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On this page you find all important commands for the CLI tool exiftool. If the command you are looking for is missing please ask our AI.

exiftool

ExifTool is a powerful command-line application for reading, writing, and editing meta-information in various file formats, including image, audio, video, and document files. It was created by Phil Harvey and is available for free under the GNU General Public License.

Here are some key features of ExifTool:

  1. Metadata Editing: ExifTool supports the extraction, addition, and modification of metadata information such as EXIF, IPTC, XMP, MakerNotes, GPS, and more. This allows you to edit details like camera settings, date and time, location, copyright information, and keywords.

  2. Wide File Format Support: ExifTool has extensive support for a vast range of file formats, including popular image formats like JPEG, PNG, TIFF, RAW, and PSD, as well as audio and video formats like MP3, MP4, MOV, AVI, and many more.

  3. Batch Processing: ExifTool allows you to process multiple files at once using wildcards and regular expressions, making it efficient for bulk metadata operations and automation tasks. You can apply changes to a single file or an entire directory structure.

  4. Preservation of Original Metadata: ExifTool ensures the preservation of existing metadata whenever possible, avoiding unnecessary recompression or loss of quality in the case of images.

  5. Customizable Output: The tool provides flexible options to customize the output format for extracted metadata. You can choose which fields to display, specify formatting, and even create custom output styles using tag values.

  6. Integration and Scripting: ExifTool can be easily integrated into scripts and workflows due to its command-line interface and extensive support for reading and writing metadata. It also offers a comprehensive API for developers who want to use ExifTool functionality in their own applications.

Overall, ExifTool is widely considered the go-to tool for working with metadata in various file formats. Its versatility, reliability, and active community support have made it a popular choice among photographers, digital forensic experts, archivists, and media professionals.

List of commands for exiftool:

  • exiftool:tldr:193c9 exiftool: Move the date at which all photos in a directory were taken 1 hour forward.
    $ exiftool "-AllDates+=0:0:0 1:0:0" ${path-to-directory}
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    explain this command
  • exiftool:tldr:21bda exiftool: Move the date at which all JPEG photos in the current directory were taken 1 day and 2 hours backward.
    $ exiftool "-AllDates-=0:0:1 2:0:0" -ext jpg
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    explain this command
  • exiftool:tldr:51a26 exiftool: Recursively rename all JPEG photos in a directory based on the `DateTimeOriginal` field.
    $ exiftool '-filename
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    explain this command
  • exiftool:tldr:53ce2 exiftool: Only change the `DateTimeOriginal` field subtracting 1.5 hours, without keeping backups.
    $ exiftool -DateTimeOriginal-=1.5 -overwrite_original
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    explain this command
  • exiftool:tldr:57ab0 exiftool: Remove all EXIF metadata from the given files.
    $ exiftool -All= ${filename1 filename2 ---}
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    explain this command
  • exiftool:tldr:bac61 exiftool: Print the EXIF metadata for a given file.
    $ exiftool ${filename}
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  • exiftool:tldr:d149e exiftool: Remove GPS EXIF metadata from given image files.
    $ exiftool "-gps*=" ${path-to-image1 path-to-image2 ---}
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  • exiftool:tldr:e13e4 exiftool: Remove all EXIF metadata from the given image files, then re-add metadata for color and orientation.
    $ exiftool -All= -tagsfromfile @ -colorspacetags -orientation ${path-to-image1 path-to-image2 ---}
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tool overview