# Optimisation and image editor

Besides cleaning up, Media Organizer can also shrink and edit images. Both are **reversible** and run **strictly locally** — no image is sent to an online service.

## The optimisation report

The report shows images with optimisation potential, measured against the thresholds from the options. It is a recommendation — nothing is changed until you trigger it.

<figure id="bkmrk-for-every-file-it-sa"> ![The optimisation report with one file and the reasons for flagging it](https://docs.graup-it.de/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/yAodoku-09-optimierung.png) <figcaption>For every file it says *why* it was flagged — here for three reasons at once.</figcaption></figure>Typical reasons:

- **Too large (file size)** — exceeds the configured maximum file size (default 500 KB).
- **Too large (dimensions)** — exceeds the maximum edge length (default 2500 px).
- **Not a modern format (WebP/AVIF)** — a raster image that would be considerably smaller as WebP or AVIF.
- **Outdated format** — BMP or TIFF, for instance.

### Two groups — and the difference matters

The report deliberately separates them:

<div class="callout info" id="bkmrk-automatically-optimi">**Automatically optimisable.** Format and file name stay the same. Existing references stay valid and do not have to be adjusted. This is the safe case.

</div><div class="callout warning" id="bkmrk-in-the-editor-only.-">**In the editor only.** Here an optimisation would change the format (to WebP, for example) and therefore the file name. Existing references still point to the old file and are **not** switched over automatically. Such images are therefore never touched automatically.

</div>### Triggering optimisation

Select the files and click **Optimise**. Before that the following applies:

- The **original is backed up** (default: `jimgo_optimize_backup`, outside the web).
- Nothing is **ever scaled up** — only down.
- If the optimisation brings less than the **minimum saving** (default 10 %), the original stays untouched. No loss of quality for a few kilobytes.
- Very large images are skipped so that decoding stays within memory — they appear as "too large to process".

Via **Backups** you reach the saved originals and can undo an optimisation.

### External optimisers

If specialised encoders are installed on the server, Media Organizer uses them for compression — that brings considerably more than the built-in libraries:

<table class="table" id="bkmrk-formattoolsnote-jpeg"> <thead> <tr><th scope="col">Format</th><th scope="col">Tools</th><th scope="col">Note</th></tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr><td>JPEG</td><td>jpegoptim</td><td>—</td></tr> <tr><td>PNG</td><td>pngquant, oxipng, OptiPNG</td><td>**pngquant is lossy** (the biggest saving); oxipng and OptiPNG are lossless. Automatic prefers pngquant.</td></tr> <tr><td>WebP</td><td>cwebp</td><td>When the source is already WebP.</td></tr> <tr><td>GIF</td><td>gifsicle</td><td>Keeps animations.</td></tr> </tbody></table>

Media Organizer **downloads nothing and ships nothing along** — it only uses what is already installed. If a tool is missing, it falls back to the built-in library automatically. Under **Options → optimisation → available optimisers** you see what was detected.

## The image editor

You open the editor from the detail view via **Edit**.

<figure id="bkmrk-crop%2C-rotate%2C-scale%2C"> ![The image editor with the crop frame and the sliders for transformation and adjustment](https://docs.graup-it.de/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/jhldoku-10-editor.png) <figcaption>Crop, rotate, scale, quality and image adjustment — with a preview.</figcaption></figure>Possible are:

- **Cropping** — freely or with a fixed ratio (1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9, 9:16)
- **Rotating and flipping**
- **Scaling** to a maximum edge length
- Setting the **quality**
- **Adjusting** brightness, contrast and saturation

Here too the original is backed up beforehand; through the backups view you undo the edit.

### Saving: two routes with different consequences

<table class="table" id="bkmrk-routewhat-happensref"> <thead> <tr><th scope="col">Route</th><th scope="col">What happens</th><th scope="col">References</th></tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>**Replace the original**</td> <td>Format and file name stay the same.</td> <td>stay valid ✓</td> </tr> <tr> <td>**Save as WebP/AVIF**</td> <td>Creates a **new file with a different file name**. The original remains.</td> <td>still point at the original — you have to switch them over **manually**</td> </tr> </tbody></table>

<div class="callout warning" id="bkmrk-this-is-the-most-com">This is the most common stumbling block. If you save an image as WebP, *nothing* changes in your content — it still points at the old file. The occurrences you have to adjust are listed in the detail view of the original under "referenced by".

</div>## Where to go from here

- [Automation: scheduled scans and 404 monitoring](https://docs.graup-it.de/books/media-organizer-en/page/automation-scheduled-scans-and-404-monitoring)
- [The command line](https://docs.graup-it.de/books/media-organizer-en/page/the-command-line)

<small>Applies to version 1.2.0.</small>

[Deutsche Fassung](https://docs.graup-it.de/link/71)