> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bluejutzu.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# bmux CLI

> Convert and compress images locally, from the command line.

bmux converts and compresses images without uploading them anywhere. The
[browser app](https://bmux.bluejutzu.dev) does the work in your own tab; the CLI does the same job
from a script, with no server involved either way.

<Note>
  The CLI uses [sharp](https://sharp.pixelplumbing.com/), so unlike the browser it can write every
  supported format and can keep EXIF metadata when you ask it to.
</Note>

## Quickstart

<Steps>
  <Step title="Install">
    See [Installation](/bmux/installation) — the CLI is built from source for now.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Convert something">
    ```bash theme={"system"}
    bmux convert photo.jpg --to webp --quality 80
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check what you got">
    ```bash theme={"system"}
    bmux inspect photo.webp
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

## The three commands

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="convert" icon="right-left" href="/bmux/commands/convert">
    Turn specific files into another format, with control over quality and size.
  </Card>

  <Card title="optimize" icon="wand-magic-sparkles" href="/bmux/commands/optimize">
    Run a whole directory through a preset without picking settings yourself.
  </Card>

  <Card title="inspect" icon="magnifying-glass" href="/bmux/commands/inspect">
    Report what a file actually is, read from its contents rather than its name.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Things that hold true everywhere

* **Originals are never overwritten.** Colliding output names get a numeric suffix unless you
  choose otherwise with `--collision`.
* **Metadata is stripped by default.** EXIF/XMP is removed unless you pass `--preserve-metadata`.
  Photos are still auto-rotated upright first.
* **A failed file doesn't stop the rest.** The batch finishes, the failures are listed, and the
  exit code is non-zero.
* **Nothing is uploaded.** There is no server and no account. `--dry-run` will show you exactly
  what would be written before anything is.

## Colour output

Colour is used for status only — green for a saving, amber for a file that grew, red for a failure.
It turns itself off when output isn't a terminal, and it honours
[`NO_COLOR`](https://no-color.org):

```bash theme={"system"}
NO_COLOR=1 bmux convert photo.jpg --to webp
```