CanvasRenderingContext2D: bezierCurveTo() method

Baseline Widely available

This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since July 2015.

The CanvasRenderingContext2D.bezierCurveTo() method of the Canvas 2D API adds a cubic Bézier curve to the current sub-path. It requires three points: the first two are control points and the third one is the end point. The starting point is the latest point in the current path, which can be changed using moveTo() before creating the Bézier curve.

Syntax

js
bezierCurveTo(cp1x, cp1y, cp2x, cp2y, x, y)

Parameters

cp1x

The x-axis coordinate of the first control point.

cp1y

The y-axis coordinate of the first control point.

cp2x

The x-axis coordinate of the second control point.

cp2y

The y-axis coordinate of the second control point.

x

The x-axis coordinate of the end point.

y

The y-axis coordinate of the end point.

Return value

None (undefined).

Examples

How bezierCurveTo works

This example shows how a cubic Bézier curve is drawn.

HTML

html
<canvas id="canvas"></canvas>

JavaScript

js
// Define canvas and context
const canvas = document.getElementById("canvas");
const ctx = canvas.getContext("2d");

// Define the points as {x, y}
let start = { x: 50, y: 20 };
let cp1 = { x: 230, y: 30 };
let cp2 = { x: 150, y: 80 };
let end = { x: 250, y: 100 };

// Cubic Bézier curve
ctx.beginPath();
ctx.moveTo(start.x, start.y);
ctx.bezierCurveTo(cp1.x, cp1.y, cp2.x, cp2.y, end.x, end.y);
ctx.stroke();

// Start and end points
ctx.fillStyle = "blue";
ctx.beginPath();
ctx.arc(start.x, start.y, 5, 0, 2 * Math.PI); // Start point
ctx.arc(end.x, end.y, 5, 0, 2 * Math.PI); // End point
ctx.fill();

// Control points
ctx.fillStyle = "red";
ctx.beginPath();
ctx.arc(cp1.x, cp1.y, 5, 0, 2 * Math.PI); // Control point one
ctx.arc(cp2.x, cp2.y, 5, 0, 2 * Math.PI); // Control point two
ctx.fill();

Result

In this example, the control points are red and the start and end points are blue.

A simple Bézier curve

This example draws a simple Bézier curve using bezierCurveTo().

HTML

html
<canvas id="canvas"></canvas>

JavaScript

The curve begins at the point specified by moveTo(): (30, 30). The first control point is placed at (120, 160), and the second at (180, 10). The curve ends at (220, 140).

js
const canvas = document.getElementById("canvas");
const ctx = canvas.getContext("2d");

ctx.beginPath();
ctx.moveTo(30, 30);
ctx.bezierCurveTo(120, 160, 180, 10, 220, 140);
ctx.stroke();

Result

Specifications

Specification
HTML
# dom-context-2d-beziercurveto-dev

Browser compatibility

desktop mobile
Chrome
Edge
Firefox
Opera
Safari
Chrome Android
Firefox for Android
Opera Android
Safari on iOS
Samsung Internet
WebView Android
WebView on iOS
bezierCurveTo
Chrome – Full support
Chrome 1 (Release date: 2008-12-11)
footnote Full support
Edge – Full support
Edge 12 (Release date: 2015-07-29)
footnote Full support
Firefox – Full support
Firefox 1.5 (Release date: 2005-11-29)
footnote Full support
Opera – Full support
Opera 11.6 (Release date: 2011-12-06)
footnote Full support
Safari – Full support
Safari 2 (Release date: 2005-04-29)
footnote Full support
Chrome Android – Full support
Chrome Android 18 (Release date: 2012-06-27)
footnote Full support
Firefox for Android – Full support
Firefox for Android 4 (Release date: 2011-03-29)
footnote Full support
Opera Android – Full support
Opera Android 12 (Release date: 2012-02-25)
footnote Full support
Safari on iOS – Full support
Safari on iOS 1 (Release date: 2007-06-29)
footnote Full support
Samsung Internet – Full support
Samsung Internet 1 (Release date: 2013-04-27)
footnote Full support
WebView Android – Full support
WebView Android 4.4 (Release date: 2013-12-09)
footnote Full support
WebView on iOS – Full support
WebView on iOS 1 (Release date: 2007-06-29)
footnote Full support

Legend

Tip: you can click/tap on a cell for more information.

Full support
Full support

See also