Intervention/image · error · ModifierException

Failed to apply Intervention\Image\Drivers\Imagick\Modifiers

Error message

Failed to apply Intervention\Image\Drivers\Imagick\Modifiers\BrightnessModifier, unable to adjust image brightness

What it means

Thrown by the Imagick BrightnessModifier when Imagick::modulateImage(100 + level, 100, 100) returns false during $image->brightness($level). The modifier maps brightness percentage onto modulateImage's first argument; a false return means ImageMagick refused the operation without throwing. No previous exception is attached to this variant.

Source

Thrown at src/Drivers/Imagick/Modifiers/BrightnessModifier.php:24

use ImagickException;
use Intervention\Image\Exceptions\ModifierException;
use Intervention\Image\Interfaces\ImageInterface;
use Intervention\Image\Interfaces\SpecializedInterface;
use Intervention\Image\Modifiers\BrightnessModifier as GenericBrightnessModifier;

class BrightnessModifier extends GenericBrightnessModifier implements SpecializedInterface
{
    /**
     * @throws ModifierException
     */
    public function apply(ImageInterface $image): ImageInterface
    {
        foreach ($image as $frame) {
            try {
                $result = $frame->native()->modulateImage(100 + $this->level, 100, 100);
                if ($result === false) {
                    throw new ModifierException(
                        'Failed to apply ' . self::class . ', unable to adjust image brightness',
                    );
                }
            } catch (ImagickException $e) {
                throw new ModifierException(
                    'Failed to apply ' . self::class . ', unable to adjust image brightness',
                    previous: $e,
                );
            }
        }

        return $image;
    }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 5598b9e397)

Solutions

1. Check $e->getPrevious() chain and, if absent (false-return path), reproduce via CLI: convert in.png -modulate 130x100x100 out.png to see the environment error.
2. Convert the working image to sRGB before brightness: read with the Imagick driver and apply colorspace(RgbColorspace) first.
3. Raise ImageMagick resource limits or process a downscaled copy when dimensions are extreme.
4. Update ImageMagick/ext-imagick to matching current versions if modulate fails for ordinary RGB inputs.

Example fix

// before
$image->brightness(30); // false-return -> ModifierException

// after
$image->colorspace(\Intervention\Image\Colors\Rgb\Colorspace::class)->brightness(30);

// probe modulate support for this build before relying on brightness()
$probe = new \Imagick();
$probe->newImage(4, 4, new \ImagickPixel('gray'));
$modulateOk = $probe->modulateImage(120, 100, 100) !== false;
$probe->destroy();

use Intervention\Image\Exceptions\ModifierException;
try {
    $image->brightness(25);
} catch (ModifierException $e) {
    // fallback path: convert to sRGB and retry once
    try {
        $image->colorspace(\Intervention\Image\Colors\Rgb\Colorspace::class)->brightness(25);
    } catch (ModifierException $e2) {
        throw $e2;
    }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling $image->brightness() with any level (positive or negative — the constructor does not restrict it) on a frame where modulateImage cannot run: degraded wand state, unsupported image type for modulation, or resource exhaustion.

Common situations: Applying brightness adjustments to CMYK or grayscale-source images on ImageMagick versions with incomplete modulate support; batch pipelines on hosts with tight policy.xml limits; reusing images after failed prior operations.

Related errors

• Failed to apply Intervention\Image\Drivers\Imagick\Modifiers
• Failed to apply Intervention\Image\Drivers\Imagick\Modifiers
• Failed to apply Intervention\Image\Drivers\Imagick\Modifiers
• Failed to apply Intervention\Image\Drivers\Imagick\Modifiers
• Failed to convert colorspace to Imagick constant

AI-assisted analysis of Intervention/image@5598b9e397 (2026-08-23). Data as JSON: /api/errors/da2b6f10f8849613. Report an issue: GitHub.