Image manipulation with Canvas
Setting up Canvas
Canvas is an image manipulation tool that allows you to modify images with code. We'll explore how to use this module in a heavily requested feature: guild member welcome messages. But first, you must go through the intense labor of installing Canvas. It's highly recommended that you use a Linux distribution for this because it'll be much easier to install on.
TIP
For this guide, we'll be using canvas@next. At the time of writing, that is canvas@2.0.0-alpha.12, so ensure your package.json has that or a similar version after installation.
WARNING
Be sure that you're familiar with things like async/await and object destructuring before continuing, as we'll be making use of features like these.
Installation
Windows
You will need a package called Windows Build Tools. You may install it with npm with the following command: npm i --global --production windows-build-tools, or with yarn by running the following: yarn global add --production windows-build-tools. It is also bundled with Chocolatey, should you choose that installation path. Afterwards, you should follow the instructions detailed here. Additionally, make sure Node and Cairo are both either 32-bit or 64-bit; having a 32-bit version of one and a 64-bit version of the other will cause errors.
If you are still unable to install Canvas, you might want to consider installing Microsoft Visual Studio 2015.
Other distributions
You can run one of the commands listed here to install the necessary tools Canvas needs.
Package installation
After installing all the necessary software, run npm i -S canvas@next if you use npm, or yarn add canvas@next if you use Yarn.
Getting started
Here is the base code you'll be using to get started:
const Discord = require('discord.js');
const Canvas = require('canvas');
const snekfetch = require('snekfetch');
const client = new Discord.Client();
client.once('ready', () => {
console.log('Ready!');
});
client.on('guildMemberAdd', member => {
const channel = member.guild.channels.find(ch => ch.name === 'member-log');
if (!channel) return;
channel.send(`Welcome to the server, ${member}!`);
});
client.login('your-token-goes-here');
To make testing this feature much easier, you can add a simple command that'll "fake" a new member joining.
client.on('message', async message => {
if (message.content === '!join') {
client.emit('guildMemberAdd', message.member || await message.guild.fetchMember(message.author));
}
});
What this will do is trigger the guildMemberAdd event while passing in the message author's GuildMember object. Of course, you should remove this command once you're doing adding this feature to your actual bot.
Basic image loading
The end goal will be to display the user's avatar, username, and a simple "Welcome!" message when they join. After importing the Canvas module and initializing it, you should load the images. With Canvas, you have to specify where the image comes from first, naturally, and then specify how it gets loaded into the actual Canvas using ctx, which is what you will use to interact with Canvas.
TIP
node-canvas works almost identical to HTML5 Canvas. You can read the HTML5 Canvas tutorials on w3Schools and MDN for more information later!
client.on('guildMemberAdd', async member => {
const channel = member.guild.channels.find(ch => ch.name === 'member-log');
if (!channel) return;
// Set a new canvas to the dimensions of 700x250 pixels
const canvas = Canvas.createCanvas(700, 250);
// ctx (context) will be used to modify a lot of the canvas
const ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');
channel.send(`Welcome to the server, ${member}!`);
});
Now, you need to load the image you want to use into Canvas. In order to have more sufficient coverage, we'll first show you how to load a basic image from a local directory. We'll be using this image as the background in the welcome image, but you can use whatever you want. Be sure to download the file, name it wallpaper.jpg, and save it inside the same directory as your main bot file.
client.on('guildMemberAdd', async member => {
const channel = member.guild.channels.find(ch => ch.name === 'member-log');
if (!channel) return;
const canvas = Canvas.createCanvas(700, 250);
const ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');
// Since the image takes time to load, you should await it
const background = await Canvas.loadImage('./wallpaper.jpg');
// This uses the canvas dimensions to stretch the image onto the entire canvas
ctx.drawImage(background, 0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
// Use helpful Attachment class structure to process the file for you
const attachment = new Discord.Attachment(canvas.toBuffer(), 'welcome-image.png');
channel.send(`Welcome to the server, ${member}!`, attachment);
});
If you get an error such as Error: error while reading from input stream, then the provided path to the file was incorrect.
