Small, portable C library for high-quality conversion of RGBA images to 8-bit indexed-color (palette) images. It's powering pngquant2.
Libimagequant is dual-licensed:
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For Free/Libre Open Source Software it's available under GPL v3 or later with additional copyright notices for older parts of the code.
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For use in non-GPL software (e.g. closed-source or App Store distribution) please ask kornel@pngquant.org for a commercial license.
The library is currently a part of the pngquant2 project. Repository.
The library can be linked with ANSI C, C++, Rust and Java programs. It has no external dependencies.
To build on Unix-like systems run:
make static
it will create libimagequant.a which you can link with your program.
gcc yourprogram.c /path/to/libimagequant.a
On BSD, use gmake (GNU make) rather than the native make.
Alternatively you can compile the library with your program simply by including all .c files (and define NDEBUG to get a fast version):
gcc -std=c99 -O3 -DNDEBUG libimagequant/*.c yourprogram.c
In Rust you can use Cargo to build the library. Add imagequant to dependencies of the Rust program. You can also use cargo build in imagequant-sys to build libimagequant.a for any C-compatible language.
To build Java JNI interface, ensure JAVA_HOME is set to your JDK directory, and run:
# export JAVA_HOME=$(locate include/jni.h) # you may need to set JAVA_HOME first
make java
It will create libimagequant.jnilib and classes in org/pngquant/.
On Windows run make java-dll and it'll create libimagequant.dll instead.
The library can be compiled with any C compiler that has at least basic support for C99 (GCC, clang, ICC, C++ Builder, even Tiny C Compiler), but Visual Studio 2012 and older are not up to date with the 1999 C standard. There are 2 options for using libimagequant on Windows:
- Use Visual Studio 2015 and an MSVC-compatible branch of the library
- Or use GCC from MinGW or MSYS2. Use GCC to build
libimagequant.a(using the instructions above for Unix) and add it along withlibgcc.a(shipped with the MinGW compiler) to your VC project.
The basic flow is:
- Create attributes object and configure the library.
- Create image object from RGBA pixels or data source.
- Perform quantization (generate palette).
- Store remapped image and final palette.
- Free memory.
Please note that libimagequant only handles raw uncompressed arrays of pixels in memory and is completely independent of any file format.
#include "libimagequant.h"
liq_attr *attr = liq_attr_create();
liq_image *image = liq_image_create_rgba(attr, example_bitmap_rgba, width, height, 0);
liq_result *res;
liq_image_quantize(image, attr, &res);
liq_write_remapped_image(res, image, example_bitmap_8bpp, example_bitmap_size);
const liq_palette *pal = liq_get_palette(res);
// Save the image and the palette now.
for(int i=0; i < pal->count; i++) {
example_copy_palette_entry(pal->entries[i]);
}
// You'll need a PNG library to write to a file.
example_write_image(example_bitmap_8bpp);
liq_result_destroy(res);
liq_image_destroy(image);
liq_attr_destroy(attr);
Functions returning liq_error return LIQ_OK (0) on success and non-zero on error.
It's safe to pass NULL to any function accepting liq_attr, liq_image, liq_result (in that case the error code LIQ_INVALID_POINTER will be returned). These objects can be reused multiple times.
There are 3 ways to create image object for quantization:
liq_image_create_rgba()for simple, contiguous RGBA pixel arrays (width×height×4 bytes large bitmap).liq_image_create_rgba_rows()for non-contiguous RGBA pixel arrays (that have padding between rows or reverse order, e.g. BMP).liq_image_create_custom()for RGB, ABGR, YUV and all other formats that can be converted on-the-fly to RGBA (you have to supply the conversion function).
Note that "image" here means raw uncompressed pixels. If you have a compressed image file, such as PNG, you must use another library (e.g. libpng or lodepng) to decode it first.
liq_attr* liq_attr_create(void);
Returns object that will hold initial settings (attributes) for the library. The object should be freed using liq_attr_destroy() after it's no longer needed.
Returns NULL in the unlikely case that the library cannot run on the current machine (e.g. the library has been compiled for SSE-capable x86 CPU and run on VIA C3 CPU).
liq_error liq_set_max_colors(liq_attr* attr, int colors);
Specifies maximum number of colors to use. The default is 256. Instead of setting a fixed limit it's better to use liq_set_quality().
