focal circle of the gradient.

The focal center must be inside of the end circle.

A value of (50%, 50%) means that the focal circle is centered inside of its container.

By default it is set to the same as the center of the last circle.

Default: auto

focal-radius

The radius of the focal circle of the gradient.

The focal center must be inside of the end circle.

By default, it is set to 0%. The focal radius must be smaller than the ending radius`.

Default: 0%

conic

Creates a new conic gradient, in which colors change radially around a center point.

You can control the center point of the gradient by using the center argument. By default, the center point is the center of the shape.

#stack(
  dir: ltr,
  spacing: 1fr,
  circle(fill: gradient.conic(
    ..color.map.viridis,
  )),
  circle(fill: gradient.conic(
    ..color.map.viridis,
    center: (20%, 30%),
  )),
)
Preview

stops
color or array
RequiredPositional
Question mark
Variadic
Question mark

The color stops of the gradient.

angle

The angle of the gradient.

Default: 0deg

space
any

The color space in which to interpolate the gradient.

Defaults to a perceptually uniform color space called Oklab.

Default: oklab

relative

The relative placement of the gradient.

For an element placed at the root/top level of the document, the parent is the page itself. For other elements, the parent is the innermost block, box, column, grid, or stack that contains the element.

VariantDetails
"self"

The gradient is relative to itself (its own bounding box).

"parent"

The gradient is relative to its parent (the parent's bounding box).

Default: auto

center

The center of the last circle of the gradient.

A value of (50%, 50%) means that the end circle is centered inside of its container.

Default: (50%, 50%)

sharp

Creates a sharp version of this gradient.

Sharp gradients have discrete jumps between colors, instead of a smooth transition. They are particularly useful for creating color lists for a preset gradient.

#set rect(width: 100%, height: 20pt)
#let grad = gradient.linear(..color.map.rainbow)
#rect(fill: grad)
#rect(fill: grad.sharp(5))
#rect(fill: grad.sharp(5, smoothness: 20%))
Preview

steps
int
RequiredPositional
Question mark

The number of stops in the gradient.

smoothness

How much to smooth the gradient.

Default: 0%

repeat

Repeats this gradient a given number of times, optionally mirroring it at each repetition.

self.repeat() -> gradient
#circle(
  radius: 40pt,
  fill: gradient
    .radial(aqua, white)
    .repeat(4),
)
Preview

repetitions
int
RequiredPositional
Question mark

The number of times to repeat the gradient.

mirror

Whether to mirror the gradient at each repetition.

Default: false

kind

Returns the kind of this gradient.

self.kind(
) -> function

stops

Returns the stops of this gradient.

self.stops(
) -> array

space

Returns the mixing space of this gradient.

self.space(
) -> any

relative

Returns the relative placement of this gradient.

self.relative(
) -> auto

angle

Returns the angle of this gradient.

self.angle(
) -> noneangle

sample

Sample the gradient at a given position.

The position is either a position along the gradient (a ratio between 0% and 100%) or an angle. Any value outside of this range will be clamped.

self.sample() -> color

t
angle or ratio
RequiredPositional
Question mark

The position at which to sample the gradient.

samples

Samples the gradient at multiple positions at once and returns the results as an array.

self.samples() -> array

ts
angle or ratio
RequiredPositional
Question mark
Variadic
Question mark

The positions at which to sample the gradient.