Add Inspect EXIF Data For An Image File as a Unix TIL

2026-03-03 22:48:45 +00:00 · 2026-02-22 11:52:47 -06:00
parent 2cc52bf8bc
commit e41802653d
2 changed files with 49 additions and 1 deletions
--- a/unix/inspect-exif-data-for-an-image-file.md
+++ b/unix/inspect-exif-data-for-an-image-file.md
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+# Inspect EXIF Data For An Image File
+
+The `exiftool` CLI (which can be downloaded via `brew`) is a useful tool for
+inspecting all the EXIF data attached to a media file. A media file like an
+image has a bunch of additional details embedded in it like timestamps, image
+metadata, and sometimes location information.
+
+Here is all the data attached to a screenshot I found on my desktop:
+
+```bash
+❯ exiftool ~/Desktop/CleanShot\ 2025-11-17\ at\ 11.22.18@2x.png
+ExifTool Version Number         : 13.50
+File Name                       : CleanShot 2025-11-17 at 11.22.18@2x.png
+Directory                       : /Users/lastword/Desktop
+File Size                       : 1194 kB
+File Modification Date/Time     : 2025:11:17 11:22:21-06:00
+File Access Date/Time           : 2025:12:15 10:43:55-06:00
+File Inode Change Date/Time     : 2025:12:05 15:37:48-06:00
+File Permissions                : -rw-r--r--
+File Type                       : PNG
+File Type Extension             : png
+MIME Type                       : image/png
+Image Width                     : 2502
+Image Height                    : 1232
+Bit Depth                       : 8
+Color Type                      : RGB with Alpha
+Compression                     : Deflate/Inflate
+Filter                          : Adaptive
+Interlace                       : Noninterlaced
+XMP Toolkit                     : XMP Core 6.0.0
+Y Resolution                    : 144
+Resolution Unit                 : inches
+X Resolution                    : 144
+Exif Image Width                : 2502
+Color Space                     : sRGB
+User Comment                    : Screenshot
+Exif Image Height               : 1232
+SRGB Rendering                  : Perceptual
+Image Size                      : 2502x1232
+Megapixels                      : 3.1
+```
+
+This works with other kinds of media files. For instance, I ran this against an
+MP4 screen recording file which contained even more metadata.
+
+In addition to reading data, `exiftool` can also write it. See `man exiftool`
+for more details on what else it can do.