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This is an experimental technology
Because this technology's specification has not stabilized, check the compatibility table for usage in various browsers. Also note that the syntax and behavior of an experimental technology is subject to change in future versions of browsers as the specification changes.

Summary

The clip-path CSS property prevents a portion of an element from getting displayed by defining a clipping region to be displayed i.e, only a specific region of the element is displayed. The clipping region is a path specified as a URL referencing an inline or external SVG, or shape method such as circle(). The clip-path property replaces the now deprecated clip property.

Initial valuenone
Applies toall elements; In SVG, it applies to container elements excluding the <defs> element and all graphics elements
Inheritedno
Percentagesas specified
Mediavisual
Computed valueas specified, but with url values made absolute
Animation typeyes, as specified for <basic-shape>, otherwise no
Canonical orderthe unique non-ambiguous order defined by the formal grammar

Syntax

/* Keyword values */
clip-path: none;

/* Image values */ 
clip-path: url(resources.svg#c1);

/* Box values
clip-path: fill-box;
clip-path: stroke-box;
clip-path: view-box;
clip-path: margin-box
clip-path: border-box
clip-path: padding-box
clip-path: content-box

/* Geometry values */
clip-path: inset(100px 50px);
clip-path: circle(50px at 0 100px);
clip-path: polygon(50% 0%, 100% 50%, 50% 100%, 0% 50%);

/* Box and geometry values combined */
clip-path: padding-box circle(50px at 0 100px);

/* Global values */
clip-path: inherit;
clip-path: initial;
clip-path: unset;

Values

url()
Represents a URL referencing a clip path element.
inset(), circle(), ellipse(), polygon()
A <basic-shap> function. Such a shape will make use of the specified <geometry-box> to size and position the basic shape. If no geometry box is specified, the border-box will be used as reference box.
<geometry-box>
If specified in combination with a <basic-shape>, it provides the reference box for the basic shape. If specified by itself, it uses the edges of the specified box including any corner shaping (e.g. defined by border-radius) as clipping path. The geometry box can be one of the following values:
fill-box
Uses the object bounding box as reference box.
stroke-box
Uses the stroke bounding box as reference box.
view-box
Uses the nearest SVG viewport as reference box. If a viewBox attribute is specified for the element creating the SVG viewport, the reference box is positioned at the origin of the coordinate system established by the viewBox attribute and the dimension of the reference box is set to the width and height values of the viewBox attribute.
margin-box
Uses the margin box as the reference box.
border-box
Uses the border box as the reference box.
padding-box
Uses the padding box as the reference box.
content-box
Uses the content box as the reference box.
none
There is no clipping path created.

Formal syntax

<clip-source> | [ <basic-shape> || <geometry-box> ] | none

where
<clip-source> = <url>
<basic-shape> = <inset()> | <circle()> | <ellipse()> | <polygon()>
<geometry-box> = <shape-box> | fill-box | stroke-box | view-box

where
<inset()> = inset( <length-percentage>{1,4} [ round <border-radius> ]? )
<circle()> = circle( [ <shape-radius> ]? [ at <position> ]? )
<ellipse()> = ellipse( [ <shape-radius>{2} ]? [ at <position> ]? )
<polygon()> = polygon( <fill-rule>? , [ <length-percentage> <length-percentage> ]# )
<shape-box> = <box> | margin-box

where
<length-percentage> = <length> | <percentage>
<shape-radius> = <length-percentage> | closest-side | farthest-side
<position> = [[ left | center | right | top | bottom | <length-percentage> ] | [ left | center | right | <length-percentage> ] [ top | center | bottom | <length-percentage> ] | [ center | [ left | right ] <length-percentage>? ] && [ center | [ top | bottom ] <length-percentage>? ]]
<fill-rule> = nonzero | evenodd
<box> = border-box | padding-box | content-box

Examples

/* inline SVG  */
.target {
  clip-path: url(#c1);
}

/* external SVG */
.anothertarget {
  clip-path: url(resources.svg#c1);
}

/* circle */
.circleClass {
  clip-path: circle(15px at 20px 20px);
}

Live sample

HTML

<img id="clipped" src="https://mdn.mozillademos.org/files/12668/MDN.svg"
    alt="MDN logo">
<svg height="0" width="0">
  <defs>
    <clipPath id="cross">
      <rect y="110" x="137" width="90" height="90"/>
      <rect x="0" y="110" width="90" height="90"/>
      <rect x="137" y="0" width="90" height="90"/>
      <rect x="0" y="0" width="90" height="90"/>
    </clipPath>
  </defs>
</svg>

<select id="clipPath">
  <option value="none">none</option>
  <option value="circle(100px at 110px 100px)">circle</option>
  <option value="url(#cross)" selected>cross</option>
  <option value="inset(20px round 20px)">inset</option>
</select>

CSS

#clipped {
  margin-bottom: 20px;
  clip-path: url(#cross);
}

Result

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
CSS Masking Level 1
The definition of 'clip-path' in that specification.
Candidate Recommendation Extends its application to HTML elements
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 1.1 (Second Edition)
The definition of 'clip-path' in that specification.
Recommendation Initial definition (applies to SVG elements only)

Browser compatibility

Feature Chrome Firefox (Gecko) Internet Explorer Opera Safari (WebKit)
On HTML elements 24-webkit[1] 3.5 (1.9.1) No support (Yes)-webkit[1] ?
<basic-shape> ? 47 (47)[2] No support ? ?
On SVG content ? No support[3] No support ? ?
inset() ? 51 (51)[2] No support ? ?
Animations ? 49 (49) No support ? ?
fill-box and stroke-box ? 51 (51)[4] No support ? ?
Feature Android Firefox Mobile (Gecko) IE Phone Opera Mobile Safari Mobile
On HTML elements ? 1.0 (1.9.1) No support ? ?
<basic-shape> ? 47.0 (47)[2] No support ? ?
On SVG content ? No support[3] No support ? ?
inset() ? 51.0 (51)[2] No support ? ?
Animations ? 49.0 (49) No support ? ?
fill-box and stroke-box ? 51 (51)[4] No support ? ?

[1] Chrome and Opera currently don't support external SVGs.

[2] This feature is implemented behind the preference layout.css.clip-path-shapes.enabled, defaulting to false. Basic shapes except inset() got implemented in bug 1075457, inset() got implemented in bug 1246762.

[3] This feature is not implemented yet. See bug 1246741.

[4] Before Firefox 51, fill-box and stroke-box where aliases for border-box.

See also