👀 Views: 35 💬 Answers: 1 📅 Created: 2025-10-08

linux bash image-optimization

Currently developing a web application using React, and I need to optimize the images for better performance. Specifically, I want to convert JPEG and PNG files to WebP format on a Linux server. After reading through various resources, I decided to use the `cwebp` tool from the WebP utilities. I executed the following command: ```bash cwebp input.jpg -o output.webp ``` This works fine for individual files, but I want to automate the process for multiple images located in a directory. My initial attempt to loop through the images looks like this: ```bash for file in *.jpg; do cwebp "$file" -o "${file%.jpg}.webp"; done ``` While this seems straightforward, I noticed that the conversion fails for files with special characters in their names, resulting in an error. The error message reads: `Invalid input file`. To troubleshoot, I used `echo $file` to confirm the filenames, which revealed spaces and unusual characters. I tried to escape the filenames but that didn't resolve the issue. Also, I would like to understand how I can preserve the original image quality while reducing the file size. Adjusting the quality parameter in the `cwebp` command produced variable results: ```bash cwebp -q 80 input.jpg -o output.webp ``` However, I’m unsure if 80 is the optimal value, especially since the visual difference can sometimes be subjective. Any insights on handling filenames with special characters in bash loops, or recommendations for quality settings would be tremendously appreciated. Additionally, if there are best practices for image optimization in a Linux environment I should be aware of, please share those as well! For context: I'm using Bash on Windows 10. Hoping someone can shed some light on this.