identify

View documentation for the original command

$ tldr magick identify

identify [options...] [files...]

-authenticate password
    Decrypts password-protected images

-channel type
    Applies operation to specific channels (e.g., RGB)

-colorspace type
    Sets colorspace (e.g., sRGB, CMYK)

-debug events
    Enables debug output for events

-define format:option
    Sets format-specific options

-density geometry
    Viewing density (DPI)

-depth value
    Image depth (8/16-bit)

-extract geometry
    Extracts region from image

-format string
    Custom output format (e.g., %wx%h)

-interlace type
    Interlace scheme (e.g., Line, Plane)

-limit type value
    Limits resources (e.g., memory, map)

-list type
    Lists capabilities (e.g., format, type)

-ping
    Quick analysis without decoding pixels

-quiet
    Suppresses warnings

-regard-warnings
    Treats warnings as errors

-set attribute value
    Sets image attribute

-size geometry
    Expected image size for decoding

-strip
    Removes profiles and comments

-verbose
    Detailed output including histograms

-version
    Prints ImageMagick version

The identify command from the ImageMagick suite analyzes image files, reporting their format, dimensions, color depth, and other attributes. It supports hundreds of image formats including JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, and more exotic ones like ICO or WebP.

Basic usage prints a one-line summary per file, e.g., rose.jpg JPEG 640x480 8-bit sRGB 464KB. Options enable customized output, such as JSON via -format, or detailed verbose info with histograms, color profiles, and EXIF data.

Useful in scripts for batch validation, resizing decisions, or format conversion workflows. It quickly 'pings' images without full decoding for efficiency. Processes multiple files or directories recursively with -recurse, making it a staple for image processing pipelines.

Relies on ImageMagick's delegate libraries for format support; accuracy depends on installation.

Requires ImageMagick installation; some formats need delegates (e.g., libjpeg). Verbose output can be voluminous. Not suitable for non-image files. Multi-threaded processing may vary by build.

identify image.jpg
Outputs: image.jpg JPEG 1920x1080 8-bit sRGB 1.2MB

identify -format '%m %wx%h %b' *.jpg
Batch format, size, bytes.

Use %f filename, %m format, %wx%h dimensions, %b size, %c class in -format string for scripting.

Part of ImageMagick, developed by John Cristy starting 1990. identify debuted in early versions for basic image inspection, evolving with format support expansions through ImageMagick 6/7 releases. Widely used since 2000s in Linux distros.

convert(1), mogrify(1), display(1), montage(1), animate(1), file(1)