Manipulating images
Next, let's place a border around the image, for the sake of demonstration purposes.
client.on('guildMemberAdd', async member => {
const channel = member.guild.channels.find(ch => ch.name === 'member-log');
if (!channel) return;
const canvas = Canvas.createCanvas(700, 250);
const ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');
const background = await Canvas.loadImage('./wallpaper.jpg');
ctx.drawImage(background, 0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
// Select the color of the stroke
ctx.strokeStyle = '#74037b';
// Draw a rectangle with the dimensions of the entire canvas
ctx.strokeRect(0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
const attachment = new Discord.Attachment(canvas.toBuffer(), 'welcome-image.png');
channel.send(`Welcome to the server, ${member}!`, attachment);
});
A bit plain, right? Fear not, for you have a bit more to do until you reach completion. Since the goal of guide page is focused more on actual code than design, let's just place a basic square shaped avatar for now on the left side of the image. In interest of coverage, you will also make it a circle afterwards.
client.on('guildMemberAdd', async member => {
const channel = member.guild.channels.find(ch => ch.name === 'member-log');
if (!channel) return;
const canvas = Canvas.createCanvas(700, 250);
const ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');
const background = await Canvas.loadImage('./wallpaper.jpg');
ctx.drawImage(background, 0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
ctx.strokeStyle = '#74037b';
ctx.strokeRect(0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
// Get the icon in the form of a buffer
const { body: buffer } = await snekfetch.get(member.user.displayAvatarURL);
// Wait for Canvas to load the image
const avatar = await Canvas.loadImage(buffer);
// Draw a shape onto the main canvas
ctx.drawImage(avatar, 25, 0, 200, canvas.height);
const attachment = new Discord.Attachment(canvas.toBuffer(), 'welcome-image.png');
channel.send(`Welcome to the server, ${member}!`, attachment);
});
Works well, but the avatar image itself seems a bit stretched out. Let's remedy that.
client.on('guildMemberAdd', async member => {
const channel = member.guild.channels.find(ch => ch.name === 'member-log');
if (!channel) return;
const canvas = Canvas.createCanvas(700, 250);
const ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');
const background = await Canvas.loadImage('./wallpaper.jpg');
ctx.drawImage(background, 0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
ctx.strokeStyle = '#74037b';
ctx.strokeRect(0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
const { body: buffer } = await snekfetch.get(member.user.displayAvatarURL);
const avatar = await Canvas.loadImage(buffer);
// Move the image downwards vertically and constrain its height to 200, so it's a square
ctx.drawImage(avatar, 25, 25, 200, 200);
const attachment = new Discord.Attachment(canvas.toBuffer(), 'welcome-image.png');
channel.send(`Welcome to the server, ${member}!`, attachment);
});
The purpose of this small section is to demonstrate that working with Canvas is essentially a hit-and-miss workflow where you fiddle with properties until they work just right.
Since we covered how to load external images and fix dimensions, let's turn the avatar into a circle to improve the overall style of the image.
client.on('guildMemberAdd', async member => {
const channel = member.guild.channels.find(ch => ch.name === 'member-log');
if (!channel) return;
const canvas = Canvas.createCanvas(700, 250);
const ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');
const background = await Canvas.loadImage('./wallpaper.jpg');
ctx.drawImage(background, 0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
ctx.strokeStyle = '#74037b';
ctx.strokeRect(0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
// Pick up the pen
ctx.beginPath();
// Start the arc to form a circle
ctx.arc(125, 125, 100, 0, Math.PI * 2, true);
// Put the pen down
ctx.closePath();
// Clip off the region you drew on
ctx.clip();
const { body: buffer } = await snekfetch.get(member.user.displayAvatarURL);
const avatar = await Canvas.loadImage(buffer);
ctx.drawImage(avatar, 25, 25, 200, 200);
const attachment = new Discord.Attachment(canvas.toBuffer(), 'welcome-image.png');
channel.send(`Welcome to the server, ${member}!`, attachment);
});
Adding in text
Now, let's quickly go over adding text to your image. This will be helpful to make the purpose of this image very clear, since currently it's just an avatar floating on a starry background that comes out of nowhere.