The first argument is attributes object from liq_attr_create().
Returns LIQ_VALUE_OUT_OF_RANGE if number of colors is outside the range 2-256.
int liq_get_max_colors(liq_attr* attr);
Returns the value set by liq_set_max_colors().
liq_error liq_set_quality(liq_attr* attr, int minimum, int maximum);
Quality is in range 0 (worst) to 100 (best) and values are analoguous to JPEG quality (i.e. 80 is usually good enough).
Quantization will attempt to use the lowest number of colors needed to achieve maximum quality. maximum value of 100 is the default and means conversion as good as possible.
If it's not possible to convert the image with at least minimum quality (i.e. 256 colors is not enough to meet the minimum quality), then liq_image_quantize() will fail. The default minumum is 0 (proceeds regardless of quality).
Quality measures how well the generated palette fits image given to liq_image_quantize(). If a different image is remapped with liq_write_remapped_image() then actual quality may be different.
Regardless of the quality settings the number of colors won't exceed the maximum (see liq_set_max_colors()).
The first argument is attributes object from liq_attr_create().
Returns LIQ_VALUE_OUT_OF_RANGE if target is lower than minimum or any of them is outside the 0-100 range.
Returns LIQ_INVALID_POINTER if attr appears to be invalid.
liq_attr *attr = liq_attr_create();
liq_set_quality(attr, 50, 80); // use quality 80 if possible. Give up if quality drops below 50.
int liq_get_min_quality(liq_attr* attr);
Returns the lower bound set by liq_set_quality().
int liq_get_max_quality(liq_attr* attr);
Returns the upper bound set by liq_set_quality().
liq_image *liq_image_create_rgba(liq_attr *attr, void* pixels, int width, int height, double gamma);
Creates an object that represents the image pixels to be used for quantization and remapping. The pixel array must be contiguous run of RGBA pixels (alpha is the last component, 0 = transparent, 255 = opaque).
The first argument is attributes object from liq_attr_create(). The same attr object should be used for the entire process, from creation of images to quantization.
The pixels array must not be modified or freed until this object is freed with liq_image_destroy(). See also liq_image_set_memory_ownership().
width and height are dimensions in pixels. An image 10x10 pixel large will need a 400-byte array.
gamma can be 0 for images with the typical 1/2.2 gamma.
Otherwise gamma must be > 0 and < 1, e.g. 0.45455 (1/2.2) or 0.55555 (1/1.8). Generated palette will use the same gamma unless liq_set_output_gamma() is used. If liq_set_output_gamma is not used, then it only affects whether brighter or darker areas of the image will get more palette colors allocated.
Returns NULL on failure, e.g. if pixels is NULL or width/height is <= 0.
liq_image *liq_image_create_rgba_rows(liq_attr *attr, void* rows[], int width, int height, double gamma);
Same as liq_image_create_rgba(), but takes an array of pointers to rows of pixels. This allows defining images with reversed rows (like in BMP), "stride" different than width or using only fragment of a larger bitmap, etc.
The rows array must have at least height elements, and each row must be at least width RGBA pixels wide.
unsigned char *bitmap = …;
void *rows = malloc(height * sizeof(void*));
int bytes_per_row = width * 4 + padding; // stride
for(int i=0; i < height; i++) {
rows[i] = bitmap + i * bytes_per_row;
}
liq_image *img = liq_image_create_rgba_rows(attr, rows, width, height, 0);
// …
liq_image_destroy(img);
free(rows);
The row pointers and pixels must not be modified or freed until this object is freed with liq_image_destroy() (you can change that with liq_image_set_memory_ownership()).
See also liq_image_create_rgba() and liq_image_create_custom().
liq_error liq_image_quantize(liq_image *const input_image, liq_attr *const attr, liq_result **out_result);
Performs quantization (palette generation) based on settings in attr (from liq_attr_create()) and pixels of the image.
Returns LIQ_OK if quantization succeeds and sets liq_result pointer in out_result. The last argument is used for receiving the result object:
liq_result *result;
if (LIQ_OK == liq_image_quantize(img, attr, &result)) { // Note &result
// result pointer is valid here
}
Returns LIQ_QUALITY_TOO_LOW if quantization fails due to limit set in liq_set_quality().
