Authentic glitch-art streaks
Pixel sorting is a hallmark of glitch art: reordering pixels by brightness smears detail into flowing, melted streaks that look like a corrupted file.
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Pixel Sort Image Effect
Sort pixels by brightness in each row for a melted glitch-art streak.
- Upload
- Single file · 25 MB max
- Privacy
- Nothing is uploaded
- Cost
- Free · no sign-up · no watermark
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Processed entirely on your device
Your file is read, transformed and re-encoded inside this browser tab using JavaScript. There is no upload endpoint — nothing leaves your machine, nothing is stored, and the result is created as a local object URL that disappears when you close the page.
Overview
About the Pixel Sort Image Effect
Create a pixel-sorting effect free online — sort runs of pixels by brightness to melt a photo into streaked glitch art, with an adjustable threshold slider. No upload.
Melting an image on purpose
Pixel sorting is a glitch-art technique that treats an image like data to be reordered. By sorting the pixels along each line according to brightness, detail dissolves into smooth, flowing streaks that look like a file caught mid-corruption.
How this tool recreates it
We scan every row and gather contiguous runs of pixels whose brightness exceeds your threshold, then sort each run by luminance and write it back. Low thresholds produce long, sweeping melts; high thresholds confine the streaks to the brightest regions.
On-device and adjustable
The sort runs per row on an in-browser canvas with a threshold slider, and the result is exported as a lossless PNG at full resolution, so your photo never leaves your device.
Choosing what melts
Because sorting is thresholded on brightness, the effect eats the bright parts of a frame first: a face against a dark background streaks outward while the shadows hold the composition together, so the subject stays legible inside the corruption. Flip that logic by inverting first with invert image to sort the darks instead.
Direction and damage
Rows only, so this tool melts the image horizontally; for vertical or diagonal streaks, pre-rotate the frame with rotate image, sort, then rotate back. Keep the threshold high for a controlled accent along the brightest edge, or drop it low and stack the result with glitch for full datamosh-style damage before exporting.
Step by step
How to use the Pixel Sort Image Effect
Drop a photo onto the upload area — high-contrast edges sort dramatically.
Set the threshold slider to choose which pixels get sorted.
Bright runs smear horizontally into streaked glitch bands.
Download the pixel-sorted PNG at full original resolution.
Why use it
Benefits and common use cases
What this tool is good for, and what it deliberately does not try to do.
Threshold control
A threshold decides which pixels are sorted, so you can melt only the highlights or the whole frame for anything from a subtle wash to full datamosh chaos.
Local and instant
The sort runs per row on an in-browser canvas and exports a lossless PNG, so nothing is uploaded.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short, honest answers about quality, limits and privacy.
What is pixel sorting?
Pixel sorting reorders the pixels along a line — usually by brightness or hue — so a region smears into a gradient streak. It became popular in glitch art for its melted, data-corrupted look.
What does the threshold do?
Only pixels brighter than the threshold are gathered into sorted runs. A low threshold sorts most of the image into long streaks; a high threshold limits the effect to the brightest areas.
Is my photo uploaded?
No. Every pixel is processed on an in-browser canvas and the result stays on your device; nothing is sent to a server.