# exiftool/exiftool

ExifTool meta information reader/writer

Repository: https://github.com/exiftool/exiftool
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/exiftool
Homepage: https://exiftool.org/
Language: Perl
License: GPL-3.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: exif, iptc, xmp, metadata, image-metadata, cli, api, perl
Last push: 2026-05-27T16:45:01+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 70/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 84, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3038, "days_push": 98, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 4983, forks 476 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:04.214912+00:00)

## What it is
ExifTool is a platform-independent Perl library plus a full-featured command-line application for reading, writing, and editing metadata in a wide variety of files. It supports EXIF, GPS, IPTC, XMP, ID3, and maker notes from many camera manufacturers across dozens of file formats.

## Use cases
- remove exif metadata from photos before sharing
- read gps coordinates from jpg images
- batch edit iptc captions on photos
- extract metadata from pdf and video files
- fix or shift date/time stamps on camera files
- rename photo files based on metadata
- inspect camera maker notes in raw files

## When to choose
- you need comprehensive, reliable metadata read/write across many formats
- you want a scriptable CLI for batch metadata operations
- you need to strip or edit EXIF/GPS data for privacy
- you work with camera raw files and maker notes

## When to avoid
- you need a GUI-only workflow with no command line
- you need a lightweight library in a non-Perl runtime without shelling out
- you only need basic image resizing/editing without metadata concerns

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: stable
- function: cli, image-processing, pdf, file-system, sdk
- domain: files, photography, media, privacy, developer-tools
- platform: cross-platform, cli, windows
- tags: exif, metadata, iptc, xmp, perl-library, photo-management, privacy-cleanup, command-line, linux, macos, perl

## Member repositories
- exiftool/exiftool (main) score 70

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:04.214912+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:17:41.310457+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/exiftool/exiftool (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:04.214912+00:00, sha e1344d49d3aa)
  - homepage: https://exiftool.org/ (fetched 2026-08-29T08:58:51.113738+00:00, sha 3ecbe38bde5f)
  - site_page: https://exiftool.org/faq.html (fetched 2026-08-29T08:58:51.121333+00:00, sha c5122d5c26b6)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.