PixelBatch

PixelBatch is a powerful, user-friendly desktop application for batch image optimization on Linux. Optimize hundreds of images at once while preserving quality, reducing file sizes, and saving disk space.

📸 Screenshots

Main Interface - Batch image optimization with real-time statistics

Optimizer Settings - Fine-tune compression for each format

📷 View More Screenshots (click to expand)

✨ Features

• 🚀 Batch Processing: Optimize multiple images simultaneously with configurable concurrent task limits
• 📁 Drag & Drop: Simply drag images into the application to add them to the queue
• 🖼️ Multiple Formats: Support for JPEG, PNG, GIF, and SVG images
• ⚡ Parallel Processing: Process multiple images concurrently for maximum efficiency
• 📊 Real-time Statistics: See original size, optimized size, and savings for each image
• 🎯 Lossless Optimization: Reduce file size without quality loss using industry-standard tools
• ⚙️ Configurable: Customize output paths, file prefixes, and optimization settings
• 📈 Progress Tracking: Monitor the status of each task (Pending, Processing, Completed, Error)
• 🔍 Quick Actions: Open optimized images directly from the application
• 💾 Smart Defaults: Remembers your last used directories and preferences

🎯 Use Cases

• Web Developers: Optimize images for faster website loading times
• Photographers: Reduce storage requirements for image collections
• Content Creators: Prepare images for social media and online platforms
• System Administrators: Batch process server assets and reduce bandwidth usage
• Designers: Optimize graphics while maintaining quality

📦 Installation

From Source

Prerequisites

Make sure you have the following dependencies installed:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install qt5-default build-essential

# Required optimization tools
sudo apt-get install jpegoptim pngquant gifsicle

# SVGO (requires Node.js)
sudo apt-get install npm
sudo npm install -g svgo

# Note: pngquant 3.0+, gifsicle 1.9+, and SVGO 3.0+ recommended for best results

Build Instructions

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/keshavbhatt/PixelBatch.git
cd PixelBatch/src

# Build the application
qmake PixelBatch.pro
make

# Run the application
./pixelbatch

System-wide Installation

# Install to /usr/local (default)
sudo make install

# Or install to custom prefix
qmake PREFIX=/opt/pixelbatch PixelBatch.pro
make
sudo make install

Snap Package

# Install from Snap Store (coming soon)
snap install pixelbatch

Flatpak Package

# Install from Flathub (coming soon)
flatpak install flathub com.ktechpit.pixelbatch

# Run the application
flatpak run com.ktechpit.pixelbatch

Building Flatpak Locally

If you want to build and test the Flatpak package locally:

# Easy way - use the build script
./build-flatpak.sh all

# Manual way
# Install flatpak-builder
sudo apt-get install flatpak-builder

# Add Flathub repository (if not already added)
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

# Install KDE runtime and SDK
flatpak install flathub org.kde.Platform//5.15-23.08 org.kde.Sdk//5.15-23.08

# Build and install the Flatpak
flatpak-builder --force-clean --user --install build-dir com.ktechpit.pixelbatch.yml

# Run the locally built Flatpak
flatpak run com.ktechpit.pixelbatch

For more details on Flatpak packaging, see FLATPAK.md.

🚀 Quick Start

Basic Usage

1. Launch PixelBatch from your application menu or terminal
2. Add Images:
   • Click "Add Images" button, or
   • Drag and drop image files directly into the window
3. Configure Settings (optional):
   • Set output directory for optimized images
   • Configure file naming prefix
   • Adjust concurrent task limit
   • Customize optimizer settings (Edit → Optimizer Settings)
4. Start Processing:
   • Click "Process Images" button
   • Watch real-time progress for each image
5. View Results:
   • See file size reduction statistics
   • Right-click tasks for quick actions (open, view, remove)
6. Re-process Images (optional):
   • Change optimizer settings if needed
   • Click "Re-process Images" to optimize again with new settings
   • Useful for testing different quality/compression levels

Supported Image Formats

Format	Extension	Optimizer Used	Compression Type
JPEG	.jpg, .jpeg	jpegoptim	Lossless or Lossy
PNG	.png	pngquant	Lossy with quality control
GIF	.gif	gifsicle	Lossless or Lossy
SVG	.svg	SVGO	Lossless (code optimization)

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Ctrl+O: Add images
• Ctrl+Q: Quit application
• Delete: Remove selected task
• Enter/Return: Open completed image in viewer
• Escape: Deselect current selection
• Ctrl+A: Select all tasks
• F5: Start processing

🔧 Advanced Usage

Command Line Options

# Specify images to load on startup
pixelbatch image1.jpg image2.png image3.gif

# Open with specific working directory
pixelbatch --dir /path/to/images

Getting Help

• Documentation: See DEVELOPER_README.md for technical details
• Issues: Report bugs on GitHub Issues
• Community: Join our discussion forums

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Here's how you can help:

Ways to Contribute

• 🐛 Report Bugs: Open an issue with detailed reproduction steps
• 💡 Suggest Features: Share your ideas for improvements
• 📝 Improve Documentation: Fix typos, add examples, clarify instructions
• 🔧 Submit Code: Fix bugs or implement new features
• 🌍 Translations: Help translate PixelBatch to other languages

Development Setup

See DEVELOPER_README.md for comprehensive development documentation including:

• Project structure and architecture
• Coding conventions and patterns
• Build system details
• How to add new features

Pull Request Process

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Make your changes following our coding conventions
4. Test thoroughly
5. Commit with clear messages (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
6. Push to your fork (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
7. Open a Pull Request

📋 Requirements

Runtime Requirements

• Operating System: Linux (Ubuntu 18.04+, Debian 10+, or equivalent)
• Qt: Version 5.9 or higher
• Optimization Tools:
  • jpegoptim (v1.5.0+) - for JPEG optimization
  • pngquant (v2.0+, v3.0+ recommended) - for PNG optimization
  • gifsicle (v1.9+, v1.95+ recommended) - for GIF optimization
  • SVGO (v3.0+, v4.0+ recommended) - for SVG optimization (requires Node.js)

Build Requirements

• Qt5 development libraries
• C++17 compatible compiler (GCC 7+, Clang 5+)
• qmake build tool
• make

📄 License

PixelBatch is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0.

This means you are free to:

• ✅ Use the software for any purpose
• ✅ Study and modify the source code
• ✅ Share the software with others
• ✅ Distribute modified versions

See LICENSE for full license text.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• jpegoptim: Utility to optimize JPEG files
• pngquant: Lossy PNG compressor
• Qt Framework: Cross-platform application framework
• Open Source Community: For continuous inspiration and support

Links

• 🏠 Homepage: ktechpit.com
• 📚 Documentation: DEVELOPER_README.md
• 🐛 Bug Reports: GitHub Issues
• 💬 Discussions: GitHub Discussions

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Made with ❤️ for the Linux community

If you find PixelBatch useful, please consider giving it a ⭐ on GitHub!