Image Optimization

jpegoptim reduces JPEG file sizes without visible quality loss by stripping metadata and optimizing Huffman coding. It can process entire directories in batch.

Prerequisites

• Ubuntu/Debian server with internet access

Install jpegoptim

# From the repository
apt-get install jpegoptim

# Or compile from source for the latest version
apt-get install build-essential libjpeg-dev
wget https://github.com/tjko/jpegoptim/archive/refs/heads/master.tar.gz
tar xzf master.tar.gz && cd jpegoptim-master
./configure && make && make install

Compress Images

# Compress a single image (lossless, in-place)
jpegoptim image.jpg

# Compress to a target quality (e.g. 85%)
jpegoptim --max=85 image.jpg

# Batch compress all JPEGs in the current directory
find . -name '*.jpg' -exec jpegoptim {} \;

# Batch compress and strip all metadata (EXIF, IPTC)
find . -name '*.jpg' -exec jpegoptim --strip-all {} \;

# Save to a different directory instead of in-place
jpegoptim --dest=/path/to/output/ *.jpg

Verify

ls -lh before.jpg after.jpg

Compare file sizes to confirm reduction. Visual quality should be unchanged for lossless compression.

Notes

• Lossless compression typically achieves 5–20% reduction; lossy (--max) can achieve more.
• Use optipng or pngquant for PNG images.
• For a WordPress alternative, use the EWWW Image Optimizer plugin which calls jpegoptim under the hood.