How to Compress a Folder of Images on Mac

What you need

• macOS 14.0 or later
• PixPack – Image Compressor Pro from the Mac App Store

Step by step

1. Drag the folder in

   Drag the folder onto the PixPack window. The App Store tips note that you can also drag a folder onto the PixPack icon to start a batch immediately.

2. Review the queue

   PixPack lists the images it found. Deselect any files you want to exclude, and use Clear List to start over if needed.

3. Choose settings

   Pick a preset or set the output format, quality, maximum width and height, rotation and metadata options manually.

4. Apply to the whole folder

   Press Apply to All Files so every image in the folder uses the same configuration.

5. Preview

   Check the before-and-after preview and the reported savings for a few representative files.

6. Export to a new folder

   Choose an output folder and export. Keeping the output separate from the source folder is the safest default.

Mixed formats in one folder

PixPack reads JPEG, PNG, HEIC, WebP, GIF, BMP and TIFF, so a folder containing several formats can be processed in one batch and normalised to a single output format.

Keeping the folder structure readable

Filename templates help when a folder contains files with similar names. Templates support the original name, a counter and the date, and PixPack performs automatic conflict handling when two exports would otherwise collide.

Before you delete anything

Export into a separate folder first and review the results. Deleting files is irreversible, so keep the originals until you are satisfied with the compressed copies and have a backup.

Expected result

A compressed copy of the entire folder, exported to a folder of your choosing, with per-file savings reported.

Tips

• Save the settings as a custom preset if you process the same folder regularly.
• If the folder is huge, process it in a few batches to keep the preview responsive.
• Set the maximum width and height to match how the images will actually be used.