Bulk Convert .JPG to .WEBP

[Designbureau Nolex]

I want to convert multiple .jpg to .webp file. I added the extension for .webp to Photoshop. As a web designer I receive (product) photos from photographers that I then process into .webp files. At the moment I run it manually. Can this operation also be done in bulk?

[rayek.elfin]

Some simple command-line magic will solve this for you.

Check out the steps here:

https://jay.holtslander.ca/blog/batch-convert-to-webp/

[Jeff Arola]

What version of macOS and Photoshop do you have?

Photoshop 2022 and 2023 have native support for WebP opening and saving.

[Designbureau Nolex]

Thank you! excellent tip!

[Designbureau Nolex]

Thanks for your response, I'm using the version below:

MacOS: 13.4 (22F66)
Photoshop Version 24.6.0 

WebP can be saved with this version, but I could not convert it in large quantities.

With the command-line suggested by rayek.elfin I now have a solution to massively convert .jpg to .webp.

Thank you very much for your help!

[Jeff Arola]

For future reference, in Photoshop if you need to save files to a format in bulk, you can creaste an action, then use File>Automate>Batch.

[Stephen_A_Marsh]

I wrote a script to batch convert to WebP here:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-ecosystem-discussions/export-many-files-at-once-in-webp-for...

[Stephen_A_Marsh]

Hi Jeff, I want to mark your reply as a correct answer, however, I can't do so?

[rayek.elfin]

@Stephen_A_Marshand @Jeff Arola The reason why I did not mention Photoshop as a solution: it is bog slow and/or error prone to complete batch conversions.

For example: earlier today I tested a folder with 887 different images (all JPG format). File size, dimensions, contents and file names all vary (including non-Western file names and potentially problematic file names). Testing is done with a fast SSD to minimize lag due to saving. Target webp conversion quality is 75%.

• IrfanView image viewer and converter (Windows only I am afraid): ~1 minute 35 seconds
• ImageMagick command line tool (magick mogrify -format webp -quality 75 *.jpg): ~1 minute 41 seconds
• PhotoLine Batch conversion (similar image editor as PS): ~1 minute 44 seconds
• @Stephen_A_MarshPS batch conversion script: ~10 minutes 25 seconds
• Photoshop batch webp save as action: ~7 minutes 36 seconds with errors and missing images

(Photoshop's batch/action function interrupted the conversion process three times with a dialog about incorrect aspect ratio blah blah. Even though I told it to surpress file open options dialogs and color profile warnings. Error reporting was set to Log Errors to File. It then proceeded to still display those dialogs AND refused to convert 8 images. Not. Good. But expected behaviour!)

Over a quarter of a century ago I gave up on Photoshop for any batch conversion job. It is just mindnumbingly slow to process and finish. A few images: sure, not an issue. But larger batches try one's patience indeed and the built-in batch function has a tendency to bug out during a batch conversion as well.

Just imagine: when a batch takes an hour to complete in the other apps, the batch conversion in Photoshop would finish almost 6 hours later when using the batch conversion script. And while the batch function is faster to process the images (still slow compared to the competition) chances are it would have failed to complete with Photoshop's built-in batch command as well as require manual intervention to continue. Frustrating to say the least.

The results listed above align perfectly well with my own experiences in the past. It's amazing (and sad) to see that nothing has improved in this area since I last tested it seriously (a decade ago, or so). More than enough reasons to avoid Photoshop for this type of work, and I would advice anyone against using it if your time is important to yourself and others.

PS @Stephen_A_Marsh Thank you for that really nice script. It would solve the built-in Batch command tendency to bug out during conversions if not for Photoshop's slow execution of that script. A shame, really.

[Stephen_A_Marsh]

@rayek.elfin – you are correct, Photoshop is far from the fastest when it comes to batching!