gohugoio/hugo · error

padding values must not exceed 5000 pixels

Error message

padding values must not exceed 5000 pixels

What it means

Thrown by images.Padding when any individual padding value exceeds 5000 pixels (filters.go:170-174). The cap guards against accidentally generating enormous canvases that would exhaust memory.

Source

Thrown at resources/images/filters.go:173

	_args := args // preserve original args for most stable hash

	if vcs, ok, err := toColorGo(args[len(args)-1]); ok || err != nil {
		if err != nil {
			panic("invalid canvas color: specify RGB or RGBA using hex notation")
		}
		ccolor = vcs
		args = args[:len(args)-1]
		if len(args) == 0 {
			panic("not enough arguments: provide one or more padding values using the CSS shorthand property syntax")
		}
	}

	var vals []int
	for _, v := range args {
		vi := cast.ToInt(v)
		if vi > 5000 {
			panic("padding values must not exceed 5000 pixels")
		}
		vals = append(vals, vi)
	}

	switch len(args) {
	case 1:
		top, right, bottom, left = vals[0], vals[0], vals[0], vals[0]
	case 2:
		top, right, bottom, left = vals[0], vals[1], vals[0], vals[1]
	case 3:
		top, right, bottom, left = vals[0], vals[1], vals[2], vals[1]
	case 4:
		top, right, bottom, left = vals[0], vals[1], vals[2], vals[3]
	default:
		panic(fmt.Sprintf("too many padding values: received %d, expected maximum of 4", len(args)))
	}

	return filter{

View on GitHub (pinned to 52c9bd7908)

Solutions

1. Reduce each padding value to 5000 or fewer pixels.
2. Double-check the source of dynamic padding values (e.g. multiplied dimensions).
3. If you genuinely need a larger canvas, reconsider whether padding is the right tool.

Example fix

// before
{{ $filters = $filters | append (images.Padding 20000) }}
// after
{{ $filters = $filters | append (images.Padding 2000) }}

{{ range $v := .paddings }}
  {{ if gt (int $v) 5000 }}{{ errorf "padding %v exceeds 5000px" $v }}{{ end }}
{{ end }}

When it happens

Trigger: Passing a padding value greater than 5000, e.g. images.Padding 9999. Each value is checked after cast.ToInt conversion.

Common situations: Unit confusion (using a multiplier), copy-paste of a large dimension, or a template variable holding an unintended large number.

Related errors

• the padding filter requires between 1 and 5 arguments
• invalid canvas color: specify RGB or RGBA using hex notation
• not enough arguments: provide one or more padding values usi
• too many padding values: received %d, expected maximum of 4
• final image width will be less than 1 pixel: check padding v

AI-assisted analysis of gohugoio/hugo@52c9bd7908 (2026-08-09). Data as JSON: /api/errors/42afd708076d079a. Report an issue: GitHub.