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Simple Photo Meta

Simple Photo Meta is a free local desktop application for viewing and editing IPTC and EXIF metadata in image files.

Place
#9 of 31
Score
6.4
Simple Photo Meta's website

What Simple Photo Meta is

Simple Photo Meta is a free local desktop application for viewing and editing IPTC and EXIF metadata in image files. Its browser-based interface runs on the user’s machine without a remote server, and it supports Linux and macOS. It handles IPTC fields such as keywords, captions, copyright, creator, city, and country, as well as EXIF details including camera information, exposure settings, GPS coordinates, and lens data. Users can open directories, scan subdirectories, browse thumbnails in pages of 25, and search by metadata values. The editor provides tag autocomplete, deletion, and automatic saving when tags are added or removed. An overlay can show date, location, and keywords, with GPS coordinates converted to place names through offline reverse geocoding. It supports JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and HEIC/HEIF; the latter requires pillow-heif. The local database and thumbnails are stored on the user’s machine, and metadata changes are written directly to image files. The project is GPLv3-licensed alpha software, and its README warns that it may damage valuable images.

Good

  • Runs locally without a remote server.
  • Supports IPTC and EXIF metadata editing.
  • Searches metadata values and catalogs existing tags.
  • Offline reverse geocoding can convert GPS coordinates to place names.

Watch out

  • The project is labeled alpha testing software.
  • The README warns it may destroy valuable images.
  • HEIC/HEIF support requires pillow-heif.
  • It is untested on Windows.

Who it suits

It may suit Linux and macOS users who want to inspect and edit image metadata locally, including GPS information. It is a poor fit for anyone unwilling to risk using alpha software on valuable image files.

Verdict

Simple Photo Meta offers local metadata browsing and editing across several image formats. Its alpha warning about potential image damage is important to consider before working with valuable photos.

Plans and prices

From Simple Photo Meta's own pricing page, checked 11 Oct 2001.

All about pricing
PlanPriceWhat it gives you
Simple Photo MetaFreeGPLv3-licensed alpha desktop application

The facts

Each one read from Simple Photo Meta's own pages, with the date it was checked.

What it does

Browsing and search
It can recursively scan directories, show paginated thumbnails at 25 images per page, and search image metadata values in real time.checked 11 Oct 2001
Data storage
The app stores its database locally, keeps thumbnails in a .thumbnails folder within opened photo directories, and writes metadata directly to image files.checked 11 Oct 2001
Download availability
The README describes macOS Apple Silicon DMG and Linux Flatpak downloads, while the GitHub releases page opened during this research showed no releases.checked 11 Oct 2001
Editing features
The editor offers tag autocomplete, one-click tag deletion, immediate saving when tags are added or removed, and prompts for unsaved changes.checked 4 Oct 2001
Image browsing
Users can open directories, recursively scan subdirectories, and browse thumbnails in pages of 25 images.checked 4 Oct 2001
Image formats
The listed image formats are JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and HEIC/HEIF.checked 11 Oct 2001
Integrations and technology
The metadata engine uses Exiv2 through custom C++ bindings; the app also lists FastAPI, SQLite, Pillow, and pywebview in its technology stack.checked 11 Oct 2001
License and support
The project is licensed under GPLv3 and invites bug reports and pull requests on GitHub.checked 11 Oct 2001
Local operation
The app uses a browser-based interface while running on the local machine, with no remote server required.checked 11 Oct 2001
Metadata editing
It supports IPTC fields such as keywords, captions, copyright, creator, city, and country, along with EXIF fields including camera details, dates, exposure settings, GPS, and lens information.checked 11 Oct 2001
Metadata engine
The app handles metadata through the Exiv2 library using custom C++ bindings.checked 4 Oct 2001
Offline location lookup
The metadata overlay can show GPS coordinates as place names using offline reverse geocoding.checked 11 Oct 2001
Purpose
Simple Photo Meta is a local desktop application for viewing and editing IPTC and EXIF metadata in image files.checked 11 Oct 2001
Safety limitation
The README describes the software as alpha testing software and warns that it may destroy valuable images.checked 4 Oct 2001
Search
The app searches images by metadata tag value and can discover and catalog existing tags in a collection.checked 4 Oct 2001
Security and maturity
The maker labels the software alpha and potentially unsafe for valuable images, warning that image files may be destroyed during testing.checked 11 Oct 2001
Tag tools
The app discovers existing metadata tags for autocomplete and supports adding and deleting tags with automatic saving.checked 11 Oct 2001

Where it runs

Platform support
The maker says the software was written for macOS Apple Silicon and Linux, and is untested on Windows.checked 11 Oct 2001

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