Format-specific media pipelines
Run format-specific optimization for PNG, JPEG, WebP, AVIF, HEIC, JPEG XL, GIF, SVG, MP4, WebM, MOV, MKV, AVI, and OGV instead of relying on one generic pass.
optimo
optimo is a free, open-source CLI for optimizing and converting images and videos with ImageMagick and FFmpeg, built for web assets and batch compression.
Overview
Optimo is a free, open-source CLI for optimizing and converting images and videos from the command line. It is built on top of ImageMagick and FFmpeg, and it adds format-specific commands so you can handle common media tasks without assembling your own toolchain and flags.
The product is aimed at web media workflows: shrinking image and video files, converting between formats, resizing assets, and preparing directories for delivery or commit-time automation. The site positions it as a practical tool for people who want predictable compression behavior, sensible defaults, and a workflow that can be repeated across files and projects.
Features
Flexible resize controls
Use resizing flags to scale by percentage, target a file size, or constrain output by width or height.
Lossless and lossy modes
Choose lossless optimization by default or switch to lossy mode when maximum compression is more important than preserving all original data.
Metadata handling controls
Strip metadata automatically for smaller outputs, with an explicit flag to preserve EXIF when it matters.
Dry-run support
Preview changes without writing files, which is useful for CI checks and validating a batch before committing it.
CLI and programmatic use
Process files through a Node.js API with TypeScript support for single files or entire directories.
Use Cases
Prepare web assets for delivery
Use Optimo to batch-optimize website assets before deployment, especially when you want smaller PNG, JPEG, WebP, AVIF, GIF, SVG, MP4, or WebM files without manually tuning each format.
Review and process a media library
Run `--dry-run` first, then process a directory recursively to compress a large media folder while skipping unsupported files and hidden entries.
Convert between common media formats
Convert legacy or camera formats such as HEIC, MOV, MKV, AVI, or OGV into more web-friendly outputs like JPEG, WebP, MP4, or WebM.
Automate media handling in scripts
Use the Node.js API in build scripts or asset pipelines when you need file-by-file or directory-level optimization from code instead of the shell.
Optimize media during version control
Hook Optimo into pre-commit workflows so staged images and videos are optimized before changes are committed.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Supports a wide set of image and video formats with dedicated commands for each.
- Provides sensible defaults such as lossless optimization, metadata stripping, and format-aware conversion paths.
- Includes dry-run mode for safe previewing before files are changed.
- Can be used both as a CLI and from Node.js scripts.
- Works across macOS, Linux, and Windows when the required dependencies are installed.
Cons
- The site does not present pricing details on the pricing URL; the page shown there returns a 404-style message.
- Several capabilities depend on external binaries such as ImageMagick, FFmpeg, SVGO, Gifsicle, and MozJPEG being available in the environment.
FAQ
What is Optimo?
Optimo is a free, open-source CLI tool built to optimize and convert images and videos using format-specific commands on top of ImageMagick and FFmpeg.
How does Optimo optimize media?
Optimo uses different pipelines for different formats. For images it relies on tools such as ImageMagick, SVGO, Gifsicle, and MozJPEG; for videos it uses FFmpeg. It runs lossless optimization by default and keeps the original if the optimized output is not smaller.
Which formats does Optimo support?
The supported formats shown in the docs are PNG, JPEG, WebP, AVIF, HEIC, JPEG XL, GIF, SVG, MP4, WebM, MOV, MKV, AVI, and OGV.
Is Optimo free to use?
Yes. Optimo is described as free and open-source under the MIT license, and it can be run with `npx optimo` or installed with `npm install -g optimo`.
Does Optimo work on Windows, macOS, and Linux?
Optimo is documented as working on macOS, Linux, and Windows wherever Node.js, ImageMagick, and FFmpeg are available.
Quick Facts
- Category
- Developer Tool
- Primary interface
- Command-line interface with Node.js API
- Source domain
- optimo.microlink.io
- Supported media
- Images and videos
- License
- MIT, according to the site FAQ
- Dependencies
- Node.js plus ImageMagick and FFmpeg; some formats also use SVGO, Gifsicle, or MozJPEG
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