exiv2

Print a summary of the image Exif metadata

$ exiv2 [path/to/file]

$ exiv2 [[-P|-Print]] kt [path/to/file]

$ exiv2 [[-P|-Print]] kv [path/to/file]

$ exiv2 [[-d|--delete]] a [path/to/file]

$ exiv2 [[-d|--delete]] a [[-k|--keep]] [path/to/file]

$ exiv2 [[-r|--rename]] '[%Y%m%d_%H%M%S_:basename:]' [path/to/file]

exiv2 [options] [file ...]

-p[a|s|i|t|X|R], --print[all|action-summary|iptc|structure|Xmp|Raw]
    Print metadata: all, summary, IPTC, structure, XMP, or raw

-pi, --print-iptc
    Print IPTC metadata in human-readable format

-pa, --print-all
    Print all (Exif, IPTC, XMP) metadata

-P NAME VALUE, --set NAME VALUE
    Set tag NAME to VALUE

-M CMD, --modify CMD
    Modify command (set/add/del/reg/rm/mv/erase)

-u, --update
    Update/insert metadata from corresponding files

-i, --info
    Show file info (type, MIME, size, timestamp)

-e NAME, --extract NAME
    Extract metadata/thumbnail to file NAME

-i NAME, --insert NAME
    Insert metadata from file NAME

-r, --rename
    Rename files based on first Exif datetime

-n, --num
    Prepend sequence number to renamed files

-D[.] [fmt], --delete[-all][.] [fmt]
    Delete Exif thumbnail/IPTC/XMP (all with .)

-k, --keep
    Keep existing structure when inserting

--grep EXPR
    Grep-like filter for tags matching EXPR

-f, --fixIptc
    Fix invalid IPTC charsets

-v, --verbose
    Verbose output

-q, --quiet
    Suppress warnings/errors

-V, --version
    Print version info

-h, --help
    Show help

-O DIR, --output DIR
    Output directory for extracted files

-b SIZE, --blocksize SIZE
    Block size for large file processing

--save
    Save changes immediately (default)

--nolog
    Disable logging

--stdin
    Read files from stdin

Exiv2 is a robust command-line utility for reading, writing, deleting, and manipulating metadata in image files. It excels with EXIF, IPTC, and XMP standards across formats like JPEG, TIFF, PNG, WebP, HEIF, and more. Key features include printing structured metadata summaries, extracting embedded thumbnails or previews, inserting custom tags, batch renaming files based on EXIF data, and repairing corrupted metadata structures.

Developed as part of the Exiv2 C++ library, it's lightweight, fast, and script-friendly, making it ideal for automation in photo workflows. Common uses: inspecting camera settings from EXIF, embedding IPTC captions for print, stripping privacy data from XMP, or converting metadata formats. Exiv2 supports advanced operations like tag registration, raw data dumping, and charset handling for internationalization.

It's widely integrated into tools like darktable, digiKam, and gThumb, ensuring compatibility with professional photography pipelines. Output formats are human-readable or key-value pairs for easy parsing. Always test on copies, as modifications are in-place.

Modifies files in-place; backup first. Some formats lack full write support. Large files may need --blocksize adjustment. Tag names case-sensitive.

Print all metadata: exiv2 -pa image.jpg
Set title: exiv2 -M"set Exif.Image.ImageDescription My Photo" image.jpg
Extract thumbnail: exiv2 -e thumbnail.jpg image.jpg
Rename by date: exiv2 -r *.jpg

Use -M with: set NAME VALUE, add NAME VALUE, del NAME, reg LANG NAME, rm LANG, mv SRC DST, erase FAMILY

Exiv2 began in 2003 by Andreas Huggel as a C++ library with CLI tool. Reached v0.25 in 2018 (CVE fixes), v0.27 (2021, WebP/HEIF), v0.28 (2023, AVIF). Key in open-source photo apps since early 2000s.

exiftool(1), exif(1), jhead(1), identify(1), dcraw(1)