Convert HEIC to JPG
via Command Line

heif-convert (libheif) — The Fastest Native Tool

heif-convert is a command-line utility from the libheif project — the reference implementation of the HEIF/HEIC format. It decodes HEIC files natively without relying on ImageMagick delegates or external codecs. This is the same library that Convertio.com uses on its backend servers for HEIC processing, alongside ImageMagick for post-processing.

Installation

Install libheif tools for your platform:

# Ubuntu / Debian
sudo apt install libheif-examples

# Fedora / RHEL
sudo dnf install libheif-tools

# macOS (Homebrew)
brew install libheif

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S libheif

Verify the installation:

heif-convert --version

Basic Conversion

Convert a single file to JPG at quality 92:

heif-convert input.heic output.jpg -q 92

The -q flag sets the JPEG quality (1–100). Quality 92 is the sweet spot — visually identical to the HEIC original while keeping the file size reasonable.

Batch Conversion

Convert every HEIC file in the current directory:

for f in *.heic *.HEIC; do
    [ -e "$f" ] || continue
    heif-convert "$f" "${f%.*}.jpg" -q 92
done

The [ -e "$f" ] || continue guard handles the case where no files match one of the glob patterns (e.g., no uppercase .HEIC files exist).

Useful Flags

ImageMagick — The Swiss Army Knife

ImageMagick is the most widely installed image processing toolkit on Linux servers. If your system already has it, you may not need anything else — recent versions include libheif as a delegate for HEIC decoding. Convertio.com uses ImageMagick for post-conversion processing (resizing, quality adjustment, metadata handling).

Installation

# Ubuntu / Debian (with HEIC delegate)
sudo apt install imagemagick libheif-dev

# Fedora
sudo dnf install ImageMagick libheif-devel

# macOS
brew install imagemagick

Check that the HEIC delegate is available:

magick identify -list format | grep -i heic

If HEIC appears in the output, ImageMagick can read your files directly.

Single File Conversion

magick convert input.heic -quality 92 output.jpg

Or with ImageMagick 7+, the shorter form:

magick input.heic -quality 92 output.jpg

Batch Conversion

for f in *.heic *.HEIC; do
    [ -e "$f" ] || continue
    magick "$f" -quality 92 "${f%.*}.jpg"
done

Advanced Options

ImageMagick lets you resize, strip metadata, or adjust colorspace in the same command:

# Convert and resize to max 2048px on the longest side
magick input.heic -quality 92 -resize 2048x2048\> output.jpg

# Convert and strip all metadata
magick input.heic -quality 92 -strip output.jpg

# Convert with specific colorspace
magick input.heic -quality 92 -colorspace sRGB output.jpg

FFmpeg — For Video-Oriented Workflows

FFmpeg is primarily a video tool, but it can decode HEIC files if it was compiled with HEVC support. This is convenient if FFmpeg is already part of your pipeline and you want to avoid installing additional tools.

Installation

# Ubuntu / Debian
sudo apt install ffmpeg

# Fedora
sudo dnf install ffmpeg-free

# macOS
brew install ffmpeg

Conversion

ffmpeg -i input.heic output.jpg

To set JPEG quality (FFmpeg uses a scale of 2–31, where 2 is best):

ffmpeg -i input.heic -q:v 2 output.jpg

Batch Conversion

for f in *.heic *.HEIC; do
    [ -e "$f" ] || continue
    ffmpeg -i "$f" -q:v 2 "${f%.*}.jpg" -y
done

The -y flag overwrites existing output files without prompting.

Python — pillow-heif + Pillow

For developers who need HEIC conversion inside a Python application or script, the pillow-heif library adds HEIC support to Pillow (PIL). This is useful for integrating conversion into data pipelines, web backends, or automation scripts.

Installation

pip install pillow-heif Pillow

Single File Conversion

from pillow_heif import register_heif_opener
from PIL import Image

register_heif_opener()

img = Image.open("input.heic")
img.save("output.jpg", "JPEG", quality=92)

Batch Conversion Script

import os
from pathlib import Path
from pillow_heif import register_heif_opener
from PIL import Image

register_heif_opener()

input_dir = Path("./photos")
output_dir = Path("./converted")
output_dir.mkdir(exist_ok=True)

for heic_file in input_dir.glob("*.heic"):
    img = Image.open(heic_file)
    jpg_path = output_dir / f"{heic_file.stem}.jpg"
    img.save(jpg_path, "JPEG", quality=92)
    print(f"Converted: {heic_file.name} -> {jpg_path.name}")

Preserving EXIF Data

from pillow_heif import register_heif_opener
from PIL import Image

register_heif_opener()

img = Image.open("input.heic")
exif_data = img.info.get("exif", b"")
img.save("output.jpg", "JPEG", quality=92, exif=exif_data)

The exif parameter passes the raw EXIF bytes through to the JPG output, preserving camera settings, GPS coordinates, and timestamps.

macOS Terminal — sips (Built-In)

macOS includes sips (Scriptable Image Processing System) out of the box. It supports HEIC natively because macOS bundles the HEVC codec. No installation required.

Single File Conversion

sips -s format jpeg input.heic --out output.jpg

Batch Conversion

mkdir -p converted
for f in *.heic *.HEIC; do
    [ -e "$f" ] || continue
    sips -s format jpeg "$f" --out "converted/${f%.*}.jpg"
done

PowerShell (Windows) — ImageMagick Loop

On Windows, ImageMagick provides the most reliable command-line option. Once installed, you can use PowerShell to batch-convert:

Installation

1. Download the Windows installer from imagemagick.org/script/download.php (choose "Win64 dynamic").
2. Run the installer and check "Add application directory to your system path".
3. Open a new PowerShell window and verify: magick --version

Single File

magick convert photo.heic -quality 92 photo.jpg

Batch Conversion

Get-ChildItem *.heic | ForEach-Object {
    magick convert $_.FullName -quality 92 ($_.DirectoryName + "\" + $_.BaseName + ".jpg")
}

This converts every .heic file in the current folder to JPG at quality 92. Original files remain untouched.

Tool Comparison

*Approximate times for a 12 MP iPhone photo (4032 × 3024) on modern hardware. Actual speed varies by CPU, disk I/O, and image complexity.

Quality Settings Explained

Different tools use different quality scales. Here is how to get equivalent output across tools:

Don't Want the Command Line?

If you would rather skip installing tools, configuring delegates, and writing shell loops — the converter widget at the top of this page does the same thing in your browser. Upload a HEIC file, get a JPG back in seconds. Convertio.com uses heif-convert + ImageMagick on its servers — the same tools covered in this article, already configured and optimized.