I replaced Puppeteer with SVG + Sharp — my OG Image API costs $0 to run

Every time I launched a side project, I hit the same wall: Open Graph (OG) images.

The old workflow was terrible:

• The Manual Way: Open Figma, type the title, export PNG, upload → Takes 5 minutes per image, completely impossible to scale.

• The Heavy Way: Spin up Puppeteer on a $5 VPS → 300-600ms render time, consumes 300MB RAM, and triggers OOM (Out of Memory) kills every other day.

I wanted something that worked instantly via a simple URL parameter:

?title=Hello&from=6366f1&to=d946ef → JPEG in under 40ms.

So I built OGLixel — a dynamic OG image API with zero browser overhead.

The Tech Stack

Node.js + Express → SVG Templating → Sharp → JPEG (1200×630)

No Chromium. No GPU. No massive RAM spikes. Just raw SVG strings manipulated in-memory and converted to JPEG using native C++ bindings. Total RAM usage per request sits at a beautiful ~15MB.

The Stats That Matter

• Render Time: 300 - 600ms (Puppeteer) vs 19 - 38ms (OGLixel)

• RAM per Request: 150 - 300MB (Puppeteer) vs ~15MB (OGLixel)

• VPS Infrastructure Cost: $20+/month (Puppeteer) vs $0/month (OGLixel Free Tier)

Free Tier (No API Key Needed)

I wanted zero friction for the developer community to try it out. You can fire up your terminal and test it right now:

Bash

curl -s -o og.jpg "https://oglixel.tarius.my.id/api/og?title=Hello+World&bg=gradient&from=6366f1&to=d946ef"

• Custom Gradient Colors: Full Hex support via ?from=6366f1&to=d946ef to match your brand.

• Rate Limit: 60 requests/hour per IP — generous enough for local development and low-traffic sites.

• Watermark: A small, non-intrusive "OGLixel" watermark at the bottom center.

Premium Tier ($5/mo — via Lemon Squeezy)

Built for production websites that need full branding control:

• Custom Background Images: Pass &bg_url=https://... — the engine automatically fetches, applies a smart cover resize (1200×630), and composites your text on top.

• No Watermark: Clean, fully white-labeled images for your production platform.

• Secure Domain Binding: Lock your license key to your specific production domain.

• Unlimited Performance: No strict rate limits.

💬 I Need Your Brutal Feedback!

The playground is fully live and interactive. You can tweak titles, play with custom hex gradients, and watch it render instantly in the browser:

Live Playground: https://oglixel.tarius.my.id

A few questions for the community:

1. Is the free tier useful enough as-is? Or should I add more features before asking for payment?

2. The playground renders SVG client-side for instant feedback — does this feel seamless to you?

3. What is the one feature you would happily pay $5/mo for that I am currently missing?

Try it with your actual blog title or product name and tell me what you think in the comments