sips — Scriptable Image Processing System#

sips is macOS’s built-in image manipulation tool. No install required — handles conversion, resizing, rotation, color profiles, and metadata queries entirely from the terminal.

Inspect an image#

sips image.png                     # summary: format, size, color space
sips -g all image.png              # all metadata properties
sips -g pixelWidth -g pixelHeight image.png   # just dimensions
sips -g format image.png           # file format
sips -g dpiWidth -g dpiHeight image.png       # DPI
sips -g colorSpace image.png       # e.g. RGB, Gray, CMYK
sips -g bitsPerSample image.png    # bit depth
sips -g hasAlpha image.png         # true/false
sips -g profile image.png          # embedded ICC profile

Format conversion#

sips -s format jpeg image.png --out output.jpg       # PNG → JPEG
sips -s format png  image.jpg --out output.png       # JPEG → PNG
sips -s format tiff image.jpg --out output.tiff      # → TIFF
sips -s format gif  image.png --out output.gif       # → GIF
sips -s format bmp  image.png --out output.bmp       # → BMP
sips -s format pdf  image.png --out output.pdf       # → PDF (single page)
sips -s format heif image.jpg --out output.heif      # → HEIF/HEIC

# Supported output formats:
# jpeg | tiff | png | gif | jp2 | pict | bmp | qtif | psd | sgi | tga | pdf | heif

JPEG quality#

sips -s format jpeg -s formatOptions 80 image.png --out out.jpg   # 80% quality
sips -s format jpeg -s formatOptions 50 image.png --out out.jpg   # 50% (smaller)
sips -s format jpeg -s formatOptions best image.png --out out.jpg # best quality
sips -s format jpeg -s formatOptions low  image.png --out out.jpg # low quality

# formatOptions values: 0-100 integer, or: low | normal | high | best | lzw | packbits

Resize#

# Fit within a bounding box (preserves aspect ratio)
sips -Z 800 image.png              # fit within 800×800, in-place
sips -Z 800 image.png --out resized.png   # save to new file

# Set exact pixel width (height scales proportionally)
sips --resampleWidth 1200 image.png --out wide.png

# Set exact pixel height (width scales proportionally)
sips --resampleHeight 600 image.png --out tall.png

# Set exact dimensions (may distort aspect ratio)
sips --resampleHeightWidth 600 800 image.png --out exact.png

# Set exact dimensions, constrained (no distortion)
sips --resampleHeightWidthMax 600 800 image.png --out fitted.png

# Resize to a percentage of original size
sips --resampleWidth $(sips -g pixelWidth image.png | awk '{print int($2 * 0.5)}') image.png

Crop#

# Crop to exact dimensions from top-left
sips -c 400 600 image.png          # crop to 400px tall × 600px wide (h w order)

# Crop and save to new file
sips -c 400 600 image.png --out cropped.png

# Crop a region: -c height width  (from the top-left corner)
sips -c 300 500 image.png --out banner.png

Rotate & flip#

sips -r 90  image.png              # rotate 90° clockwise
sips -r 180 image.png              # rotate 180°
sips -r 270 image.png              # rotate 270° clockwise (= 90° CCW)
sips -r -90 image.png              # rotate 90° counter-clockwise

sips -f horizontal image.png       # flip horizontally (mirror)
sips -f vertical   image.png       # flip vertically

# Combine: rotate then flip
sips -r 90 -f horizontal image.png --out result.png

Color profiles & color space#

# Match to a profile
sips -m /System/Library/ColorSync/Profiles/sRGB\ Profile.icc image.png

# List available profiles
ls /System/Library/ColorSync/Profiles/

# Strip profile (embed none)
sips -e image.png                  # embed no profile

# Set color space
sips --setProperty colorSpace "RGB" image.png
sips --setProperty colorSpace "Gray" image.png

# Convert to sRGB (common web workflow)
sips -m /System/Library/ColorSync/Profiles/sRGB\ Profile.icc \
     -s format jpeg image.png --out web.jpg

