Press Desktop image optimizer

Audit and convert a whole folder. Locally.

Find the images costing you bytes, compare the result at 1:1, then write WebP, AVIF, or JPEG XL copies to an optimized/ folder. Your source files stay untouched. Nothing uploads unless you choose Sirv sync.

Choose your download View source

Free for macOS, Windows, and Linux. Latest: v0.2.6.

your-folder/Pressyour-folder/optimized/
Press auditing a folder of images, with file weights, dimensions, thumbnails, and output controls
Real files, sorted heaviest first. No staged dashboard numbers.

Why a desktop app

A folder is not a browser tab.

Browser tools are right for a handful of files. A client shoot, product catalogue, or design export is different. Press walks subfolders, reads image headers first, and only decodes thumbnails when they enter the view. On macOS and Linux x64, local AI removes backgrounds and upscales images 4× without uploading them.

First view
Heaviest files first
Batch output
Mirrors your folder tree
Truthful results
Growing files stay reported
Large folders
Work stays memory-bounded

How it works

Three decisions, then done.

Press shows the evidence before it writes a byte.

  1. 01

    Open a folder

    Drop it on the window or pick it. Press scans nested folders and identifies images by their contents, not their extension.

  2. 02

    Inspect the trade-off

    Choose a format, quality, and maximum edge. Compare original and result at fitted size or true 1:1 pixels.

  3. 03

    Convert what matters

    Tick individual files or process the visible set. New files go under optimized/; originals never move.

Press before-and-after comparison with a draggable split between the original and converted image

Choose with your eyes

The smaller file still has to look right.

Sweep the divider across the image, zoom to 100%, and move through the folder with the arrow keys. The comparison is built in memory, so checking a setting does not create a file.

WebP
Fast, broadly useful output
AVIF
Smaller photographic files
JPEG XL
Lossy or true lossless output

Download

Get Press for your computer.

Signed updates install at launch, then Press relaunches itself.

macOS

Choose your Mac chip

Open the DMG and drag Press to Applications. Signed and notarized.

Apple Silicon arm64Intel x86_64

Not sure? Apple menu → About This Mac → look for Chip or Processor.

Windows

Windows x64 installer

Run the setup file. Later updates install at launch and relaunch Press.

Download .exe x86_64

Linux

Portable AppImage

Make it executable and run it without an installer.

Download AppImage x86_64

chmod +x press_*.AppImage

Showing v0.2.6. See therelease notes and signatures.

The important bits

Before you point it at a shoot.

Does Press upload my images?

No. Auditing, thumbnails, comparisons, and conversion stay on your computer. Optional Sirv sync only transfers a file when you explicitly push or pull it.

Can it replace my originals?

No. Converted files go into an optimized/ folder that mirrors the source tree. Source paths are never used as output paths.

Can I use it from the terminal?

Yes. press ./images --convert --jxl runs the same conversion without opening a window. WebP is the default; --avif and --jxl select the other formats.