Sips

Installation (Mac)

Syntax

sips [flags] inputFile [--out outputFile]

Flags

Image modification flags:

Flag	Meaning
`-s key value`	Set the value for a `key` (see table below for the available keys and acceptable values).
`-r degreesCW`	Rotate an image several degrees clockwise.
`-f option`	Flip the image using one of the following two options: horizontal or vertical.
`-c pixelsH pixelsW`	Crop image to fit specified size. `pixelsH` indicates the new height in number of pixels, `pixelsW` indicates the new width in number of pixels.
`-z pixelsH pixelsW`	Resample image at specified size. Image aspect ratio may be altered. `pixelsH` indicate the new height in number of pixels, `pixelsW` indicate the new width in number of pixels.
`-Z pixelsWH`	Resample image so height and width aren't greater than specified.
`--resampleWidth pixelsW`	Resample image to specified width. `pixelsW` indicate the new width in number of pixels.
`--resampleHeight pixelsH`	Resample image to specified height. `pixelsH` indicate the new height in number of pixels.
`-o`	Optimize color for sharing.
`-p pixelsH pixelsW`	Add padding to the image. Use `--padColor hexcolor` to select the padding color as hexadecimal number.

Property Keys

If you want to modify one image to match the properties of another image (for example have one image match the height of another image), you can use the flag -g key or --getProperty key on the image that you want to match. Where key is one of the following properties:

Profile property keys	Usage
`dpiHeight`	Height in dpi (printer dots per inch).
`dpiWidth`	Width in dpi (printer dots per inch).
`pixelHeight`	Height in number of pixels.
`pixelWidth`	Width in number of pixels.
`format`	Image format. Acceptable values for this key: `jpeg`, `tiff`, `png`, `gif`, `jp2`, `pict`, `bmp`, `qtif`, `psd`, `sgi`, `tga`, `pdf`.
`formatOptions`	Quality of the new image. Acceptable values for this key: `low`, `normal`, `high`, `best`, or some percentage.
`samplesPerPixel`	Samples per pixel.
`bitsPerSample`	Bits per sample.
`software`	Software use to create the image.
`description`	Description.
`copyright`	Copyright.
`version`	Version.
`platform`	Platform where file was created.
`quality`	Acceptable values for this key: normal, draft, best.
`renderingIntent`	Acceptable values for this key: perceptual, relative, saturation, absolute.

Examples

| creator | Creator of the file. |

For the examples below I will be using the following image, taken from the following article, which I published long time ago: link to article.

original

Convert AutismArticle1.png to pdf.

$ sips -s format pdf AutismArticle1.png --out AutismArticle1.pdf
/Users/monica/Desktop/Backup/images_presentations/AutismArticle1.png
/Users/monica/Desktop/Backup/images_presentations/AutismArticle1.pdf

Rotate AutismArticle1.png 45 degrees clock-wise.

$ sips -r 45 AutismArticle1.png --out test.png
/Users/monica/Desktop/Backup/images_presentations/AutismArticle1.png
/Users/monica/Desktop/Backup/images_presentations/test.png

Result image:

rotated1

Rotate AutismArticle1.png 45 degrees counter-clock-wise.

$ sips -r -45 AutismArticle1.png --out test.png
/Users/monica/Desktop/Backup/images_presentations/AutismArticle1.png
/Users/monica/Desktop/Backup/images_presentations/test2.png

Result image:

rotated2

Flip AutismArticle1.png horizontally.

$ sips -f horizontal AutismArticle1.png --out test.png
/Users/monica/Desktop/Backup/images_presentations/AutismArticle1.png
/Users/monica/Desktop/Backup/images_presentations/test.png

Result image:

flipped

Flip AutismArticle1.png vertically.

$ sips -f vertical AutismArticle1.png --out test.png
/Users/monica/Desktop/Backup/images_presentations/AutismArticle1.png
/Users/monica/Desktop/Backup/images_presentations/test.png

Result image:

flipped2

Crop AutismArticle1.png to fit a new size that be 1/4 of its original height and 1/4 of its original weight:

The first step is to obtain the current width and height using sips with the flags --getProperty pixelWidth and --getProperty pixelHeight. Then, divide the two numbers by four. And finally use sips with the -c flag to crop the file.

$ sips --getProperty pixelHeight AutismArticle1.png
/Users/monica/Desktop/Backup/images_presentations/AutismArticle1.png
  pixelHeight: 440
$ sips --getProperty pixelWidth AutismArticle1.png
/Users/monica/Desktop/Backup/images_presentations/AutismArticle1.png
  pixelWidth: 727
$ echo "440/4" | bc -l
110.00000000000000000000
$ echo "727/4" | bc -l
181.75000000000000000000
$ sips -c 110 181 AutismArticle1.png --out test.png
/Users/monica/Desktop/Backup/images_presentations/AutismArticle1.png
  /Users/monica/Desktop/Backup/images_presentations/test.png

Result image:

cropped

Resample image to 110x181:

$ sips -z 110 181 AutismArticle1.png --out test.png
/Users/monica/Desktop/Backup/images_presentations/AutismArticle1.png
  /Users/monica/Desktop/Backup/images_presentations/test.png
$ sips --getProperty pixelHeight test.png
/Users/monica/Desktop/Backup/images_presentations/test.png
  pixelHeight: 110
$ sips --getProperty pixelWidth test.png
/Users/monica/Desktop/Backup/images_presentations/test.png
  pixelWidth: 181

Result image:

resampled