Padding#

# Add equal padding (canvas extension)
sips -p 200 300 image.png          # pad to 200×300 (h w); fills with white
sips -p 500 500 image.png --out padded.png

Batch processing#

# Convert all HEIC to JPEG in current directory
for f in *.heic; do
  sips -s format jpeg "$f" --out "${f%.heic}.jpg"
done

# Convert all HEIC to JPEG (case-insensitive)
for f in *.HEIC *.heic; do
  [[ -f "$f" ]] && sips -s format jpeg "$f" --out "${f%.*}.jpg"
done

# Resize all PNG files to max 1200px (in-place)
for f in *.png; do sips -Z 1200 "$f"; done

# Resize all images, save to a resized/ subdirectory
mkdir -p resized
for f in *.jpg *.jpeg *.png; do
  [[ -f "$f" ]] && sips -Z 800 "$f" --out "resized/$f"
done

# Convert all PNG in a folder to JPEG at 85% quality
for f in *.png; do
  sips -s format jpeg -s formatOptions 85 "$f" --out "${f%.png}.jpg"
done

# Process every image inside a directory tree
find . -iname "*.png" | while read f; do
  sips -Z 1920 "$f"
done

# Get dimensions of every image in a folder
for f in *.png *.jpg; do
  [[ -f "$f" ]] && echo "$f: $(sips -g pixelWidth -g pixelHeight "$f" | tail -2 | awk '{printf $2" "}')"
done

Combine operations#

# Resize + convert + quality in one pass
sips -Z 1200 -s format jpeg -s formatOptions 85 input.png --out output.jpg

# Rotate + resize + convert
sips -r 90 -Z 800 -s format jpeg input.heic --out output.jpg

# Crop + convert
sips -c 900 1200 -s format png input.jpg --out thumb.png

Metadata manipulation#

# Remove all metadata (strip EXIF, profiles)
sips -e image.jpg                  # strip color profile
# For full EXIF strip, use exiftool (brew install exiftool)

# Set DPI
sips --setProperty dpiWidth 72 --setProperty dpiHeight 72 image.png
sips --setProperty dpiWidth 300 --setProperty dpiHeight 300 image.tiff

# Set description / title (limited support)
sips --setProperty description "My Image" image.png

Output directory#

# --out can be a file or a directory
sips -Z 800 image.png --out resized.png          # specific filename
sips -Z 800 *.png     --out ./resized/            # all PNGs into a dir
# When --out is a dir, filenames are preserved

Common recipes#

# Prepare images for web (resize + sRGB + JPEG 85%)
for f in *.png *.jpg; do
  [[ -f "$f" ]] && sips -Z 1920 \
    -s format jpeg -s formatOptions 85 \
    -m /System/Library/ColorSync/Profiles/sRGB\ Profile.icc \
    "$f" --out "web/${f%.*}.jpg"
done

# Create square thumbnails (crop to center then resize)
# Note: sips crops from top-left; center-crop needs AppleScript or ImageMagick
sips -c 800 800 image.jpg --out square.jpg

# Check if image has alpha channel (useful in scripts)
has_alpha=$(sips -g hasAlpha "$f" | awk '/hasAlpha/{print $2}')
[[ "$has_alpha" == "yes" ]] && echo "Has alpha: $f"

# Batch rename + convert
i=1
for f in *.heic; do
  sips -s format jpeg "$f" --out "photo_$(printf "%03d" $i).jpg"
  ((i++))
done

# Reduce screenshot size for sharing
sips -Z 1280 -s format jpeg -s formatOptions 75 screenshot.png --out screenshot_small.jpg

# Convert sRGB PNG to print-ready 300 DPI TIFF
sips --setProperty dpiWidth 300 --setProperty dpiHeight 300 \
     -s format tiff image.png --out print.tiff

Quick reference — property names#

Quick reference — flags#