Gravatar Tools for CakePHP 2.0 This project separates the url generation from the CakePHP image tag generation in the helper. It provides the same url generation capability as a component if you need to build avatar urls outside of the view context. The upstream CakePHP 1.X helper can be found here (packaged as a plugin): https://github.com/hharnett/cakephp-gravatar-helper Installation copy GravatarHelper.php to app/View/Helper/ copy GravatarComponent.php to app/Controller/Component/ Helper Usage In your controller: class MyController extends AppController { public $helpers = array('Gravatar'); ... } In your view: <?php echo $this->Gravatar->image('guest@example.com', array('size' => 98), array('alt' => 'Gravatar')); ?>