- Home
- Image Converter Software
- libvips
libvips
What it is
libvips is a free, open-source image processing library for Linux, macOS, Windows, and self-hosted use. Its demand-driven, horizontally threaded design targets quick processing with low memory use. The library provides around 300 operations, including arithmetic, histograms, convolution, morphology, frequency filtering, colour work, resampling, and statistics. It reads and writes many formats, including JPEG, JPEG 2000, JPEG XL, TIFF, PNG, WebP, HEIC, AVIF, FITS, Matlab, OpenEXR, PDF, SVG, GIF, DeepZoom, and OpenSlide. Developers can use C, C++, command-line tools, or bindings for Ruby, Python, PHP, .NET, Go, Lua, Crystal, Elixir, Java, and Nim. Packages are available for most Unix-like systems, with installation options for macOS and Windows. The official GUI, nip4, combines spreadsheet and photo-editor ideas. libvips is licensed under LGPL-2.1-or-later and documents version 8.18.
For and against
For
- Free open-source library
- Around 300 image operations
- Broad image-format support
- Many language bindings
- Runs on major desktop systems
Against
- No web application
- No free trial
- Windows full-reader binary needs deployment care
The verdict
libvips offers a broad, programmable toolkit for image conversion and processing without a license fee. Its format coverage, operations, and bindings make it suitable for technical workflows rather than a browser-based app.
Who it suits
libvips suits developers handling large images, many CPUs, colour processing, scientific analysis, or research and development. It also fits projects needing multiple language bindings or command-line access.
Plans and prices
libvips
LGPL-2.1-or-later
Read 4 Oct 2026 · libvips.org
On the record
- Bindings
- It provides C, C++ and command-line interfaces, plus bindings for Ruby, Python, PHP, .NET, Go, Lua, Crystal, Elixir, Java and Nim.libvips.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Build configuration
- Optional dependencies and build options can be enabled or disabled when building libvips from source.libvips.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Current library version
- The current API documentation identifies the library version as 8.18.libvips.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- GUI
- The official libvips GUI is nip4, which the site describes as a combination of a spreadsheet and a photo editor.libvips.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Image formats
- It supports formats including JPEG, JPEG 2000, JPEG XL, TIFF, PNG, WebP, HEIC, AVIF, FITS, Matlab, OpenEXR, PDF, SVG, GIF, DeepZoom and OpenSlide.libvips.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The site lists Mastodon, sharp, imgproxy, wsrv.nl, bimg, Ruby on Rails, CarrierWave and MediaWiki as users of libvips as an image processing engine.libvips.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- License
- libvips is licensed under LGPL-2.1-or-later.libvips.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Operations
- It has around 300 operations for tasks including arithmetic, histograms, convolution, morphology, frequency filtering, colour, resampling and statistics.libvips.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- libvips is a demand-driven, horizontally threaded image processing library that runs quickly and uses little memory.libvips.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Support
- The official site links to documentation, issues and a wiki.libvips.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Supported systems
- The site says packages are available for most Unix-like systems and that libvips can be installed on macOS and Windows.libvips.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Use cases
- The overview describes libvips as suited to large images, many CPUs, colour work, scientific analysis and general research and development.libvips.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Windows downloads
- Windows downloads include a web-focused binary with a relatively secure subset of file format readers and a larger binary with all supported readers, for which the site advises care before public deployment.libvips.org · read 4 Oct 2026
