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

Browser compatibility

See also

• The interface defining it, CanvasRenderingContext2D
• CanvasRenderingContext2D.closePath()