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What is ImgCompress?

ImgCompress is a self-hosted image processing server that runs entirely inside a single Docker container. It handles compression, format conversion, and AI-powered background removal, all locally on your own hardware. No cloud APIs, no third-party uploads, no tracking.

Built for people, homelab enthusiasts, and anyone who values privacy and owns their data.

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Features

Feature	Details
70+ Image Formats	HEIC, HEIF, PSD, AVIF, EPS, PDF, WebP, TIFF, BMP, GIF, and 60+ more
Local AI Background Removal	Bundled model runs on your CPU. No API key, no subscription, no upload
Bulk Compression	Multi-core parallel processing across entire photo libraries
Format Conversion	HEIC to WebP, PSD to JPG, image batches to paginated PDF, and more
Web UI + CLI	Browser dashboard for day-to-day use; CLI for scripting pipelines
Single Container	Every codec and library pre-bundled, zero host dependencies
Air-Gap Ready	Once pulled, runs fully offline. No internet required, ever

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AI Background Removal: Local & Private

Stop uploading personal or client photos to cloud-based removers. ImgCompress ships a bundled AI model that runs background removal on your own hardware. No API call, no subscription, no file ever leaves your server.

Original	Background Removed

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Quick Start

Pull the image, open localhost:3001, start converting. About 60 seconds total.

docker run -d \
  --name imgcompress \
  -p 3001:5000 \
  karimz1/imgcompress:latest

For Docker Compose, environment variables, and deploying without the mascot, see the full installation guide.

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Why I Built ImgCompress

I was tired of the "software loop." Every time I needed something simple, I had to install another app:

• PSD files: Needed specialized software just to convert them to an image file.
• HEIC files: Needed another converter for regular photo files.
• Image to PDF: Needed another app just to share a screenshot for work, since a PDF is often better for emails and easy for others to print.
• AI Backgrounds: I realized I needed one more app for that too.

I thought to myself: "Why can't one tool just do it all?" Plus, uploading personal photos to random online converters never felt right to me.

One Toolbox for Everything

So I built a single toolbox that can take over 70 different formats and fix them all in one place. Whether you need to convert PSD or HEIC files to an image, turn a screenshot into a PDF for a work email, or shrink a massive 4K photo, this tool does it automatically.

The community has now pulled the image tens of thousands of times, which shows the pain is real.

Why Docker?

I chose Docker because it keeps your computer clean. Instead of you having to install 70 different messy libraries on your system, I packed everything into one Ready-to-go Box that you can run anywhere called imgcompress. It just works.

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Privacy by Design

No cloud processing	Conversions, compression, and AI inference all run locally. Images never leave your machine.
No telemetry	No analytics, no crash reporting, no feature flags phoning home. Completely silent on the network after startup.
Offline after pull	Once the image is pulled, no internet connection is ever needed again. No license checks, no expiry.
Open source	GPL-3.0. Audit the code, fork it, self-host it forever.

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Documentation

• Installation & Configuration: Docker setup, environment variables, reverse proxy examples
• Developer Guide: VS Code Dev Containers, architecture overview, local env setup
• imgcompress-chan (Bot): Custom helper bot that repairs Dependabot pnpm lockfiles and auto-merges dependency PRs
• E2E Testing with Playwright: How offline stability is verified across all 70+ formats
• Credits & Libraries: The open source projects that power ImgCompress
• Hall of Fame: Sponsors and contributors

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome: bug reports, format requests, or pull requests.

• Read the Contributing Guide before opening a PR
• Browse good-first-issue labels for a starting point
• Every change is verified by a Playwright E2E suite that covers all supported formats

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License & Author

Author: Karim Zouine
License: GPL-3.0
Docker Image: hub.docker.com/r/karimz1/imgcompress

If ImgCompress saves you time, a GitHub star helps others discover it.