CanvasRenderingContext2D.lineCap

The CanvasRenderingContext2D.lineCap property of the Canvas 2D API determines how the end points of every line are drawn. There are three possible values for this property and those are: butt, round and square. By default this property is set to butt.

See also the chapter Applying styles and color in the Canvas Tutorial.

Syntax

ctx.lineCap = "butt";
ctx.lineCap = "round";
ctx.lineCap = "square";

Options

butt
The ends of lines are squared off at the endpoints.
round
The ends of lines are rounded.
square
The ends of lines are squared off by adding a box with an equal width and half the height of the line's thickness.

Examples

Using the lineCap property

This is just a simple code snippet using the lineCap property to draw lines with a rounded end.

HTML

<canvas id="canvas"></canvas>

JavaScript

var canvas = document.getElementById("canvas");
var ctx = canvas.getContext("2d");

ctx.beginPath();
ctx.moveTo(0,0);
ctx.lineWidth = 15;
ctx.lineCap = "round";
ctx.lineTo(100, 100);
ctx.stroke();

Edit the code below and see your changes update live in the canvas:

A lineCap example

In this example three lines are drawn, each with a different value for the lineCap property. Two guides to see the exact differences between the three are added. Each of these lines starts and ends exactly on these guides.

The line on the left uses the default butt option. It's drawn completely flush with the guides. The second is set to use the round option. This adds a semicircle to the end that has a radius half the width of the line. The line on the right uses the square option. This adds a box with an equal width and half the height of the line thickness.

var ctx = document.getElementById('canvas').getContext('2d');
var lineCap = ['butt','round','square'];

// Draw guides
ctx.strokeStyle = '#09f';
ctx.beginPath();
ctx.moveTo(10,10);
ctx.lineTo(140,10);
ctx.moveTo(10,140);
ctx.lineTo(140,140);
ctx.stroke();

// Draw lines
ctx.strokeStyle = 'black';
for (var i = 0; i < lineCap.length; i++) {
  ctx.lineWidth = 15;
  ctx.lineCap = lineCap[i];
  ctx.beginPath();
  ctx.moveTo(25+i*50,10);
  ctx.lineTo(25+i*50,140);
  ctx.stroke();
}

ScreenshotLive sample

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
WHATWG HTML Living Standard
The definition of 'CanvasRenderingContext2D.lineCap' in that specification.
Living Standard  

Browser compatibility

Feature Chrome Firefox (Gecko) Internet Explorer Opera Safari
Basic support (Yes) (Yes) (Yes) (Yes) (Yes)
Feature Android Chrome for Android Firefox Mobile (Gecko) IE Mobile Opera Mobile Safari Mobile
Basic support (Yes) (Yes) (Yes) (Yes) (Yes) (Yes)
  • In WebKit- and Blink-based Browsers, a non-standard and deprecated method ctx.setLineCap() is implemented besides this property.

See also

Document Tags and Contributors

 Contributors to this page: fscholz
 Last updated by: fscholz,