Changelog
What's new in ImageForge
Every release, in plain language. ImageForge is free, native and 100% on-device — this is the honest record of what shipped and when.
macOS
- 1.3.1
Drop several images on the Dock icon and they all land in one window — ImageForge is single-window by design now.
Dock- Dragging several images onto the Dock icon used to open one window per image: the batch landed in one of them and the rest were empty, so the app often looked as if it had opened with nothing to compress — and trying again only added more empty windows. They all go to the same window and the same list now.
- ImageForge is one window with one list by design, so “New Window” has left the File menu. If you close the window, bring it back with Window ▸ ImageForge Window (⌘0), by clicking the Dock icon, or from the menu bar item.
- 1.3.0
A data-safety release: nothing is replaced without asking, the Trash backup is made before it is promised, and Cancel finally cancels — plus upright photos and faithful colour.
Your originals- Convert no longer replaces an existing file without asking. If something with that name is already there, ImageForge offers Keep both, Overwrite or Cancel — and backs up whatever it is about to replace.
- The “a copy is moved to the Trash” promise is now kept before you agree to it: the backup runs first, and if any copy could not be made, ImageForge says how many and defaults to cancelling instead of overwriting.
- The overwrite warning now appears for every batch, including images added to a list that is already open — before, it only showed the first time.
- Cancel really cancels. It used to mark rows as cancelled while the engine kept compressing and, in overwrite mode, kept replacing your originals. A file already being compressed may finish compressing, but it is no longer written to disk.
Image quality- Portrait photos are no longer left lying on their side: the orientation recorded by your camera is now applied to the pixels — losslessly — instead of simply being discarded.
- Colour no longer shifts on wide-gamut displays: the ICC colour profile is preserved in JPEG, PNG, WebP and TIFF.
- Lossy JPEG comes out roughly 3–8% smaller at the same quality.
Privacy- Metadata stripping (EXIF & GPS) now really applies to PNG too — it was offered but never carried out. Colour information is kept; text, XMP and location data are removed.
- An optimized SVG can no longer carry the contents of a local file with it.
Dock- Dragging images of different types onto the Dock icon — a .png and a .jpg together — now opens ImageForge with all of them in the list instead of an empty one.
- 1.2.0
Safer drag-and-drop, a real safety net when you overwrite originals, and five new languages — 15 in total.
Drag & drop- Dropping a folder — or several images from a folder — reliably imports and compresses everything inside.
- Drop a file that's already in the list and ImageForge asks whether to process it again — handy when it changed on disk, or to re-optimize.
Overwriting originals- A clear warning before a batch replaces your originals in place, with a “Don't ask again” option.
- Optional Trash backup, on by default: a copy of each original is moved to the Trash first, so you can always restore it.
Languages- Five new languages — Português (Brasil), 繁體中文, Русский, Türkçe and Polski — bringing ImageForge to 15: English, Español, Français, Deutsch, Italiano, Português (Portugal), Português (Brasil), Nederlands, 日本語, 简体中文, 繁體中文, 한국어, Русский, Türkçe and Polski.
- 1.1.3
A workflow-focused update: dropping or adding more images no longer clears the current batch, every row shows its size from the start, and the Profiles editor gains delete and cancel.
Workflow- Drag in more images — or add them with + (⌘O) — while a batch is running or after it's finished, and they're appended to the queue instead of replacing what's already there. Duplicates already in the list are skipped; use Clear to start over.
- Every file shows its size on disk from the moment it's queued — ImageOptim-style — not only once it's done, with the final before → after · −XX% still appearing on completion.
Profiles- Delete custom profiles you no longer need, straight from the Profiles editor.
- Cancel a new or duplicated profile before saving, and it no longer lingers in the list.
Polish- “Show in Finder” is now dimmed when a batch spans several source folders, so it only offers to reveal a single, unambiguous location.
- 1.1.2
Deeper Finder integration: a second right-click action to compress in place, a clearer Preferences section — plus a fix for multi-file drops on the Dock icon.
