libvips Image Processing

Fast, memory-efficient image processing using libvips via pyvips. Supports 300+ operations including resize, crop, rotate, convert, watermark, composite, and more. Ideal for batch processing large images.

When to Use

• Resize, crop, or thumbnail images efficiently
• Convert between formats (JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, HEIC, TIFF, PDF, SVG)
• Add watermarks or text overlays
• Batch process multiple images
• Handle large images with low memory usage
• Create image pipelines for web optimization

Quick Start

Install (One-Click)

# Recommended: Auto-detect OS and install everything
./scripts/install.sh

The install script will:

1. Detect your OS (macOS, Linux, Windows)
2. Install libvips system library
3. Install pyvips via uv (preferred) or pip
4. Verify the installation

Manual Install

macOS (Homebrew):

brew install vips
uv pip install pyvips  # preferred
# or: pip install pyvips

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt-get install libvips-dev
uv pip install pyvips  # preferred
# or: pip install pyvips

Fedora/RHEL:

sudo dnf install vips-devel
uv pip install pyvips

Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S libvips
uv pip install pyvips

Windows (PowerShell, recommended):

# One-click install (downloads libvips + installs pyvips)
.\scripts\install.ps1

Windows (Manual):

# Option 1: winget (if available)
winget install libvips.libvips

# Option 2: scoop
scoop install libvips

# Option 3: Manual download
# Download from https://github.com/libvips/libvips/releases
# Extract to C:\vips or %LOCALAPPDATA%\vips
# Add bin\ to PATH

# Install pyvips
uv pip install pyvips
# or: pip install pyvips

Install uv (if not installed):

# macOS/Linux
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

# Windows (PowerShell)
irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex

Basic Usage

macOS/Linux - Using run.sh wrapper (recommended):

./scripts/run.sh vips_tool.py resize input.jpg output.jpg --width 800
./scripts/run.sh vips_tool.py convert input.jpg output.webp --quality 85
./scripts/run.sh vips_tool.py thumbnail input.jpg thumb.jpg --size 200
./scripts/run.sh vips_batch.py resize ./input ./output --width 800

Windows - Using run.bat wrapper (recommended):

.\scripts\run.bat vips_tool.py resize input.jpg output.jpg --width 800
.\scripts\run.bat vips_tool.py convert input.jpg output.webp --quality 85
.\scripts\run.bat vips_tool.py thumbnail input.jpg thumb.jpg --size 200
.\scripts\run.bat vips_batch.py resize .\input .\output --width 800

Cross-platform - Using uv (after uv sync):

uv run python scripts/vips_tool.py resize input.jpg output.jpg --width 800

Direct Python (if library paths are configured):

python scripts/vips_tool.py resize input.jpg output.jpg --width 800
python scripts/vips_tool.py convert input.jpg output.webp --quality 85
python scripts/vips_tool.py thumbnail input.jpg thumb.jpg --size 200
python scripts/vips_tool.py watermark input.jpg output.jpg --text "Copyright 2024"

Supported Formats

Operations

1) Resize

Resize images with various fit modes.

# Resize to exact width, maintain aspect ratio
python scripts/vips_tool.py resize input.jpg output.jpg --width 800

# Resize to exact height
python scripts/vips_tool.py resize input.jpg output.jpg --height 600

# Resize to fit within bounds
python scripts/vips_tool.py resize input.jpg output.jpg --width 800 --height 600

# Resize to cover (fill) dimensions
python scripts/vips_tool.py resize input.jpg output.jpg --width 800 --height 600 --mode cover

# Force exact dimensions (may distort)
python scripts/vips_tool.py resize input.jpg output.jpg --width 800 --height 600 --mode force

Resize modes:

• fit (default): Fit within bounds, maintain aspect ratio
• cover: Cover bounds, crop excess
• force: Force exact dimensions

2) Thumbnail

Create optimized thumbnails with smart cropping.

# Square thumbnail
python scripts/vips_tool.py thumbnail input.jpg thumb.jpg --size 200

# Attention-based smart crop
python scripts/vips_tool.py thumbnail input.jpg thumb.jpg --size 200 --crop attention

# Center crop
python scripts/vips_tool.py thumbnail input.jpg thumb.jpg --size 200 --crop centre

Crop strategies:

• none: No cropping, fit within size
• centre: Crop from center
• attention: Smart crop focusing on interesting areas
• entropy: Crop to maximize entropy

3) Convert

Convert between image formats with quality control.

# JPEG to WebP
python scripts/vips_tool.py convert input.jpg output.webp --quality 85

# PNG to AVIF (modern format, great compression)
python scripts/vips_tool.py convert input.png output.avif --quality 50

# JPEG to PNG (lossless)
python scripts/vips_tool.py convert input.jpg output.png

# With compression level for PNG
python scripts/vips_tool.py convert input.jpg output.png --compression 9

4) Crop

Extract a region from an image.

# Crop 400x300 region starting at (100, 50)
python scripts/vips_tool.py crop input.jpg output.jpg --left 100 --top 50 --width 400 --height 300

# Smart crop to aspect ratio
python scripts/vips_tool.py crop input.jpg output.jpg --width 800 --height 600 --smart

5) Rotate

Rotate images by any angle.

# Rotate 90 degrees clockwise
python scripts/vips_tool.py rotate input.jpg output.jpg --angle 90

# Rotate 45 degrees with background color
python scripts/vips_tool.py rotate input.jpg output.jpg --angle 45 --background "255,255,255"

# Auto-rotate based on EXIF
python scripts/vips_tool.py rotate input.jpg output.jpg --auto

6) Watermark

Add text or image watermarks.

