lovell/sharp · error · Error

Only gaussian noise is supported at the moment

Error message

Only gaussian noise is supported at the moment

What it means

Thrown when create.noise.type is defined but is not the string 'gaussian'. Sharp's noise generator currently implements only gaussian noise, so any other type value (including typos like 'Gaussian' with wrong case, 'uniform', 'random', or a non-string) is rejected. The check is a strict inequality against 'gaussian'.

Source

Thrown at lib/input.mjs:356

        inputDescriptor.createChannels = inputOptions.create.channels;
        inputDescriptor.createPageHeight = 0;
        if (is.defined(inputOptions.create.pageHeight)) {
          if (is.integer(inputOptions.create.pageHeight) && inputOptions.create.pageHeight > 0 && inputOptions.create.pageHeight <= inputOptions.create.height) {
            if (inputOptions.create.height % inputOptions.create.pageHeight !== 0) {
              throw new Error(`Expected create.height ${inputOptions.create.height} to be a multiple of create.pageHeight ${inputOptions.create.pageHeight}`);
            }
            inputDescriptor.createPageHeight = inputOptions.create.pageHeight;
          } else {
            throw is.invalidParameterError('create.pageHeight', 'positive integer', inputOptions.create.pageHeight);
          }
        }
        // Noise
        if (is.defined(inputOptions.create.noise)) {
          if (!is.object(inputOptions.create.noise)) {
            throw new Error('Expected noise to be an object');
          }
          if (inputOptions.create.noise.type !== 'gaussian') {
            throw new Error('Only gaussian noise is supported at the moment');
          }
          inputDescriptor.createNoiseType = inputOptions.create.noise.type;
          if (!is.inRange(inputOptions.create.channels, 1, 4)) {
            throw is.invalidParameterError('create.channels', 'number between 1 and 4', inputOptions.create.channels);
          }
          inputDescriptor.createNoiseMean = 128;
          if (is.defined(inputOptions.create.noise.mean)) {
            if (is.number(inputOptions.create.noise.mean) && is.inRange(inputOptions.create.noise.mean, 0, 10000)) {
              inputDescriptor.createNoiseMean = inputOptions.create.noise.mean;
            } else {
              throw is.invalidParameterError('create.noise.mean', 'number between 0 and 10000', inputOptions.create.noise.mean);
            }
          }
          inputDescriptor.createNoiseSigma = 30;
          if (is.defined(inputOptions.create.noise.sigma)) {
            if (is.number(inputOptions.create.noise.sigma) && is.inRange(inputOptions.create.noise.sigma, 0, 10000)) {
              inputDescriptor.createNoiseSigma = inputOptions.create.noise.sigma;
            } else {

View on GitHub (pinned to 56676c6918)

Solutions

1. Use exactly noise: { type: 'gaussian' } (lowercase).
2. If you need a different distribution, generate the noise buffer yourself and pass it as raw input.
3. Double-check the spelling and case against the docs.

Example fix

// before
sharp({ create: { width: 100, height: 100, channels: 3, noise: { type: 'uniform' } } })

// after
sharp({ create: { width: 100, height: 100, channels: 3, noise: { type: 'gaussian', mean: 128, sigma: 30 } } })

function gaussianCreate(opts) {
  if (opts.noise && opts.noise.type !== 'gaussian') {
    throw new Error(`Unsupported noise type '${opts.noise.type}'; only 'gaussian' is supported`);
  }
  return sharp({ create: opts });
}

function isSupportedNoiseType(type) {
  return type === 'gaussian';
}

When it happens

Trigger: noise: { type: 'uniform' }, noise: { type: 'Gaussian' } (capital G), noise: { type: 'random' }, or noise: { type: 0 }.

Common situations: Assuming other distributions are supported. Case-sensitivity surprises. Auto-completing or guessing the type name. Copying from a tutorial that referenced an unsupported noise kind.

Related errors

• Expected noise to be an object
• Expected valid noise or background to create a new input ima
• Expected create.height ${inputOptions.create.height} to be a
• Expected valid width, height and channels to create a new in
• Invalid input

AI-assisted analysis of lovell/sharp@56676c6918 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/fd9bb47f3b1b116d. Report an issue: GitHub.