DEV Community: dutchbase The latest articles on DEV Community by dutchbase (@dutchbase). https://dev.to/dutchbase https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3816885%2F47391313-97d2-413e-8a4e-042d64f16349.jpeg DEV Community: dutchbase https://dev.to/dutchbase en I built an open-source CLI image converter with a Web UI (and support for AI agents) dutchbase Tue, 10 Mar 2026 12:41:47 +0000 https://dev.to/dutchbase/i-built-an-open-source-cli-image-converter-with-a-web-ui-and-support-for-ai-agents-85a https://dev.to/dutchbase/i-built-an-open-source-cli-image-converter-with-a-web-ui-and-support-for-ai-agents-85a <p>When building websites and automation workflows, I constantly ran into the same problem:</p> <p>I just needed to convert an image quickly...</p> <p>PNG → WebP<br> JPG → AVIF<br> Batch conversions<br> Quick optimizations</p> <p>There are plenty of GUI tools, but they usually require opening an app or website, dragging files around, exporting again, running into limitations, etc.</p> <p>And when working in scripts or automation pipelines, those tools are basically useless.</p> <p><strong>So I built img-convert.</strong></p> <p>An open-source CLI image converter that also includes a <strong>local Web UI</strong> and is designed to work well inside <strong>automation workflows and AI agents</strong>.</p> <p>GitHub:<br> <a href="https://github.com/dutchbase/img-converter" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/dutchbase/img-converter</a></p> <p>npm:<br> <a href="https://www.npmjs.com/package/@dutchbase/img-convert" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.npmjs.com/package/@dutchbase/img-convert</a></p> <h1> What it does </h1> <p><code>img-convert</code> converts images between common formats like:</p> <ul> <li>JPG</li> <li>PNG</li> <li>WebP</li> <li>AVIF</li> </ul> <p>It’s designed to be:</p> <ul> <li>fast</li> <li>scriptable</li> <li>predictable for automation</li> <li>easy to use from the command line</li> </ul> <p>Example:<br> </p> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight shell"><code>npx @dutchbase/img-convert input.png output.webp </code></pre> </div> <p>Or install globally:<br> </p> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight shell"><code>npm <span class="nb">install</span> <span class="nt">-g</span> @dutchbase/img-convert </code></pre> </div> <p>Then run:<br> </p> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight shell"><code>img-convert input.jpg output.avif </code></pre> </div> <h1> Example usage </h1> <p>Convert an image:<br> </p> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight shell"><code>img-convert input.png output.webp </code></pre> </div> <p>Convert to AVIF:<br> </p> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight shell"><code>img-convert input.jpg output.avif </code></pre> </div> <p>Batch convert images:<br> </p> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight shell"><code>img-convert ./images ./output <span class="nt">--format</span> webp </code></pre> </div> <h1> Web UI mode </h1> <p>Sometimes you just want to convert a few images manually.</p> <p>Instead of installing a separate GUI tool, you can run the Web UI locally.</p> <p>This opens a simple interface where you can drop images and convert them quickly.</p> <h1> Designed for automation and AI workflows </h1> <p>One of the goals of this project was making the tool usable inside <strong>automation systems and AI agents</strong>.</p> <p>Many AI workflows need to:</p> <ul> <li>convert images</li> <li>optimize images</li> <li>change formats</li> <li>prepare assets for websites</li> </ul> <p>Because <code>img-convert</code> has predictable CLI behavior, it works well in:</p> <ul> <li>scripts</li> <li>CI pipelines</li> <li>AI agents</li> <li>local automation tools</li> </ul> <h1> Open source </h1> <p>The project is fully open source.</p> <p>GitHub:<br> <a href="https://github.com/dutchbase/img-converter" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/dutchbase/img-converter</a></p> <p>If you find it useful, feel free to:</p> <ul> <li>star the repo</li> <li>open issues</li> <li>suggest improvements</li> <li>contribute</li> </ul> <h1> Feedback welcome </h1> <p>This project is still evolving, and I’d love feedback from people who build:</p> <ul> <li>developer tools</li> <li>CLI tools</li> <li>automation systems</li> <li>AI workflows</li> </ul> <p>What features would you want in a tool like this?</p> cli node opensource showdev