CanvasRenderingContext2D.beginPath()

The CanvasRenderingContext2D.beginPath() method of the Canvas 2D API starts a new path by emptying the list of sub-paths. Call this method when you want to create a new path.

Syntax

void ctx.beginPath();

Examples

Using the beginPath method

This is just a simple code snippet which uses the beginPath method.

HTML

<canvas id="canvas"></canvas>

JavaScript

var canvas = document.getElementById('canvas');
var ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');
// First path
ctx.beginPath();
ctx.strokeStyle = 'blue';
ctx.moveTo(20, 20);
ctx.lineTo(200, 20);
ctx.stroke();
// Second path
ctx.beginPath();
ctx.strokeStyle = 'green';
ctx.moveTo(20, 20);
ctx.lineTo(120, 120);
ctx.stroke();

Edit the code below and see your changes update live in the canvas:

Playable code
<canvas id="canvas" width="400" height="200" class="playable-canvas"></canvas>
<div class="playable-buttons">
  <input id="edit" type="button" value="Edit" />
  <input id="reset" type="button" value="Reset" />
</div>
<textarea id="code" class="playable-code" style="height:200px">
// First path
ctx.beginPath();
ctx.strokeStyle = 'blue';
ctx.moveTo(20,20);
ctx.lineTo(200,20);
ctx.stroke();
// Second path
ctx.beginPath();
ctx.strokeStyle = 'green';
ctx.moveTo(20,20);
ctx.lineTo(120, 120);
ctx.stroke();</textarea>

var canvas = document.getElementById("canvas");
var ctx = canvas.getContext("2d");
var textarea = document.getElementById("code");
var reset = document.getElementById("reset");
var edit = document.getElementById("edit");
var code = textarea.value;
function drawCanvas() {
  ctx.clearRect(0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
  eval(textarea.value);
}
reset.addEventListener("click", function() {
  textarea.value = code;
  drawCanvas();
});
edit.addEventListener("click", function() {
  textarea.focus();
})
textarea.addEventListener("input", drawCanvas);
window.addEventListener("load", drawCanvas);

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
WHATWG HTML Living Standard
The definition of 'CanvasRenderingContext2D.beginPath' in that specification.		 Living Standard  

Browser compatibility

Feature Chrome Edge Firefox (Gecko) Internet Explorer Opera Safari
Basic support (Yes) (Yes) (Yes) (Yes) (Yes) (Yes)
Feature Android Chrome for Android Edge Firefox Mobile (Gecko) IE Mobile Opera Mobile Safari Mobile
Basic support (Yes) (Yes) (Yes) (Yes) (Yes) (Yes) (Yes)

See also

Document Tags and Contributors

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 Contributors to this page: nmve, erikadoyle, fscholz
 Last updated by: nmve,