QASAI

A powerful image compression CLI with multiple engine support, lossless/lossy options, and both interactive and non-interactive modes.

📖 Full Specification

Features

• Multiple compression engines - Choose the best tool for each format
• Lossless & lossy compression - Optimize without quality loss or maximize savings
• Batch processing - Compress entire directories recursively
• Format conversion - Convert between JPG, PNG, WebP, AVIF
• Resize options - Scale by dimensions, percentage, or max width/height
• Interactive & CLI modes - Guided prompts or scriptable commands
• Parallel processing - Process multiple files concurrently
• Dry run mode - Preview changes without compressing
• JSON output - Machine-readable output for automation

Installation

npm install -g qasai
# or
npx qasai

AI Agent Skill

Install as an AI agent skill:

npx skills ahmadawais/qasai

Usage

Interactive Mode

qasai

Launches a guided interface to configure compression options.

Direct Mode

# Compress current directory (outputs to ./qasai folder)
qasai .

# Compress specific directory
qasai ./images

# Compress with custom output
qasai ./images -o ./compressed

# Compress in place (overwrites originals)
qasai ./images -i

# Recursive with quality setting
qasai ./images -r -q 75

CLI Options

Short	Long	Description	Default
-o	--output <dir>	Output directory	qasai/ folder
-i	--in-place	Overwrite original files	false
-q	--quality <n>	Quality 1-100	80
-l	--lossless	Lossless compression	false
-s	--resize <dim>	Resize (e.g., 800x600, 50%)	-
-w	--max-width <px>	Max width (keeps aspect ratio)	-
-H	--max-height <px>	Max height (keeps aspect ratio)	-
-f	--format <fmt>	Convert to format (jpg, png, webp, avif)	-
-r	--recursive	Process subdirectories	false
-m	--keep-metadata	Preserve EXIF data	false
	--no-progressive	Disable progressive JPEGs	false
-e	--effort <n>	Compression effort 1-10	6
-j	--jpeg-engine <e>	mozjpeg, jpegtran, sharp	mozjpeg
-p	--png-engine <e>	pngquant, optipng, sharp	pngquant
-g	--gif-engine <e>	gifsicle, sharp	gifsicle
	--png-quality <r>	PNG quality range	65-80
-c	--colors <n>	Max colors for PNG/GIF	256
-D	--dry-run	Preview without compressing	false
-Q	--quiet	Silent mode (only errors)	false
	--json	Output results as JSON	false
-S	--skip-existing	Skip existing output files	false
-P	--parallel <n>	Parallel processing workers	4
-B	--backup	Backup before in-place compression	false
-v	--version	Show version	-
-h	--help	Display help	-

Compression Engines

QASAI uses the best compression engine for each format by default:

JPEG Engines

Engine	Type	Description	Default
mozjpeg	Lossy	Best compression ratio, 5-10% smaller than libjpeg	✅
jpegtran	Lossless	Optimizes Huffman tables, no recompression
sharp	Lossy	Fast, uses libvips with MozJPEG

# Use MozJPEG (default, best compression)
qasai ./images -j mozjpeg

# Use jpegtran (pure lossless, no quality loss at all)
qasai ./images -j jpegtran

# Use Sharp (fastest)
qasai ./images -j sharp

PNG Engines

Engine	Type	Description	Default
pngquant	Lossy	Best compression, reduces to 256 colors	✅
optipng	Lossless	Optimizes without color reduction
sharp	Both	Fast, good compression

# Use pngquant (default, best compression)
qasai ./images -p pngquant

# Use OptiPNG (lossless)
qasai ./images -p optipng

# Limit colors (2-256)
qasai ./images -c 128

GIF Engines

Engine	Type	Description	Default
gifsicle	Both	Best for animated GIFs, preserves animation	✅
sharp	Basic	Fast, basic optimization

SVG Engine

SVGs are always optimized with SVGO:

• Removes metadata, comments, hidden elements
• Optimizes path data
• Multipass optimization

WebP & AVIF

Handled by Sharp with libvips:

• Native lossless mode support
• Effort levels 1-10 for compression/speed tradeoff

Examples

Basic Compression

# Compress with defaults (creates qasai folder)
qasai ./photos

# High quality compression
qasai ./photos -q 90

# Maximum compression (lower quality)
qasai ./photos -q 60

Lossless Compression

# Lossless JPEG (jpegtran)
qasai ./photos -j jpegtran

# Lossless PNG (optipng)
qasai ./photos -p optipng

# Lossless flag (uses lossless mode for WebP/AVIF)
qasai ./photos -l

Resize Images

# Max width 1920px (maintains aspect ratio)
qasai ./photos -w 1920

# Max height 1080px
qasai ./photos -H 1080

# Specific dimensions
qasai ./photos -s 800x600

# Scale to 50%
qasai ./photos -s 50%

Format Conversion

# Convert all to WebP
qasai ./photos -f webp

# Convert to AVIF (best compression)
qasai ./photos -f avif

# Convert to JPEG
qasai ./photos -f jpg

Batch Processing

# Recursive with all options
qasai ./website -r -q 80 -w 1920 -j mozjpeg -p pngquant -o ./optimized

Advanced Features

# Dry run (preview without compressing)
qasai ./images -D

# Quiet mode for scripting
qasai ./images -Q -q 80

# JSON output for automation
qasai ./images --json

# Skip existing files
qasai ./images -S -o ./out

# Parallel processing (8 workers)
qasai ./images -P 8 -r

# In-place with backup
qasai ./images -i -B

Supported Formats

Format	Input	Output	Engines
JPEG	✅	✅	mozjpeg, jpegtran, sharp
PNG	✅	✅	pngquant, optipng, sharp
WebP	✅	✅	sharp
AVIF	✅	✅	sharp
GIF	✅	✅	gifsicle, sharp
SVG	✅	✅	svgo
TIFF	✅	✅	sharp

Recommended Settings

Web Images (Best Balance)

qasai ./images -q 80 -w 1920 -r

Maximum Compression

qasai ./images -q 60 -j mozjpeg -p pngquant

Lossless Optimization

qasai ./images -j jpegtran -p optipng -l

Convert to Modern Formats

qasai ./images -f webp -q 80
# or for best compression:
qasai ./images -f avif -q 70

How It Works

1. JPEG: MozJPEG provides 5-10% better compression than standard libjpeg. jpegtran offers pure lossless optimization by reorganizing data without recompression.

2. PNG: pngquant reduces colors to 256 (lossy but visually identical), achieving 60-80% size reduction. OptiPNG provides lossless optimization.

3. GIF: Gifsicle optimizes animated GIFs while preserving all frames and timing.

4. SVG: SVGO removes unnecessary data, optimizes paths, and minifies the XML.

5. WebP/AVIF: Sharp uses libvips for native encoding with quality and effort controls.

License

Apache 2.0 by Ahmad Awais