gradient-parser

What is gradient-parser?

The gradient-parser npm package is a utility for parsing CSS gradient strings into a structured JSON format. It allows developers to easily interpret and manipulate gradient definitions in their applications.

What are gradient-parser's main functionalities?

Parsing CSS Gradients

This feature allows you to parse a CSS gradient string into a JSON object. The code sample demonstrates how to use the gradient-parser to convert a linear gradient string into a structured JSON format, which can then be used for further processing or manipulation.

const gradientParser = require('gradient-parser');
const gradientString = 'linear-gradient(to right, #ff0000, #00ff00, #0000ff)';
const parsedGradient = gradientParser.parse(gradientString);
console.log(JSON.stringify(parsedGradient, null, 2));

Other packages similar to gradient-parser

css-gradient-parser

The css-gradient-parser package is another tool for parsing CSS gradient strings. It provides similar functionality to gradient-parser, allowing users to convert gradient strings into a JSON format. However, css-gradient-parser may have different parsing rules or support for additional gradient types, making it a potential alternative depending on specific needs.

postcss

PostCSS is a tool for transforming CSS with JavaScript plugins. While not specifically focused on gradients, it can be extended with plugins to parse and manipulate CSS, including gradients. Compared to gradient-parser, PostCSS offers a broader range of CSS processing capabilities, making it suitable for more comprehensive CSS transformations.

README

Gradient Parser

About

Parse CSS3 gradient definition and returns AST object.

Examples

  var gradient = require('gradient-parser');
  var obj = gradient.parse('linear-gradient(30deg, #000, transparent)');
  console.log(JSON.stringify(obj, null, 2));

Results in:

[
  {
    "type": "linear-gradient",
    "orientation": {
      "type": "angular",
      "value": "30"
    },
    "colorStops": [
      {
        "type": "hex",
        "value": "000"
      },
      {
        "type": "literal",
        "value": "transparent"
      }
    ]
  }
]

Installation

Install via npm:

npm install gradient-parser

Import in Node.js:

const gradient = require('gradient-parser');

For browser usage:

<script src="node_modules/gradient-parser/build/web.js"></script>

Or download the zip

Development

Project Status

Gradient-parser has been modernized (as of v1.1.0):

• Removed Bower support in favor of npm exclusively
• Replaced Grunt with a modern build system using esbuild
• Added minification support
• Updated dependencies to specific versions
• Improved npm scripts for better developer experience

Build

Gradient-parser uses a modern build system with esbuild for building and minification.

# Build both Node.js and web bundles
npm run build

# Build only Node.js bundle
npm run build:node

# Build only web bundle
npm run build:web

# Build minified bundles
npm run build:minify

Testing

Run the test suite with:

npm test

Starting a local server

You can run a simple HTTP server for development:

npm start

API

gradient.parse

Accepts the gradient definitions as it is declared in background-image and returns an AST object.

AST

Common properties

All nodes have the following properties.

type

String. The possible values are the ones listed in the Types section bellow.

Types

The available values of node.type are listed below, as well as the available properties of each node (other than the common properties listed above).

linear-gradient

• orientation: Object possible types directional or angular.
• colorStops: Array of color stops of type literal, hex, rgb, or rgba.

repeating-linear-gradient

• orientation: Object possible types directional or angular.
• colorStops: Array of color stops of type literal, hex, rgb, or rgba.

radial-gradient

• orientation: Array or undefined. Array of possible types shape, default-radial.
• colorStops: Array of color stops of type literal, hex, rgb, or rgba.

repeating-radial-gradient

• orientation: Array or undefined. Array of possible types shape, default-radial.
• colorStops: Array of color stops of type literal, hex, rgb, or rgba.

directional

• value: String possible values left, top, bottom, or right.

angular

• value: Number integer number.

literal

• value: String literal name of the color.

hex

• value: String hex value.

rgb

• value: Array of length 3 of Number's.

rgba

• value: Array of length 4 or Number's.

shape

• style: Object or undefined possible types extent-keyword, px, em, %, or positioning-keyword.
• value: String possible values ellipse or circle.
• at: Object of attributes:
  • x: Object possible types extent-keyword, px, em, %, or positioning-keyword.
  • y: Object possible types extent-keyword, px, em, %, or positioning-keyword.

default-radial

• at: Object of attributes:
  • x: Object possible types extent-keyword, px, em, %, or positioning-keyword.
  • y: Object possible types extent-keyword, px, em, %, or positioning-keyword.

positioning-keyword

• value: String possible values center, left, top, bottom, or right.

extent-keyword

• value: String possible values closest-side, closest-corner, farthest-side, farthest-corner, contain, or cover.

License

(The MIT License)

Copyright (c) 2014-2025 Rafael Caricio [e-mail]

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the 'Software'), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED 'AS IS', WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.