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BlurHash

A compact text string that encodes a blurred placeholder image.

Stars
17.1k
Forks
378
Licence
MIT
Language
C
Last update
2.3 years ago
Type
Library

No commits in over a year — check for forks or alternatives before adopting.

What it is

BlurHash is a library that turns an image into a short text string, which can be decoded back into a blurred, colorful placeholder. Apps show that placeholder while the real image loads. The README provided here was empty, so details beyond the repository description and metadata are not confirmed.

  • Encode a placeholder string for each image when it is uploaded
  • Decode the string into a blurred preview while the full image loads
  • Store the short string alongside image records in a database

Great for

  • Developers building apps that load images over slow connections
  • Teams that want a small placeholder instead of a blank box while images load
  • Projects written in C that need a compact image placeholder encoder

Not ideal for

  • People looking for an end-user app, since this is a developer library
  • Projects needing the exact image rather than a blurred preview, because the placeholder is lossy by design
  • Anyone who needs setup instructions here, since the README provided was empty
Step-by-step guide: how to use BlurHashInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs

How to get it

  1. 1

    Clone and build from source

    Clone the repository

    git clone https://github.com/woltapp/blurhash
  2. 2

    Run it

    • Open the repository on GitHub to find language-specific instructions
    • Check the project homepage at https://blurha.sh for documentation
    • Build or import the library according to its own docs
  3. 3

    Get the most out of it

    • Check the homepage for the list of supported language bindings
    • Generate placeholders at small sizes to keep the strings short

Downloads

Strengths

  • Very compact output, as the repository description states
  • Widely starred open-source project with an MIT license
  • Written in C, so it can be used from low-level code

Trade-offs

  • The README supplied was empty, so usage details could not be verified
  • No releases or topics are listed in the metadata
  • Last push was in July 2024, so current maintenance status is unclear

Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.