See liq_write_remapped_image().
If you want to generate one palette for multiple images at once, see liq_histogram_create().
liq_error liq_set_dithering_level(liq_result *res, float dither_level);
Enables/disables dithering in liq_write_remapped_image(). Dithering level must be between 0 and 1 (inclusive). Dithering level 0 enables fast non-dithered remapping. Otherwise a variation of Floyd-Steinberg error diffusion is used.
Precision of the dithering algorithm depends on the speed setting, see liq_set_speed().
Returns LIQ_VALUE_OUT_OF_RANGE if the dithering level is outside the 0-1 range.
liq_error liq_write_remapped_image(liq_result *result, liq_image *input_image, void *buffer, size_t buffer_size);
Remaps the image to palette and writes its pixels to the given buffer, 1 pixel per byte.
The buffer must be large enough to fit the entire image, i.e. width×height bytes large. For safety, pass the size of the buffer as buffer_size.
For best performance call liq_get_palette() after this function, as palette is improved during remapping (except when liq_histogram_quantize() is used).
Returns LIQ_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL if given size of the buffer is not enough to fit the entire image.
int buffer_size = width*height;
char *buffer = malloc(buffer_size);
if (LIQ_OK == liq_write_remapped_image(result, input_image, buffer, buffer_size)) {
liq_palette *pal = liq_get_palette(result);
// save image
}
See liq_get_palette().
The buffer is assumed to be contiguous, with rows ordered from top to bottom, and no gaps between rows. If you need to write rows with padding or upside-down order, then use liq_write_remapped_image_rows().
Please note that it only writes raw uncompressed pixels to memory. It does not perform any PNG compression. If you'd like to create a PNG file then you need to pass the raw pixel data to another library, e.g. libpng or lodepng. See rwpng.c in pngquant project for an example how to do that.
const liq_palette *liq_get_palette(liq_result *result);
Returns pointer to palette optimized for image that has been quantized or remapped (final refinements are applied to the palette during remapping).
It's valid to call this method before remapping, if you don't plan to remap any images or want to use same palette for multiple images.
liq_palette->count contains number of colors (up to 256), liq_palette->entries[n] contains RGBA value for nth palette color.
The palette is temporary and read-only. You must copy the palette elsewhere before calling liq_result_destroy().
Returns NULL on error.
void liq_attr_destroy(liq_attr *);
void liq_image_destroy(liq_image *);
void liq_result_destroy(liq_result *);
void liq_histogram_destroy(liq_histogram *);
Releases memory owned by the given object. Object must not be used any more after it has been freed.
Freeing liq_result also frees any liq_palette obtained from it.
liq_error liq_set_speed(liq_attr* attr, int speed);
Higher speed levels disable expensive algorithms and reduce quantization precision. The default speed is 3. Speed 1 gives marginally better quality at significant CPU cost. Speed 10 has usually 5% lower quality, but is 8 times faster than the default.
High speeds combined with liq_set_quality() will use more colors than necessary and will be less likely to meet minimum required quality.
| Noise-sensitive dithering | speed 1 to 5 |
|---|---|
| Forced posterization | 8-10 or if image has more than million colors |
| Quantization error known | 1-7 or if minimum quality is set |
| Additional quantization techniques | 1-6 |
Returns LIQ_VALUE_OUT_OF_RANGE if the speed is outside the 1-10 range.
int liq_get_speed(liq_attr* attr);
Returns the value set by liq_set_speed().
liq_error liq_set_min_opacity(liq_attr* attr, int min);
Alpha values higher than this will be rounded to opaque. This is a workaround for Internet Explorer 6, but because this browser is not used any more, this option is deprecated and will be removed. The default is 255 (no change).
Returns LIQ_VALUE_OUT_OF_RANGE if the value is outside the 0-255 range.
int liq_get_min_opacity(liq_attr* attr);
Returns the value set by liq_set_min_opacity().
liq_set_min_posterization(liq_attr* attr, int bits);
Ignores given number of least significant bits in all channels, posterizing image to 2^bits levels. 0 gives full quality. Use 2 for VGA or 16-bit RGB565 displays, 4 if image is going to be output on a RGB444/RGBA4444 display (e.g. low-quality textures on Android).