# Text watermark
python scripts/vips_tool.py watermark input.jpg output.jpg --text "Copyright 2024"

# Position: top-left, top-right, bottom-left, bottom-right, center
python scripts/vips_tool.py watermark input.jpg output.jpg --text "Logo" --position bottom-right

# With opacity
python scripts/vips_tool.py watermark input.jpg output.jpg --text "Draft" --opacity 0.3

# Image watermark
python scripts/vips_tool.py watermark input.jpg output.jpg --image logo.png --position bottom-right --opacity 0.5

7) Composite

Combine multiple images.

# Overlay image on background
python scripts/vips_tool.py composite background.jpg overlay.png output.jpg

# With position offset
python scripts/vips_tool.py composite background.jpg overlay.png output.jpg --x 100 --y 50

# With blend mode
python scripts/vips_tool.py composite background.jpg overlay.png output.jpg --blend multiply

Blend modes: over, multiply, screen, overlay, darken, lighten

8) Adjust

Adjust brightness, contrast, saturation.

# Increase brightness
python scripts/vips_tool.py adjust input.jpg output.jpg --brightness 1.2

# Increase contrast
python scripts/vips_tool.py adjust input.jpg output.jpg --contrast 1.3

# Increase saturation
python scripts/vips_tool.py adjust input.jpg output.jpg --saturation 1.5

# Combine adjustments
python scripts/vips_tool.py adjust input.jpg output.jpg --brightness 1.1 --contrast 1.2 --saturation 1.1

9) Sharpen

Apply sharpening filter.

# Default sharpen
python scripts/vips_tool.py sharpen input.jpg output.jpg

# Custom sigma (blur radius)
python scripts/vips_tool.py sharpen input.jpg output.jpg --sigma 1.5

# Custom parameters
python scripts/vips_tool.py sharpen input.jpg output.jpg --sigma 1.5 --x1 2 --m2 3

10) Blur

Apply Gaussian blur.

# Default blur
python scripts/vips_tool.py blur input.jpg output.jpg

# Custom sigma
python scripts/vips_tool.py blur input.jpg output.jpg --sigma 5

11) Flip & Mirror

Flip images horizontally or vertically.

# Horizontal flip (mirror)
python scripts/vips_tool.py flip input.jpg output.jpg --horizontal

# Vertical flip
python scripts/vips_tool.py flip input.jpg output.jpg --vertical

12) Grayscale

Convert to grayscale.

python scripts/vips_tool.py grayscale input.jpg output.jpg

13) Info

Get image metadata.

python scripts/vips_tool.py info input.jpg

Output:

File: input.jpg
Format: jpeg
Width: 3840
Height: 2160
Bands: 3
Interpretation: srgb
Size: 2.4 MB

Batch Processing

Process multiple images at once.

# Resize all JPEGs in a directory
python scripts/vips_batch.py resize ./input ./output --width 800 --pattern "*.jpg"

# Convert all images to WebP
python scripts/vips_batch.py convert ./input ./output --format webp --quality 85

# Create thumbnails for all images
python scripts/vips_batch.py thumbnail ./input ./thumbnails --size 200

# Custom batch with JSON config
python scripts/vips_batch.py --config batch_config.json

Batch Config Format

{
  "input_dir": "./input",
  "output_dir": "./output",
  "operations": [
    {"type": "resize", "width": 1920},
    {"type": "sharpen", "sigma": 0.5},
    {"type": "convert", "format": "webp", "quality": 85}
  ],
  "pattern": "*.{jpg,jpeg,png}",
  "recursive": true,
  "workers": 4
}

Python API

Basic Usage

import pyvips

# Load image
image = pyvips.Image.new_from_file("input.jpg")

# Resize
resized = image.resize(0.5)  # 50% scale
resized = image.thumbnail_image(800)  # 800px width

# Save
resized.write_to_file("output.jpg", Q=85)  # JPEG quality 85
resized.write_to_file("output.webp", Q=85)  # WebP quality 85

Chaining Operations

import pyvips

# Load, process, save in one pipeline
image = pyvips.Image.new_from_file("input.jpg", access="sequential")
result = (
    image
    .thumbnail_image(1200)
    .sharpen(sigma=0.5)
    .write_to_file("output.webp", Q=85)
)

Watermark with Text

import pyvips

image = pyvips.Image.new_from_file("input.jpg")

# Create text overlay
text = pyvips.Image.text(
    "Copyright 2024",
    font="sans 24",
    rgba=True
)

# Composite at bottom-right
x = image.width - text.width - 20
y = image.height - text.height - 20
result = image.composite2(text, "over", x=x, y=y)
result.write_to_file("output.jpg")

Batch Processing

import pyvips
from pathlib import Path
from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor

def process_image(input_path, output_dir, width=800):
    image = pyvips.Image.new_from_file(str(input_path), access="sequential")
    thumbnail = image.thumbnail_image(width)
    output_path = output_dir / f"{input_path.stem}.webp"
    thumbnail.write_to_file(str(output_path), Q=85)
    return output_path

input_dir = Path("./input")
output_dir = Path("./output")
output_dir.mkdir(exist_ok=True)

files = list(input_dir.glob("*.jpg"))
with ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=4) as executor:
    results = executor.map(lambda f: process_image(f, output_dir), files)

CLI Parameters

Performance Tips

Memory Usage

libvips uses a streaming architecture:

• Only loads pixels when needed
• Processes images in small chunks
• Memory usage independent of image size
• 10-100x less memory than ImageMagick/PIL for large images

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Windows-Specific Issues

Windows PATH Setup (Manual):

# Add to current session
$env:PATH = "C:\vips\bin;$env:PATH"

# Add permanently (run as Admin or for current user)
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("PATH", "C:\vips\bin;$env:PATH", "User")

macOS-Specific Issues

macOS Library Path Setup:

# Add to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc
export DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH="/opt/homebrew/lib:$DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH"

Linux-Specific Issues