Media · Cloudflare Images

Store, optimize, and deliver images at the edge

Two ways to use one image platform: upload originals to Hosted Images, or keep them in your existing storage and apply remote transformations. Explore both modes, private delivery, named variants, and flexible URL options below.

Cloudflare Images primer

Understand the product

Three slides before the hands-on demos.

One image platform

Store, transform, and deliver images globally

Cloudflare Images is an end-to-end image pipeline. It turns an original into responsive, optimized renditions and delivers them from Cloudflare's global network.

Optimize dynamically

Resize, crop, compress, and select modern formats at request time.

Control delivery

Use named variants, flexible options, and signed URLs for private assets.

Original image

Upload or remote origin

Cloudflare Images

StoreTransformCache

Mobile

320px · AVIF

Web

800px · WebP

Retina

1600px · DPR 2

One original · many renditions · cached close to every viewer

Choose where originals live

Two ways to use Cloudflare Images

The optimization engine is shared; storage and billing are different.

Your storage

Remote Transformations

Keep originals in R2, S3, your origin, or another provider while Cloudflare transforms and caches the output.

Cloudflare storage

Hosted Images

Upload originals into Cloudflare Images and manage the complete storage-to-delivery lifecycle in one product.

OR

Usage-based pricing

Pay for the mode you use

Each mode is billed on its own set of usage metrics.

Remote Transformations

Originals remain in R2, S3, or your origin

Images Transformed

Counted per unique source image + parameter set.

Repeat requests for the same source + options are not counted again that month.

Worked example

2,000 remote originals served in 5 sizes each

Source images: 2,000
Sizes per image: 5
Unique transformations: 10,000

Hosted Images

Cloudflare stores and delivers the originals

Images Stored

Counted per uploaded original held in Cloudflare Images.

Images Delivered

Counted per image request served to a browser.

Named and flexible hosted variants count as Images Delivered, not Images Stored.

Worked example

1,000 originals uploaded, each with 4 variants, viewed 200,000 times over the month

Variants generated: 4,000
Images Stored (originals only): 1,000
Images Delivered (every request): 200,000

Pricing docs →

Transformations

On-the-fly, URL-driven

Resize, crop, convert format, and apply effects by editing the URL — no re-upload, no build step. Every unique transformation is generated once and cached across the network.

Transform controls

WidthHeightFitFormat

Quality85

Blur0

Sharpen0

RotateGrayscale

Live output

/cdn-cgi/image

Original image URL

https://img.orangemoussa.net/samples/mountain.jpg

Transformation URL

https://img.orangemoussa.net/cdn-cgi/image/width=600,fit=scale-down,quality=85,format=auto/https://img.orangemoussa.net/samples/mountain.jpg

The options string sits in the path — no origin re-upload, no build step. Every unique URL is transformed once and cached across Cloudflare's network.

Hosted images

Flexible variants

Build a rendition dynamically by putting width, height, fit, quality, format, and device-pixel-ratio options directly in the hosted-image delivery URL. No preset or second copy is required.

Dynamic variant controls

Change the delivery URL instead of creating a dashboard preset.

Hosted image

WidthHeightFitFormatDPRGravity

Quality85

Flexible delivery result

Generated directly from the hosted original.

Flexible variants

Mountain range at dawn with dynamic variant options

Hosted-image delivery URL

https://imagedelivery.net/_0PUoomg51B6v5GhWtqqhA/488db3b3-84dd-43b1-71ba-17a4728bdd00/w=600,h=400,fit=cover,quality=85,format=auto,dpr=1,gravity=auto

The comma-separated options replace the named variant in the final path segment. Cloudflare generates the result on demand and caches it at the edge.

Hosted images

Named variants

Upload an original once, then deliver purpose-built renditions by name. Variants are defined centrally in the dashboard — application code just references the name.

1 · Pick a hosted image

Uploaded once to Cloudflare Images. One stored original serves every variant.

2 · Choose a variant

Named presets defined once in the dashboard — no query strings to manage.

Delivered result

imagedelivery.net

Delivery URL

https://imagedelivery.net/_0PUoomg51B6v5GhWtqqhA/488db3b3-84dd-43b1-71ba-17a4728bdd00/thumbnail

Switching variants only changes the last path segment. The origin is uploaded once; Cloudflare generates and caches each variant on demand at the edge.

Access control

Private images with signed URLs

Mark images as private and gate delivery behind short-lived HMAC-signed tokens generated on your backend. Unsigned requests are rejected.

Without a token

The image is marked require signed URLs. A direct request is rejected.

https://imagedelivery.net/_0PUoomg51B6v5GhWtqqhA/519a8eae-21b1-4d86-3553-9bfa184d9e01/public

With a signed token

Your backend signs the URL with an HMAC key and a short expiry.

Generate a signed URL to unlock the image.