Finder- New right-click option — “Compress in place with ImageForge” overwrites the originals directly, right next to the existing “Compress with ImageForge”.
- A new Finder integration section in Preferences explains both options and links straight to the system setting to turn them on.
Reliability & polish- Fixed: dropping several images at once onto the Dock icon now queues every one of them.
- Localization and polish fixes, including the Spanish wording for the Cancelled state.
- 1.1.0
A reliability and polish release: a Watch Folders crash fixed, faster large batches, and a smoother everyday flow.
Reliability- Fixed a crash that could occur when using Watch Folders (Pro).
- Cancel now reliably stops a batch, and your Pro unlock stays in sync — including restores and refunds.
Workflow- Drop a folder onto the main window to compress every image inside it — just like the Dock icon and the Finder shortcut.
- Custom profiles now appear in the profile picker, ready to use for any batch.
- Faster, smoother results when compressing large batches.
Accessibility & polish- Better text contrast, full keyboard navigation and VoiceOver support.
- Streamlined Preferences and a number of under-the-hood fixes.
- 1.0.0First release
The first public release of ImageForge on the Mac App Store — the whole app in one gesture: drag, drop, done.
Compression engine- Lossless by default for JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP and SVG — each handled by the best tool for the job (oxipng + zopfli, jpegtran, libwebp…), with a strict never-grow rule and atomic writes so an original is never left half-written.
- Optional lossy mode is always an explicit, informed choice — never a surprise.
- High-quality resize (Lanczos3) honoring per-profile max width/height with no upscaling.
Workflow- Drag files or whole folders onto the window, the Dock icon, or via the Finder Services menu (⌘O to open a picker).
- Convert between formats (⌘K): PNG, JPEG and WebP free; AVIF, HEIC and JPEG XL with Pro — with clear {name}.ext naming and an honest lossy/lossless signal.
- Per-batch output control: overwrite in place, keep a -min copy, or send everything to a separate folder. ImageForge never deletes an original without your consent.
- Menu-bar item plus File ▸ New Window (⌘N) to bring the window back any time.
Privacy- 100% on-device: no account, no cloud, no telemetry. Your images never leave your Mac and the app works fully offline.
- Metadata stripping (EXIF & GPS) on by default, with the ICC color profile and orientation preserved.
Pro (one-time purchase)- Unlimited custom profiles and per-format control, AVIF & HEIC output, RAW import & conversion, and watch-folder / menu-bar automation.
- A one-time purchase — not a subscription — with a 7-day free trial, handled by Apple. Restore Purchase re-activates it with no account.
Windows
- 1.3.1
“Open with ImageForge” finally works: the files you pick are queued in one window instead of opening an empty app.
Open with- Selecting several images in File Explorer and choosing “Open with ImageForge” — or dropping them on the app icon — used to open the app with an empty list, however many files you handed it. They are all queued in one window now, and dropping more while the app is open adds them to the list instead of replacing it.
- One window, one queue: a multi-file selection no longer starts a separate copy of the app for each file.
- 1.3.0
A data-safety release: nothing is replaced without asking, a Recycle Bin backup that fails is reported before anything is overwritten, and there are keyboard shortcuts at last — plus upright photos and faithful colour.
Your originals- Convert no longer replaces an existing file without asking. If something with that name is already there, ImageForge offers Keep both, Overwrite or Cancel, and sends a copy of each replaced file to the Recycle Bin first.
- A Recycle Bin backup that fails is now reported before anything is overwritten: ImageForge counts the copies that really made it and asks before going on.
- Cancel really cancels. It used to mark rows as cancelled while the engine kept compressing and, in overwrite mode, kept replacing your originals. A file already being compressed may finish compressing, but it is no longer written to disk.
Workflow- Re-processing a file no longer piles up -min1, -min2, -min3 copies — it replaces its own output. Genuinely new files in the same drop are still kept alongside the original.
- “Compress with ImageForge” in File Explorer and every drop now always add to the list instead of clearing it — only Clear or reopening the app empties the queue, just like on the Mac.