Returns LIQ_VALUE_OUT_OF_RANGE if the value is outside the 0-4 range.
int liq_get_min_posterization(liq_attr* attr);
Returns the value set by liq_set_min_posterization().
liq_set_last_index_transparent(liq_attr* attr, int is_last);
0 (default) makes alpha colors sorted before opaque colors. Non-0 mixes colors together except completely transparent color, which is moved to the end of the palette. This is a workaround for programs that blindly assume the last palette entry is transparent.
liq_image *liq_image_create_custom(liq_attr *attr, liq_image_get_rgba_row_callback *row_callback, void *user_info, int width, int height, double gamma);
void image_get_rgba_row_callback(liq_color row_out[], int row_index, int width, void *user_info) {
for(int column_index=0; column_index < width; column_index++) {
row_out[column_index] = /* generate pixel at (row_index, column_index) */;
}
}
Creates image object that will use callback to read image data. This allows on-the-fly conversion of images that are not in the RGBA color space.
user_info value will be passed to the callback. It may be useful for storing pointer to program's internal representation of the image.
The callback must read/generate row_index-th row and write its RGBA pixels to the row_out array. Row width is given for convenience and will always equal to image width.
The callback will be called multiple times for each row. Quantization and remapping require at least two full passes over image data, so caching of callback's work makes no sense — in such case it's better to convert entire image and use liq_image_create_rgba() instead.
To use RGB image:
void rgb_to_rgba_callback(liq_color row_out[], int row_index, int width, void *user_info) {
unsigned char *rgb_row = ((unsigned char *)user_info) + 3*width*row_index;
for(int i=0; i < width; i++) {
row_out[i].r = rgb_row[i*3];
row_out[i].g = rgb_row[i*3+1];
row_out[i].b = rgb_row[i*3+2];
row_out[i].a = 255;
}
}
liq_image *img = liq_image_create_custom(attr, rgb_to_rgba_callback, rgb_bitmap, width, height, 0);
The library doesn't support RGB bitmaps "natively", because supporting only single format allows compiler to inline more code, 4-byte pixel alignment is faster, and SSE instructions operate on 4 values at once, so alpha support is almost free.
liq_error liq_image_set_memory_ownership(liq_image *image, int ownership_flags);
Passes ownership of image pixel data and/or its rows array to the liq_image object, so you don't have to free it yourself. Memory owned by the object will be freed at its discretion with free function specified in liq_attr_create_with_allocator() (by default it's stdlib's free()).
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LIQ_OWN_PIXELSmakes pixel array owned by the object. The pixels will be freed automatically at any point when it's no longer needed. If you set this flag you must not free the pixel array yourself. If the image has been created withliq_image_create_rgba_rows()then the starting address of the array of pixels is assumed to be the lowest address of any row. -
LIQ_OWN_ROWSmakes array of row pointers (but not the pixels pointed by these rows) owned by the object. Rows will be freed when object is deallocated. If you set this flag you must not free the rows array yourself. This flag is valid only if the object has been created withliq_image_create_rgba_rows().
These flags can be combined with binary or, i.e. LIQ_OWN_PIXELS | LIQ_OWN_ROWS.
This function must not be used if the image has been created with liq_image_create_custom().
Returns LIQ_VALUE_OUT_OF_RANGE if invalid flags are specified or the image object only takes pixels from a callback.
liq_error liq_write_remapped_image_rows(liq_result *result, liq_image *input_image, unsigned char **row_pointers);
Similar to liq_write_remapped_image(). Writes remapped image, at 1 byte per pixel, to each row pointed by row_pointers array. The array must have at least as many elements as height of the image, and each row must have at least as many bytes as width of the image. Rows must not overlap.
For best performance call liq_get_palette() after this function, as remapping may change the palette (except when liq_histogram_quantize() is used).
Returns LIQ_INVALID_POINTER if result or input_image is NULL.
double liq_get_quantization_error(liq_result *result);
Returns mean square error of quantization (square of difference between pixel values in the source image and its remapped version). Alpha channel, gamma correction and approximate importance of pixels is taken into account, so the result isn't exactly the mean square error of all channels.
