image-manipulation-image-magick

SKILL.md

Image Manipulation with ImageMagick

This skill enables image processing and manipulation tasks using ImageMagick
across Windows, Linux, and macOS systems.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

Resize images (single or batch)

Get image dimensions and metadata

Convert between image formats

Create thumbnails

Process wallpapers for different screen sizes

Batch process multiple images with specific criteria

Prerequisites

ImageMagick installed on the system

Windows: PowerShell with ImageMagick available as magick (or at C:\Program Files\ImageMagick-*\magick.exe)

Linux/macOS: Bash with ImageMagick installed via package manager (apt, brew, etc.)

Core Capabilities

1. Image Information

Get image dimensions (width x height)

Retrieve detailed metadata (format, color space, etc.)

Identify image format

2. Image Resizing

Resize single images

Batch resize multiple images

Create thumbnails with specific dimensions

Maintain aspect ratios

3. Batch Processing

Process images based on dimensions

Filter and process specific file types

Apply transformations to multiple files

Usage Examples

Example 0: Resolve magick executable

PowerShell (Windows):

# Prefer ImageMagick on PATH
$magick = (Get-Command magick -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)?.Source

# Fallback: common install pattern under Program Files
if (-not $magick) {
    $magick = Get-ChildItem "C:\\Program Files\\ImageMagick-*\\magick.exe" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
        Select-Object -First 1 -ExpandProperty FullName
}

if (-not $magick) {
    throw "ImageMagick not found. Install it and/or add 'magick' to PATH."
}

Bash (Linux/macOS):

# Check if magick is available on PATH
if ! command -v magick &> /dev/null; then
    echo "ImageMagick not found. Install it using your package manager:"
    echo "  Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt install imagemagick"
    echo "  macOS: brew install imagemagick"
    exit 1
fi

Example 1: Get Image Dimensions

PowerShell (Windows):

# For a single image
& $magick identify -format "%wx%h" path/to/image.jpg

# For multiple images
Get-ChildItem "path/to/images/*" | ForEach-Object { 
    $dimensions = & $magick identify -format "%f: %wx%h`n" $_.FullName
    Write-Host $dimensions 
}

Bash (Linux/macOS):

# For a single image
magick identify -format "%wx%h" path/to/image.jpg

# For multiple images
for img in path/to/images/*; do
    magick identify -format "%f: %wx%h\n" "$img"
done

Example 2: Resize Images

PowerShell (Windows):

# Resize a single image
& $magick input.jpg -resize 427x240 output.jpg

# Batch resize images
Get-ChildItem "path/to/images/*" | ForEach-Object { 
    & $magick $_.FullName -resize 427x240 "path/to/output/thumb_$($_.Name)"
}

Bash (Linux/macOS):

# Resize a single image
magick input.jpg -resize 427x240 output.jpg

# Batch resize images
for img in path/to/images/*; do
    filename=$(basename "$img")
    magick "$img" -resize 427x240 "path/to/output/thumb_$filename"
done

Example 3: Get Detailed Image Information

PowerShell (Windows):

# Get verbose information about an image
& $magick identify -verbose path/to/image.jpg

Bash (Linux/macOS):

# Get verbose information about an image
magick identify -verbose path/to/image.jpg

Example 4: Process Images Based on Dimensions

PowerShell (Windows):

Get-ChildItem "path/to/images/*" | ForEach-Object { 
    $dimensions = & $magick identify -format "%w,%h" $_.FullName
    if ($dimensions) {
        $width,$height = $dimensions -split ','
        if ([int]$width -eq 2560 -or [int]$height -eq 1440) {
            Write-Host "Processing $($_.Name)"
            & $magick $_.FullName -resize 427x240 "path/to/output/thumb_$($_.Name)"
        }
    }
}

Bash (Linux/macOS):

for img in path/to/images/*; do
    dimensions=$(magick identify -format "%w,%h" "$img")
    if [[ -n "$dimensions" ]]; then
        width=$(echo "$dimensions" | cut -d',' -f1)
        height=$(echo "$dimensions" | cut -d',' -f2)
        if [[ "$width" -eq 2560 || "$height" -eq 1440 ]]; then
            filename=$(basename "$img")
            echo "Processing $filename"
            magick "$img" -resize 427x240 "path/to/output/thumb_$filename"
        fi
    fi
done

Guidelines

Always quote file paths - Use quotes around file paths that might contain spaces

Use the & operator (PowerShell) - Invoke the magick executable using & in PowerShell

Store the path in a variable (PowerShell) - Assign the ImageMagick path to $magick for cleaner code

Wrap in loops - When processing multiple files, use ForEach-Object (PowerShell) or for loops (Bash)

Verify dimensions first - Check image dimensions before processing to avoid unnecessary operations

Use appropriate resize flags - Consider using ! to force exact dimensions or ^ for minimum dimensions

Common Patterns

PowerShell Patterns

Pattern: Store ImageMagick Path

$magick = (Get-Command magick).Source

Pattern: Get Dimensions as Variables

$dimensions = & $magick identify -format "%w,%h" $_.FullName
$width,$height = $dimensions -split ','

Pattern: Conditional Processing

if ([int]$width -gt 1920) {
    & $magick $_.FullName -resize 1920x1080 $outputPath
}

Pattern: Create Thumbnails

& $magick $_.FullName -resize 427x240 "thumbnails/thumb_$($_.Name)"

Bash Patterns

Pattern: Check ImageMagick Installation

command -v magick &> /dev/null || { echo "ImageMagick required"; exit 1; }

Pattern: Get Dimensions as Variables

dimensions=$(magick identify -format "%w,%h" "$img")
width=$(echo "$dimensions" | cut -d',' -f1)
height=$(echo "$dimensions" | cut -d',' -f2)

Pattern: Conditional Processing

if [[ "$width" -gt 1920 ]]; then
    magick "$img" -resize 1920x1080 "$outputPath"
fi

Pattern: Create Thumbnails

filename=$(basename "$img")
magick "$img" -resize 427x240 "thumbnails/thumb_$filename"

Limitations

Large batch operations may be memory-intensive

Some complex operations may require additional ImageMagick delegates

On older Linux systems, use convert instead of magick (ImageMagick 6.x vs 7.x)