[ live ]

You don't look at Refract. You type it.

An image API with no dashboard and no console — its whole interface is a URL. Point Refract at an origin you already have; originals are fetched on demand and cached at the edge, never stored permanently.

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refract — demo.refract.dev enter run

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$ curl -sI "https://demo.refract.dev/hero.jpg?w=1200&fm=auto&q=80"

HTTP/2 200

content-type: image/avif ← fm=auto negotiated from Accept

x-cache: HIT · served from edge # cached response p50 21 ms

$

capabilities · 3

Three things, on every request.

Transform, optimize, and deliver — each driven by the same URL. No pipeline to run, no build step to wait on.

[+]
transform
Ten chainable URL parameters — resize, crop, rotate, and blur in any order. Smart crop keeps the subject in frame.

?w=1200&fit=crop&crop=smart
[+]
optimize
fm=auto negotiates AVIF → WebP → JPEG from the request's Accept header — a 62% average payload reduction versus source JPEG.

?fm=auto&q=80
[+]
deliver
41 edge locations. Cached response p50 21 ms, 98.6% cache hit ratio, cold transform p50 89 ms / p99 340 ms.

served from the nearest edge

demo · before / after

Type the parameters. Watch the file change.

A working request line. Seven parameters redraw the image in the browser; fm, q, and dpr are chosen at the edge and ride the URL tagged — named, never faked.

refract preview source

Sample input: a ceramic vessel on a pale surface. — source

Sample input: a piece of fruit on a pale tabletop. — source

The sample input redrawn by the parameters currently set. — result

w — width, px

h — height, px

fit — resize mode

crop — crop strategy

rot — rotation

blur — gaussian, 0–100

bg — fill for contain, hex

deliver · measured

The numbers, printed like output.

Fig 1. cache hit ratio 98.6%

Fig 2. cached response p50 21 ms

Fig 3. cold transform p50 89 ms / p99 340 ms

Fig 4. edge locations 41

Fig 5. optimize — average payload reduction vs source JPEG 62%

Fig 6. uptime SLA (Scale) 99.95%

Point Refract at a URL and read the response.

Create a key, connect an origin, and request your first transform. The quickstart is three steps.

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