Shrink thousands of photos and videos at once, without uploading a single file.
Free batch optimizer for Windows, macOS and Linux. It keeps your EXIF data and original dates, and never touches your originals.
Note
This repository only hosts the installers, release notes and the issue tracker for the FeatherFiles desktop app. The source code is maintained in a private repository.
- Private by design. Everything runs on your computer. The app has no accounts and no telemetry, and it blocks all network access except an optional check for new versions.
- Built for huge libraries. Point it at a folder with tens of thousands of photos and videos, and it keeps the same subfolder structure.
- Smart profiles. Files are sorted automatically by name, folder and camera data. WhatsApp photos, camera shots, screenshots and videos each get the right settings.
- Hits a target size. For example, camera photos come out as WebP at about 300 KB with the best quality that fits that size, instead of a fixed quality setting. The final file, metadata included, never goes over it.
- Keeps what matters. EXIF data (camera, capture date, GPS) is kept, and the creation and modification dates are restored, so your gallery stays in the right order. WhatsApp photos and videos get their date back from the file name.
- Never overwrites. The results go to a new
<Folder> (FeatherFiles)folder next to the original one. - Videos your way. By default, videos are converted to 720p H.264, using your GPU when it is available (NVIDIA, Intel, AMD or Apple). You can also shrink them all by a level, to a maximum size or to a percentage of the original, or choose video by video, with an estimate of each final size before you start. You can also convert MOV, AVI or MKV videos to MP4 (H.264 or H.265) without losing quality, and keep the original sound untouched when you reduce them.
- Before and after comparator. Compare each optimized photo with its original, side by side or with a draggable line, and zoom in to full size.
- Quick tasks. Shrink every photo under a maximum size, convert to JPG, WebP or PNG, or remove metadata and location (GPS, camera, date) without re-encoding. Tasks are temporary and never change your profiles.
- English and Spanish. The app follows your system language, and you can switch it from the header at any time.
| Platform | Package | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 10/11 (64-bit) | Installer (.exe) |
Latest release |
| Linux (64-bit) | .AppImage or .deb |
Latest release |
| macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel) | .dmg |
Coming soon |
Tip
Just need a few photos? The web version runs in your browser with no installation, and your files never leave your device there either.
All builds are compiled and packaged by GitHub Actions from a tagged commit. Each release lists the SHA-256 checksum of every file.
Windows
-
Download
FeatherFiles-Setup-x64.exefrom the latest release. -
Run it and follow the installer. You can choose the installation folder, and administrator rights are not required.
-
"Windows protected your PC"? The installer is not code-signed yet, so Microsoft SmartScreen doesn't recognize it. Click More info, then Run anyway. You can compare the file's SHA-256 checksum with the one in the release notes:
Get-FileHash .\FeatherFiles-Setup-x64.exe -Algorithm SHA256
To uninstall it, go to Settings → Apps → Installed apps → FeatherFiles → Uninstall.
Linux
AppImage (any distribution):
chmod +x FeatherFiles-x86_64.AppImage
./FeatherFiles-x86_64.AppImageDebian / Ubuntu:
sudo apt install ./FeatherFiles-amd64.debOn Linux, only the modification date can be restored, because the file system doesn't allow setting the creation date.
macOS
A signed and notarized macOS build is on the roadmap. In the meantime, use the web version.
- Drop a folder or pick files. Each file is matched to a profile, and you can change any match by hand.
- Review the profiles. Every profile explains what it does, and you can edit, duplicate or export them.
- Start. FeatherFiles encodes each photo several times to find the best quality that fits the target size, converts the videos and copies the metadata.
- Open the results in the new
(FeatherFiles)folder. Your originals are exactly as they were.
| Profile | Output |
|---|---|
| Camera photos | WebP, about 300 KB, up to 2560 px |
| WhatsApp photos | JPEG, about 150 KB, skipped if already smaller |
| Screenshots | Lossless WebP |
| Web and social | WebP, 1920 px, about 250 KB |
| Email and forms | JPEG, 1280 px, about 100 KB |
| High-quality archive | AVIF, full resolution |
| Scanned documents | JPEG, 2000 px, about 250 KB, lightly sharpened |
| Videos | H.264 720p, 1.8 Mbps (never above ~70 % of the original), AAC audio |
| Light videos for sharing | H.264 480p, 0.9 Mbps |
| 10 MB video | H.264, sized to fit under 10 MB (or any size you choose) |
| HEVC archive | H.265 1080p |
| WhatsApp videos | Reduced to 720p and about two thirds of their size; only very short ones (under 1 MB) copied as they are |
Supported input formats:
- Photos: JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, HEIC/HEIF, GIF, TIFF, BMP.
- Videos: MP4, MOV, M4V, AVI, MKV, WebM, 3GP, MTS/M2TS, WMV.
Does FeatherFiles upload my files anywhere?
No. The desktop app processes everything locally and doesn't collect any usage data. The only network request it makes is an optional check for new versions: it asks GitHub for the latest version number, and never sends anything about you or your files. You can turn it off in the app settings.
Will it delete or modify my originals?
Never. Originals are only opened for reading, and the results are written to a separate folder. If that folder
already exists, a new one is created ((FeatherFiles 2), and so on).
How do I update?
When a new version is out, the app shows a notice with a Download button. Download the new installer and run it on top of the current version. Your settings and profiles are kept. You can also watch this repository (Watch → Custom → Releases) to get notified by GitHub.
Is it really free?
Yes. The desktop app is free for personal and commercial use, with no ads, watermarks or file limits. See the license.
Why is the source code not public?
The project is developed privately. This repository exists so that anyone can download the builds, read the release notes and report issues. The open-source components it bundles are listed in THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.
- Windows: 10 or 11, 64-bit.
- Linux: 64-bit x86 with a recent glibc-based distribution (for example, Ubuntu 22.04+, Debian 12+ or Fedora 38+).
- Hardware: 4 GB of RAM (8 GB or more recommended for videos) and about 500 MB of free disk space.
- Bugs and feature requests: open an issue. Please search the existing issues first.
- Security vulnerabilities: see SECURITY.md. Please don't open a public issue.
FeatherFiles is freeware, distributed under the FeatherFiles Freeware License. In short:
- ✅ Free to use on any number of devices, for personal or commercial purposes.
- ✅ You may redistribute the official, unmodified installers for free, for example on download sites. Credit FeatherFiles and link to this repository or the website.
- ❌ You may not modify the app, bundle it with other software or wrap it in custom installers, or charge for it.
FeatherFiles is not open-source software. The bundled third-party components (FFmpeg, libvips, ExifTool and others) keep their own licenses, listed in THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.
Copyright © 2026 FeatherFiles.