Optimize Images Automatically, No Code Needed: Cloudflare Images Transformation Flows!

Hey there, it's me, Shii-chan! Today I found a small but genuinely handy update for anyone working with images — you can now automate image optimization without writing any code.

Cloudflare Changelog developers.cloudflare.com

What was announced?

Cloudflare Images now has a new mechanism called Transformation flows. This news comes from Cloudflare's Changelog. It lets you optimize remote images across your whole zone with automated rules — no code to write and no URLs to change.

The story so far

Until now, optimizing images meant rewriting URLs or specifying transformation parameters one by one. If you were migrating from another service, you also had to map its settings yourself, which was a bit of a chore.

What changes

With transformation flows, optimization is driven by automated rules that pair conditions with actions. So you can leave your existing image URLs alone, and matching requests get optimized automatically. Much less manual work — that's the nice part.

Dive Deep

There are two kinds of flows:

• Provider flows: for migrating from another image optimization service. They rewrite that service's parameters into Cloudflare's equivalents. Right now, Fastly Image Optimizer is supported.
• Custom flows: you define your own conditions and actions. That covers things like automatic format conversion, responsive sizing with width=auto, and directory-based optimization.

Conditions are set using things like file extension, URL path, or query parameters, and you attach parameters to them. You can configure all of this from the dashboard under Images > Transformations > Automation. For the full details, check the transformation flows documentation.

Wrap-up

• Cloudflare Images added Transformation flows for automatic optimization
• Optimize remote images across your zone with no code and no URL changes
• Two modes: provider flows (Fastly today) and custom flows
• Conditions use file extension, URL path, or query parameters, plus responsive width=auto

If you're a web developer who wants to automate image optimization — or you're moving to Cloudflare from another service — this one's for you!