ExifTool is a command-line application and collection of Perl modules for reading, writing and editing metadata. It works with a very broad range of image, audio, video, document and other file formats, making it useful well beyond conventional photography workflows.
The program understands common standards such as Exif, IPTC and XMP as well as manufacturer-specific MakerNotes and many specialist metadata structures. Its command-line interface is particularly well suited to bulk operations, scripted workflows and forensic inspection where a graphical metadata editor would be too restrictive.
This is free and open source software.
Key Features
- Read, write and create metadata across a large range of supported file formats.
- Extensive support for Exif, IPTC, XMP, ICC profiles, GPS information, MakerNotes and many other metadata families.
- Read and write camera-specific MakerNotes for many manufacturers.
- Process individual files, groups of files or entire directory trees.
- Copy metadata between files even when the source and destination formats differ.
- Remove selected metadata fields, groups of tags or complete metadata sets.
- Geotag photographs from GPS track logs and generate track information from geotagged images.
- Shift timestamps to correct camera-clock errors or time-zone differences.
- Rename files and organise them into directories using metadata values.
- Extract embedded thumbnails, previews and other binary data from supported files.
- Output metadata in formats suitable for scripts and other tools, including JSON, XML and tabular forms.
- Conditional processing allows files to be selected according to metadata values.
- User-defined tags can extend ExifTool for specialist workflows and proprietary structures.
- Original files can be backed up automatically when metadata is changed.
Website: exiftool.org
Support:
Developer: Phil Harvey
License: GNU General Public License v1.0 or Artistic License
ExifTool is written in Perl. Learn Perl with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
Related Software
| Camera Tools | |
|---|---|
| darktable | Virtual lighttable and darkroom for photographers |
| digiKam | Digital photo management application with revamped camera support |
| gPhoto | Digital camera command-line client |
| ExifTool | Library and program to read and write meta information in multimedia files |
| RawTherapee | RAW image processing application |
| RapidRAW | Non-destructive, and GPU-accelerated RAW image editor |
| Entangle | Tethered camera control and capture |
| Kamera | KDE integration for gphoto2 cameras |
| cameractrls | Set camera controls |
| rawbit | Camera RAW image preprocessor and importer |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
| Small Image Tools | |
|---|---|
| Rembg | Background segmentation tool using machine learning |
| imgp | Multi-core batch image file resize and rotate |
| ExifTool | Read, write and edit meta information |
| imagededup | Find duplicate images |
| Durdraw | ASCII, Unicode and ANSI art editor |
| pstoedit | PostScript and PDF files to editable vector graphics converter |
| potrace | Transforms bitmaps into vector graphics |
| jhead | Manipulate the non-image part of Exif compliant JPEG files |
| CropGUI | Graphical user interface for jpegtran |
| pngcrush | Optimizer for PNG files. It's a command-line tool |
| Picsort | Tool for sorting images into folders |
| imagineer | Offers image processing and conversion |
| truss | Image transformation toolkit |
| slimg | Fast image optimization tool |
| Pictures Converter | Convert image formats |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
 LinuxLinks helps you discover the best free and open source software for Linux. Explore our extensive collection of recommended applications, including alternatives to popular proprietary software.We also publish software reviews, Linux tutorials, hardware reviews, free programming books and articles covering the wider open source community. Browse our Linux resources to discover more. Know a useful free and open source Linux application we haven't covered? Suggest a program for inclusion. Has your software been featured on LinuxLinks? Display one of our Featured on LinuxLinks badges on your website or GitHub README. |
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.