avifconvert

The command line tool avifenc provided by libavif is limited. It can only encode AVIF files from supplied PNG, JPEG and raw YUV data files, with no support for HEIC or WebP files.

This library uses libavif to encode AVIF files, but provides an interface for encoding AVIF files from a wider range of source formats. Currently supported input formats:

• PNG (using libspng)
• JPEG (using libjpeg-turbo)
• HEIC (using libheif)
• WebP (using libwebp)

Just like avifenc, avifconvert handles EXIF and XMP metadata properly.

Alongside avifconvert, this project also provides a avifconvertwatch tool that can be used to watch a directory for new files and convert them to AVIF format automatically. This is useful for integrating into workflows where images are added to a directory. I use it on my NAS along with PhotoSync on my phone to convert incoming images after upload.

In addition, JNI binding are provided, but they are untested.

This is not a drop-in replacement for avifenc, nor is it a very mature project. Many things won't work. Use at your discretion.

Install

Pre-built binaries are available for download on the releases page for the following platforms:

• Linux (x86_64 and arm64)
• Windows (x86_64)

Otherwise, you can build from source as described below.

Build

This project uses cmake and vcpkg, as well as Java for JNI bindings. Ensure cmake and Java are installed on your system before building. The dependencies for the project are described in vcpkg.json.

Run this after cloning to fetch and initialise the vcpkg submodule:

git submodule update --init --recursive
vcpkg/bootstrap-vcpkg.sh # or vcpkg/bootstrap-vcpkg.bat on windows

Configure and build with cmake:

cmake --preset Release && cmake --build --preset Release

The resulting binaries will be found in a build-release/ or build-release/Release/ folder depending on your cmake toolchain.

Usage

./avifconvert my-image.webp

This will create a file called my-image.avif in the same directory. Options:

• -d or --delete-original will delete the original file, replacing it with the AVIF file.
• -v or --version with no other arguments will print the version of the tool.

./avifconvertwatch /path/to/my/dir

This will run continuously, watching for new convertible files in that directory, or subdirectories up to one level deep, converting to AVIF and deleting the original file. Options:

• -v or --version with no other arguments will print the version of the tool.

TODO

• Support Y4M files, like the original avifenc
• Support GIF files, including animated GIFs.
• Support BMP files
• Support TIFF files
• Support JPEG XL files
• Support avifconvertwatch with unlimited nested subdirectories, currently it only watches one subdirectory deep.
• Get static linking working on all platforms
• Add tests