Documentation

Placehold is a simple image placeholder generator.

It creates an image on the fly from a URL, so you can use it for mockups, wireframes, blog covers, test pages, and any place where you need a quick image placeholder.

What it does
Basic idea
URL format
- Required part
- Optional query parameters
Default values
How text works
Color rules
Themes
- Supported values
Quick summary
Known limitations

What it does

Generates an image from a URL
Lets you choose the size
Lets you change the background color, text color, font, and text
Returns a real image response

Basic idea

The main route uses the image size in the URL:

/800x600

If you open that URL, the app returns an image sized 800 x 600. If you do not pass custom text, the image shows the size by default.

URL format

/WIDTHxHEIGHT?text=Your+Text&bg=e4e4e7&color=18181b&font=Archivo&wght=400

Required part

WIDTHxHEIGHT

Examples:

300x200
1200x630
1080x1080
800 → this is treated as 800x800

Optional query parameters

Parameter	Aliases	What it does	Example
`text`	`t`	Text shown inside the image	`Hello World`
`bg`	‐	Background color	`e4e4e7`
`color`	`fg`	Text color	`18181b`
`font`	`f`	Font name	`Inter`
`wght`	`w`	Font weight	`400`
`download`	`dl`	Download the generated image	`?dl`

Want background styles like stripes? See themes.

Default values

If you do not set anything extra, the app uses:

Background: #e4e4e7
Text color: #18181b
Font: Archivo
Weight: 400
Text: the image size, like 1200x630

How text works

Text is centered in the image and scaled to fit the space.

If the text is too long, the app shortens it with ... so it stays readable. If you do not provide text, the image shows its own size.

Color rules

You can use 3-digit or 6-digit hex colors.

Good examples:

bg=fff
bg=ffffff
color=111
color=111111

# must be URL-encoded as %23.

Examples:

bg=f3f4f6
bg=%23f3f4f6

If a color is invalid, the app falls back to the default color.

Themes

Placehold supports a theme search param to switch the background style. You can also use style as an alias.

Supported values

Theme	Description
`solid`	Default plain background using the provided `bg` color.
`radial`	Adds radial lines derived from the main `bg` color.
`stripes`	Adds diagonal stripes derived from the main `bg` color.

Quick summary

If you only remember one thing, remember this:

/1200x630?text=Hello+World&bg=f3f4f6&color=111111&font=Lobster

That gives you a reusable placeholder image in the size and style you want.

Known limitations

The app generates PNG images only
Only hexadecimal colors are supported for bg and color
Text is capped at 200 characters

Placehold