client.on('guildMemberAdd', async member => {
const channel = member.guild.channels.find(ch => ch.name === 'member-log');
if (!channel) return;
const canvas = Canvas.createCanvas(700, 250);
const ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');
const background = await Canvas.loadImage('./wallpaper.jpg');
ctx.drawImage(background, 0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
ctx.strokeStyle = '#74037b';
ctx.strokeRect(0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
// Select the font size and type from one of the natively available fonts
ctx.font = '60px sans-serif';
// Select the style that will be used to fill the text in
ctx.fillStyle = '#ffffff';
// Actually fill the text with a solid color
ctx.fillText(member.displayName, canvas.width / 2.5, canvas.height / 1.8);
ctx.beginPath();
ctx.arc(125, 125, 100, 0, Math.PI * 2, true);
ctx.closePath();
ctx.clip();
const { body: buffer } = await snekfetch.get(member.user.displayAvatarURL);
const avatar = await Canvas.loadImage(buffer);
ctx.drawImage(avatar, 25, 25, 200, 200);
const attachment = new Discord.Attachment(canvas.toBuffer(), 'welcome-image.png');
channel.send(`Welcome to the server, ${member}!`, attachment);
});
If you get an error like Fontconfig error: Cannot load default config file, it means you do not have any fonts installed on your system. On Linux, you can run the following command to fix this: sudo apt-get install fontconfig. This might also need to be installed if you see boxes where the text should be. As for Windows, you will need to find a way to install fonts.
You may have noticed or considered that if a member's username is too long, then the output won't be quite nice. This is because the text overflows out of the canvas, and you don't have any measures in place for that. Let's take care of this issue!
// Pass the entire Canvas object because you'll need to access its width, as well its context
const applyText = (canvas, text) => {
const ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');
// Declare a base size of the font
let fontSize = 70;
do {
// Assign the font to the context and decrement it so it can be measured again
ctx.font = `${fontSize -= 10}px sans-serif`;
// Compare pixel width of the text to the canvas minus the approximate avatar size
} while (ctx.measureText(text).width > canvas.width - 300);
// Return the result to use in the actual canvas
return ctx.font;
};
client.on('guildMemberAdd', async member => {
const channel = member.guild.channels.find(ch => ch.name === 'member-log');
if (!channel) return;
const canvas = Canvas.createCanvas(700, 250);
const ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');
const background = await Canvas.loadImage('./wallpaper.jpg');
ctx.drawImage(background, 0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
ctx.strokeStyle = '#74037b';
ctx.strokeRect(0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
// Assign the decided font to the canvas
ctx.font = applyText(canvas, member.displayName);
ctx.fillStyle = '#ffffff';
ctx.fillText(member.displayName, canvas.width / 2.5, canvas.height / 1.8);
ctx.beginPath();
ctx.arc(125, 125, 100, 0, Math.PI * 2, true);
ctx.closePath();
ctx.clip();
const { body: buffer } = await snekfetch.get(member.user.displayAvatarURL);
const avatar = await Canvas.loadImage(buffer);
ctx.drawImage(avatar, 25, 25, 200, 200);
const attachment = new Discord.Attachment(canvas.toBuffer(), 'welcome-image.png');
channel.send(`Welcome to the server, ${member}!`, attachment);
});
Before adjustment:
After adjustment:
As a nice finishing touch, let's move the welcome text inside the image itself instead of adding it outside.
client.on('guildMemberAdd', async member => {
const channel = member.guild.channels.find(ch => ch.name === 'member-log');
if (!channel) return;
const canvas = Canvas.createCanvas(700, 250);
const ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');
const background = await Canvas.loadImage('./wallpaper.jpg');
ctx.drawImage(background, 0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
ctx.strokeStyle = '#74037b';
ctx.strokeRect(0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
// Slightly smaller text placed above the member's display name
ctx.font = '28px sans-serif';
ctx.fillStyle = '#ffffff';
ctx.fillText('Welcome to the server,', canvas.width / 2.5, canvas.height / 3.5);
// Add an exclamation point here and below
ctx.font = applyText(canvas, `${member.displayName}!`);
ctx.fillStyle = '#ffffff';
ctx.fillText(`${member.displayName}!`, canvas.width / 2.5, canvas.height / 1.8);
ctx.beginPath();
ctx.arc(125, 125, 100, 0, Math.PI * 2, true);
ctx.closePath();
ctx.clip();
const { body: buffer } = await snekfetch.get(member.user.displayAvatarURL);
const avatar = await Canvas.loadImage(buffer);
ctx.drawImage(avatar, 25, 25, 200, 200);
const attachment = new Discord.Attachment(canvas.toBuffer(), 'welcome-image.png');
channel.send(`Welcome to the server, ${member}!`, attachment);
});
And that's it! We have covered the basics of image manipulation, text generation, and loading from a remote source.
Resulting code
If you want to compare your code to the code we've constructed so far, you can review it over on the GitHub repository here .