For most images MSE 1-5 is excellent. 7-10 is OK. 20-30 will have noticeable errors. 100 is awful.
This function may return -1 if the value is not available (this happens when a high speed has been requested, the image hasn't been remapped yet, and quality limit hasn't been set, see liq_set_speed() and liq_set_quality()). The value is not updated when multiple images are remapped, it applies only to the image used in liq_image_quantize() or the first image that has been remapped. See liq_get_remapping_error().
double liq_get_remapping_error(liq_result *result);
Returns mean square error of last remapping done (square of difference between pixel values in the remapped image and its remapped version). Alpha channel and gamma correction are taken into account, so the result isn't exactly the mean square error of all channels.
This function may return -1 if the value is not available (this happens when a high speed has been requested or the image hasn't been remapped yet).
double liq_get_quantization_quality(liq_result *result);
Analoguous to liq_get_quantization_error(), but returns quantization error as quality value in the same 0-100 range that is used by liq_set_quality().
It may return -1 if the value is not available (see note in liq_get_quantization_error()).
This function can be used to add upper limit to quality options presented to the user, e.g.
liq_attr *attr = liq_attr_create();
liq_image *img = liq_image_create_rgba(…);
liq_result *res;
liq_image_quantize(img, attr, &res);
int max_attainable_quality = liq_get_quantization_quality(res);
printf("Please select quality between 0 and %d: ", max_attainable_quality);
int user_selected_quality = prompt();
if (user_selected_quality < max_attainable_quality) {
liq_set_quality(user_selected_quality, 0);
liq_result_destroy(res);
liq_image_quantize(img, attr, &res);
}
liq_write_remapped_image(…);
double liq_get_remapping_quality(liq_result *result);
Analoguous to liq_get_remapping_error(), but returns quantization error as quality value in the same 0-100 range that is used by liq_set_quality().
void liq_set_log_callback(liq_attr*, liq_log_callback_function*, void *user_info);
void log_callback_function(const liq_attr*, const char *message, void *user_info) {}
void liq_set_log_flush_callback(liq_attr*, liq_log_flush_callback_function*, void *user_info);
void log_flush_callback_function(const liq_attr*, void *user_info) {}
Sets up callback function to be called when the library reports status or errors. The callback must not call any library functions.
user_info value will be passed through to the callback. It can be NULL.
NULL callback clears the current callback.
In the log callback the message is a zero-terminated string containing informative message to output. It is valid only until the callback returns, so you must copy it.
liq_set_log_flush_callback() sets up callback function that will be called after the last log callback, which can be used to flush buffers and free resources used by the log callback.
void liq_set_progress_callback(liq_attr*, liq_progress_callback_function*, void *user_info);
void liq_result_set_progress_callback(liq_result*, liq_progress_callback_function*, void *user_info);
int progress_callback_function(const liq_attr*, float progress_percent, void *user_info) {}
Sets up callback function to be called while the library is processing images. The callback may abort processing by returning 0.
Setting callback to NULL clears the current callback. liq_set_progress_callback is for quantization progress, and liq_result_set_progress_callback is for remapping progress (currently only dithered remapping reports progress).
user_info value will be passed through to the callback. It can be NULL.
The callback must not call any library functions.
progress_percent is a value between 0 and 100 that estimates how much of the current task has been done.
The callback should return 1 to continue the operation, and 0 to abort current operation.
liq_attr* liq_attr_create_with_allocator(void* (*malloc)(size_t), void (*free)(void*));
Same as liq_attr_create, but uses given malloc and free replacements to allocate all memory used by the library.
The malloc function must return 16-byte aligned memory on x86 (and on other architectures memory aligned for double and pointers). Conversely, if your stdlib's malloc doesn't return appropriately aligned memory, you should use this function to provide aligned replacements.
liq_attr* liq_attr_copy(liq_attr *orig);
Creates an independent copy of liq_attr. The copy should also be freed using liq_attr_destroy().
liq_error liq_set_output_gamma(liq_result* res, double gamma);
Sets gamma correction for generated palette and remapped image. Must be > 0 and < 1, e.g. 0.45455 for gamma 1/2.2 in PNG images. By default output gamma is same as gamma of the input image.
int liq_image_get_width(const liq_image *img);
int liq_image_get_height(const liq_image *img);
double liq_get_output_gamma(const liq_result *result);
Getters for width, height and gamma of the input image.