- Keyboard shortcuts at last: Ctrl+O to add files, Ctrl+K to convert, Ctrl+, for settings, Esc to cancel the running batch, Ctrl+Del to clear the list and Del to remove the selected rows.
Image quality- Portrait photos are no longer left lying on their side: the orientation recorded by your camera is now applied to the pixels — losslessly — instead of simply being discarded.
- Colour no longer shifts on wide-gamut displays: the ICC colour profile is preserved in JPEG, PNG, WebP and TIFF.
- Lossy JPEG comes out roughly 3–8% smaller at the same quality.
Privacy- Metadata stripping (EXIF & GPS) now really applies to PNG too — it was offered but never carried out. Colour information is kept; text, XMP and location data are removed.
- An optimized SVG can no longer carry the contents of a local file with it.
- 1.2.0
Safer drag-and-drop, a real safety net when you overwrite originals, and five new languages — 15 in total.
Drag & drop- Dropping a folder — or several images from a folder — reliably imports and compresses everything inside.
- Drop a file that's already in the list and ImageForge asks whether to process it again — handy when it changed on disk, or to re-optimize.
Overwriting originals- A clear warning before a batch replaces your originals in place, with a “Don't ask again” option.
- Optional Recycle Bin backup, on by default: a copy of each original is moved to the Recycle Bin first, so you can always restore it.
Languages- Five new languages — Português (Brasil), 繁體中文, Русский, Türkçe and Polski — bringing ImageForge to 15: English, Español, Français, Deutsch, Italiano, Português (Portugal), Português (Brasil), Nederlands, 日本語, 简体中文, 繁體中文, 한국어, Русский, Türkçe and Polski.
- 1.1.3First on Windows
ImageForge arrives on Windows — a native WinUI 3 app on the Microsoft Store, running the same 100% on-device Rust engine as the Mac app. It launches directly at 1.1.3; the milestones below all ship together in this first Windows build.
Windows integration- Drag images or whole folders onto the window, or right-click “Compress with ImageForge” in File Explorer — the same one-gesture flow as the Mac app.
- Drop or + appends new images to a running or finished queue — duplicates skipped, never wiping the batch — and every row shows its on-disk size upfront while queued and compressing.
- A native Windows 11 look: the Forge amber accent with full light, dark and high-contrast themes, an amber drag-over overlay, and a summary bar with total saved, progress and “Show in Explorer”.
Formats & conversion- Lossless compression for PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP, SVG, TIFF, BMP and ICO, plus Convert between formats — PNG, JPEG and WebP free; AVIF and HEIC with Pro.
- HEIC support built on libde265 + kvazaar — never GPL x265.
Pro & languages- A one-time Pro unlock through the Microsoft Store (durable add-on) — no subscription, no account. Pro adds custom Profiles, AVIF & HEIC output, RAW import and Watch Folders.
- Localized in 10 languages, matching the Mac release.
- 1.1.0
Reliability and workflow depth, mirrored from the Mac app and folded into the first Windows build.
Workflow- Drop a folder to compress every image inside it, and add more files to a running or finished batch instead of replacing it.
- Custom profiles appear in the profile picker, ready for any batch.
- Faster, smoother results when compressing large batches.
Comfort- Full keyboard navigation and high-contrast theme support, with accessible text contrast throughout.
- 1.0.0Shared engine
The shared Rust engine and privacy model that power every ImageForge build, on Windows from day one.
Compression engine- Lossless by default for JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP and SVG — each handled by the best tool for the job — with a strict never-grow rule and atomic writes so an original is never left half-written.
- Optional lossy mode is always an explicit, informed choice, plus high-quality Lanczos3 resize with no upscaling.
Privacy- 100% on-device: no account, no cloud, no telemetry. Your images never leave your PC and the app works fully offline.
- Metadata stripping (EXIF & GPS) on by default, with the ICC color profile and orientation preserved.
Output control- Overwrite in place, keep a -min copy, or send everything to a separate folder — ImageForge never deletes an original without your consent.
On the roadmap
Linux is next in the forge. Follow along here — every public release lands on this page first.