Basic Image Compression

Zipic supports compressing multiple images and all images in specified folders. Currently supported formats include JPEG, PNG (including APNG), WebP, GIF, HEIC, AVIF, TIFF, ICNS, SVG, PDF, JPEG-XL (JXL), with more formats planned.

General Steps

Follow these steps to compress images with Zipic:

1. Select a compression preset, or use the default preset. Open Compression Options anytime to switch presets or tweak quality, save location, format, and resize.
2. Choose compression method: Select a method to start compression.
3. View compression results: Check the results in the history list. Click the thumbnail to see a comparison preview. The preview window supports directly adjusting compression strength to see the effect, so you can quickly adjust strength in the preview window if needed. See the View Compression Results section for details. If unsatisfied, repeat steps 1 and 2.

Compression Presets

Presets store a full set of compression options (quality, save location, format, resize, and more). The currently selected preset is used for drag-and-drop, Open Image(s), paste, Notch Drop, and other entry points — unless you temporarily pick another preset while holding ⌥ on drop.

There are two places to manage presets — the UI is the same:

1. Main window: Click Compression Options (sidebar bottom) to open the inline popover
2. Settings window: Open Settings and switch to the Image tab

Manage presets

Everything is inline — no separate “edit preset” window.

• Select a preset: Click a tab in the Presets row (for example Default, AVIF, JPEG, JXL)
• Add a preset: Click + at the end of the tab row
• Rename: Click the pencil next to the preset name (the default preset cannot be renamed)
• Favorite: Click the heart to pin a preset; favorites sort toward the front of the list (handy for ⌥ drop, which shows the first 6)
• Delete: Click the minus button next to a non-default preset, then confirm

Configure a preset

Select a preset tab, then edit its options below. Changes apply immediately to that preset — no extra Save button.

Image Quality (Q1–Q6)

The UI shows Qn · short name. The same number is what CLI / URL Scheme use as --level / level (1 = Q1 … 6 = Q6).

Slider ends: Smaller File (left) ↔ Higher Quality (right). Moving right increases visual quality (toward Q1); moving left shrinks files (toward Q6).

When the preset’s output format is JPEG, a Progressive JPEG toggle also appears (Pro).

In Settings → Image only, a global Other Options block sits below the preset editor (TIFF compression, preserve metadata, APNG safe mode, JPEG background color). The main-window popover shows the per-preset options above; open Settings for those global controls.

Compression Methods

Zipic offers several ways to compress images:

Drag and Drop

Open the main window and drag images or folders from Finder or the desktop into it to compress.

Quick Preset Switching on Drop

Hold the ⌥ (Option) key while dragging files to the main window or the Notch area to quickly choose a different compression preset before compressing. This is useful when you want to use a one-off preset without changing your default selection.

Raycast Extension

See the article Using Raycast Extension for Image Compression.

Drag to Notch Compression Pro

Drag to Notch compression is an innovative feature introduced in Zipic 1.8, allowing you to compress images more quickly and intuitively.

How to use:

1. Enable the feature: Go to Settings → Workflow and enable “Drag to Notch for compression”.

2. Drag files/directories: Drag valid files/directories, and a Notch area will appear in the center of the top of the screen. Drag files/directories into this area and release to trigger automatic compression.
3. Auto compression: Zipic will automatically detect and compress the dragged files/directories using the currently selected preset compression options.

Paste Compression Pro

Paste Compression allows you to quickly compress images or directories from your clipboard.

Three methods to use Paste Compression:

1. Open the main window, right-click and select Paste to perform paste compression.
2. Press ⌘ + V to perform paste compression.
3. Select Paste from the Edit menu in the menu bar to perform paste compression.

Paste Compression automatically detects images or file directories in your clipboard and compresses them using your current compression settings. This feature is particularly useful when you want to quickly compress images from various sources without manually selecting them.

Command Line (zipic CLI) 1.9.5+

Install the CLI from the menu bar (Install zipic CLI), then compress from Terminal. The CLI talks to the running Zipic app and reuses the same pipeline, presets, and license state:

zipic compress ~/Pictures --level 3 --format webp --json

Full flags, presets, history, exit codes, and install steps: Command Line Tool.

AI Agent 1.9.5+

Install the Zipic agent skill, then ask your AI assistant in natural language — for example “compress these screenshots to WebP” or “resize product photos to 1920px and export AVIF”. The agent maps your intent to the right CLI or URL Scheme call.

npx skills add okooo5km/Skills4U --skill zipic

Overview, skill install, and when to prefer CLI vs URL Scheme: AI & CLI Integration.

Main Window Button

Click the Open Images button at the top left of the main window to select images for compression. Supports multiple images and directories.

Menu Bar Button

Click the File menu in the menu bar and select Open Images to choose images for compression. Supports multiple images and directories. Pressing ⌘ + O also opens the selection window.

Finder Context Menu

This method supports selecting a single image. In Finder, right-click the image, choose Open With, and select Zipic to compress.

URL Scheme

See Integrating Zipic Capabilities.

Smart Skip for Compressed Files

Zipic automatically recognizes files that have already been compressed and skips redundant processing. When your compression settings change or the source file is modified, it will re-compress automatically.

Post-Compression Actions

After compression, the main window displays the compression records, including image thumbnails, names, sizes before and after compression, status, and compression ratio.

View Compression Results

After compression, check if the results are satisfactory.

Comparison Preview Pro

Click the thumbnail to view the compression effects in the comparison preview window. Zipic Pro includes an enhanced image comparison view with the following features:

• Zoom: Zoom in to inspect details of both original and compressed images
• Pan: Pan around zoomed images to examine different areas
• Double-click to reset: Double-click to quickly reset zoom level
• Zoom control slider: Convenient zoom control slider at the bottom for easy adjustment
• Direct compression strength adjustment: Directly adjust the compression strength slider in the preview window to see the effect in real-time, making it easy to find the optimal compression settings

This makes it easy to compare before and after compression results side by side. If you only need to adjust compression strength, you can do it directly in the preview window without recompressing.

Open in Finder

You can also open Finder to preview the compressed images using macOS Quick Look.

Copy Images

Copy Button

Click the Copy Image button in the compression record to copy the image or path information.

Drag and Drop

Each compression record in the main window can be dragged to any window that accepts images, like a note window or Finder window, equivalent to a quick copy action.

Clear Compression History

While Zipic does not persist compression records, we provide options to clear individual or all records for better user experience.

Clear Single Record

Click the Delete button at the right end of the compression record to delete the current record.

Clear All Records

Click the Clear All Records button in the sidebar of the main window, then confirm in the popup to delete all compression records.