If the input is invalid, these all return -1.
liq_error liq_image_add_fixed_color(liq_image* img, liq_color color);
liq_error liq_histogram_add_fixed_color(liq_histogram *hist, liq_color color);
Reserves a color in the output palette created from this image. It behaves as if the given color was used in the image and was very important.
RGB values of liq_color are assumed to have the same gamma as the image.
It must be called before the image is quantized.
Returns error if more than 256 colors are added. If image is quantized to fewer colors than the number of fixed colors added, then excess fixed colors will be ignored.
int liq_version();
Returns version of the library as an integer. Same as LIQ_VERSION. Human-readable version is defined as LIQ_VERSION_STRING.
It's possible to efficiently generate a single palette that is optimal for multiple images, e.g. for an APNG animation. This is done by collecting statistics of images in a liq_histogram object.
liq_attr *attr = liq_attr_create();
liq_histogram *hist = liq_histogram_create(attr);
liq_image *image1 = liq_image_create_rgba(attr, example_bitmap_rgba1, width, height, 0);
liq_histogram_add_image(hist, attr, image1);
liq_image *image2 = liq_image_create_rgba(attr, example_bitmap_rgba2, width, height, 0);
liq_histogram_add_image(hist, attr, image2);
liq_result *result;
liq_error err = liq_histogram_quantize(attr, hist, &result);
if (LIQ_OK == err) {
// result will contain shared palette best for both image1 and image2
}
liq_histogram *liq_histogram_create(liq_attr *attr);
Creates histogram object that will be used to collect color statistics from multiple images. It must be freed using liq_histogram_destroy().
All options should be set on attr before the histogram object is created. Options changed later may not have effect.
liq_error liq_histogram_add_image(liq_histogram *hist, liq_attr *attr, liq_image* image);
"Learns" colors from the image, which will be later used to generate the palette.
After the image is added to the histogram it may be freed to save memory (but it's more efficient to keep the image object if it's going to be used for remapping).
Fixed colors added to the image are also added to the histogram. If total number of fixed colors exceeds 256, this function will fail with LIQ_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL.
liq_error liq_histogram_add_colors(liq_histogram *hist, liq_attr *attr, liq_histogram_entry entries[], int num_entries, double gamma);
Alternative to liq_histogram_add_image(). Intead of counting colors in an image, it directly takes an array of colors and their counts (see liq_histogram_entry in libimagequant.h). This function is only useful if you already have a histogram of the image from another source.
For description of gamma, see liq_image_create_rgba().
liq_error liq_histogram_quantize(liq_histogram *const hist, liq_attr *const attr, liq_result **out_result);
Generates palette from the histogram. On success returns LIQ_OK and writes liq_result* pointer to out_result. Use it as follows:
liq_result *result;
liq_error err = liq_histogram_quantize(attr, hist, &result);
if (LIQ_OK == err) {
// Use result here to remap and get palette
}
Returns LIQ_QUALITY_TOO_LOW if the palette is worse than limit set in liq_set_quality(). One histogram object can be quantized only once.
Palette generated using this function won't be improved during remapping. If you're generating palette for only one image, it's better to use liq_image_quantize().
The library is stateless and doesn't use any global or thread-local storage. It doesn't use any locks.
- Different threads can perform unrelated quantizations/remappings at the same time (e.g. each thread working on a different image).
- The same
liq_attr,liq_result, etc. can be accessed from different threads, but not at the same time (e.g. you can createliq_attrin one thread and free it in another).
The library needs to sort unique colors present in the image. Although the sorting algorithm does few things to make stack usage minimal in typical cases, there is no guarantee against extremely degenerate cases, so threads should have automatically growing stack.
The library will parallelize some operations if compiled with OpenMP.
You must not increase number of maximum threads after liq_image has been created, as it allocates some per-thread buffers.
Callback of liq_image_create_custom() may be called from different threads at the same time.
Thanks to Irfan Skiljan for helping test the first version of the library.
The library is developed by Kornel Lesiński.