Changelog

⚡ WASM Gaussian blur

Blur is now computed in a WebAssembly module, providing a mathematically accurate Gaussian blur. The app auto-detects the best available method on your device: WASM Gaussian, CSS canvas filter, or StackBlur (always available as a fallback). You can override the selection manually via the Blur Method dialog in the Adjustments panel, and the choice persists between sessions.

🤖 AI background removal

Remove the background from any image using AI. The result is a transparent PNG ready to halftone. Requires sign-in; the dialog shows remaining monthly uses and a before/after comparison of the processed image.

⬇️ Export settings dialog

The download menu has been replaced with a dedicated Export Settings dialog. It consolidates file type (PNG or SVG), PNG output scale (up to 6× / 600%), and SVG coordinate precision (2, 4, or 6 decimal places) in one place.

👤 User accounts

Sign in with a passwordless email magic link, phone number (OTP), or Google OAuth. Authentication is protected by Cloudflare Turnstile. First-time sign-in shows a welcome message, and your avatar appears in the navbar while signed in.

☁️ Preset cloud sync

Presets saved while signed in are stored in the cloud and automatically synced across all your devices.

↺ Section reset buttons

Each parameter panel now has a Reset button that restores only that section to its default values, leaving all other settings untouched.

🔲 Standalone quantization panel

Quantization controls have been extracted from the Sampling panel into their own dedicated panel, accessible in Advanced mode alongside Displacement.

⚡ Preset thumbnail caching

Generated preset thumbnails are now cached locally, so they no longer need to be re-rendered each time you open the preset panel.

📱 PWA support

Install the app to your home screen via the browser prompt. The app launches in standalone mode and works offline.

🔬 Advanced mode

A toggle switch in the settings panel shows or hides less-common parameters. Hidden by default are: Brightness Clamp range, Gradient Intensity, Dot Scale Factor and Stroke, the Character dot style, the Grid Size slider, and the entire Displacement panel.

🌀 Displacement settings panel

Available in Advanced mode. Warp the halftone grid using 2D noise, with controls for displacement type, scale, amount, and offset.

⚫ Pixel Renderer binarization

A toggle in the Pixel panel switches the metaball renderer to a hard binary output, producing crisp black-and-white areas instead of a smooth gradient.

📐 Bounding mode

A new selector in the Adjustments panel controls how the output canvas is sized relative to the source image. Choose from Fit to Square, Fit to Width, or Fit to Height.

⚡ Pixel renderer

A new Pixel panel adds a metaball-based rendering mode. When enabled, dot shapes are blended together using an influence-radius algorithm, producing smooth, fluid-looking ink areas. Output is PNG only.

〰️ Sampling effects panel

Wave effects (Shift, Triangle Wave, Sawtooth) have been moved to a dedicated Sampling Effects panel, along with new noise controls: Amount, Seed, and Frequency. Noise randomly perturbs dot sizes for an organic, hand-printed look.

🔲 Quantization and dithering

A Quantization toggle in the Sampling panel reduces the number of brightness levels, sharpening tonal steps. When combined with dithering, choose from Bayer matrix patterns at 2×2, 4×4, 8×8, or 16×16 to smooth the transitions.

🌐 Italian language support

Italian has been added to the language switcher.

✂️ Cropper dialog

Rotate the source image in 90° steps before applying the crop.

⏳ Download spinner

Shown during export so it is clear when a file is being generated.

🔗 Preset sharing

Select one or more presets and generate a share token to send them to others. Recipients enter the token to import the presets directly into their own preset list. Tokens expire after a set period.

☀️ Brightness normalization

An auto-normalization toggle has been added to the Adjustments panel. When enabled, the Clamp range is automatically fitted to the actual brightness levels of your image, so you no longer need to adjust it manually.

🌏 Korean language support

Korean has been added to the language switcher, bringing the total to 11 supported languages.

🖼️ Artwork info panel

The default source image now shows an info panel with the artist name and copyright details. Hover over it for the full attribution tooltip.

🌍 Multilingual UI

The UI is now available in 10 languages: English, Japanese, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Russian, Hindi, Bengali, and Arabic. The language is detected automatically from your browser settings, with a manual switcher in the navbar.

📦 Batch export

Process multiple images at once using your current halftone settings. Select from PNG, PNG (2×), or SVG output and download all results together as a ZIP file.

📋 Preset management

Presets now support individual deletion and bulk selection. Each preset displays a thumbnail preview, and the list is sorted by last modified date.

〰️ Wave shift

A Shift slider has been added to the Sampling panel. It offsets the phase of the wave effect, giving more variation when combined with the Triangle Wave and Sawtooth controls.

🎉 Beta launch — successor to Vector Halftone Maker

Halftone Maker launches in beta as the successor to Vector Halftone Maker. Drop in any image to generate a halftone pattern with 8 dot shapes (Circle, Square, Triangle, Hexagon, Hexagram, two Incircle variants, and Character) across 3 grid layouts (Square, Hexagonal, Radial). Sample from 10 color channels including RGB, CMYK, and Luminance.

✏️ Character / emoji dots

Use any text character or emoji as the halftone dot shape. Supports custom font selection and adjustable font weight.

📋 Presets and Snapshots

Save your current settings as a named preset with a thumbnail preview. Snapshots let you capture and compare different states of your work in the same session.

💾 PNG, SVG, and JSON export

Download your result as PNG (standard or 2× resolution), as a scalable SVG for print and design workflows, or as raw dot coordinate data in JSON format.