Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about GetWebP CLI, organized by category.

See also: Getting Started | Commands Reference | Troubleshooting

Table of Contents#

• Formats & Conversion
• Licensing & Devices
• Performance
• Installation & Platform
• Offline & Network
• Uninstalling

Formats & Conversion#

What image formats does GetWebP support?#

GetWebP converts JPG, JPEG, PNG, BMP, and WebP files to optimized WebP format. WebP inputs are re-encoded at the target quality level, which can reduce file size further. See the Commands Reference for the full format table.

Are my original images deleted after conversion?#

No. Original files are never modified or deleted. Converted .webp files are written alongside the originals (or to a separate directory if you use -o):

getwebp convert ./images -o ./webp-output

Can I control the output quality?#

Yes. The default quality is 80 (range 1--100). Lower values produce smaller files with more compression artifacts:

getwebp convert photo.jpg -q 95    # near-lossless
getwebp convert photo.jpg -q 50    # aggressive compression

What happens if two source files produce the same output filename?#

If files like photo.png and photo.jpg are in the same directory, both would produce photo.webp. GetWebP detects this conflict and warns you. Convert them into separate output directories to avoid the collision. See Troubleshooting for details.

Licensing & Devices#

How do I use GetWebP on multiple devices?#

Activate the same license key on each device with getwebp auth <key>. Starter licenses allow up to 3 devices and Pro allows up to 5. To move a license to a new machine, free a slot first:

# On the old device
getwebp logout
 
# On the new device
getwebp auth XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX

You can also manage device slots from the online dashboard.

What happens when my license expires?#

GetWebP reverts to Free plan behavior: a 10-file limit per run, a 3-second delay between files, and serial processing only. Your converted files are not affected. To restore full functionality, renew your license at getwebp.com/pricing and re-activate:

getwebp auth XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX

How do I check my current license status?#

Run getwebp status to see your plan, expiry date, and device usage. Add --json for machine-readable output. See the Commands Reference for example output.

Performance#

Why is there a delay between each file conversion?#

On the Free plan, GetWebP enforces a 3-second delay per file and limits each run to 10 files. This is removed on Starter and Pro plans, which also enable parallel processing with multiple CPU cores. Upgrade at getwebp.com/pricing.

How many files can I convert at once?#

On the Free plan, up to 10 files per run. On Starter and Pro, there is no file limit. You can also tune parallel workers with --concurrency (up to 32):

getwebp convert ./images --concurrency 8

Installation & Platform#

Do I need Node.js to run GetWebP?#

No. GetWebP ships as a standalone binary for macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Linux x64, and Windows x64. No runtime dependencies are required. See Getting Started for download and setup instructions.

macOS blocks the binary with a Gatekeeper warning. How do I fix it?#

macOS quarantines unsigned binaries downloaded from the internet. Remove the quarantine attribute once, and the warning will not appear again:

xattr -cr /usr/local/bin/getwebp

For a step-by-step walkthrough, see Troubleshooting -- macOS Gatekeeper.

Where is the configuration file stored?#

GetWebP stores its encrypted configuration at ~/.config/getwebp-nodejs/config.json. The file is encrypted with your machine's hardware ID, so it cannot be copied to another device. You can override the location with the GETWEBP_CONFIG_DIR environment variable.

Offline & Network#

Can GetWebP work offline?#

Yes. Image conversion is fully offline -- no data leaves your machine. A network connection is only needed for three operations:

1. License activation (getwebp auth) -- one-time
2. Status refresh (getwebp status) -- falls back to local cache when offline
3. Logout (getwebp logout) -- requires the server to unbind the device

After activation, the license is verified locally using a JWT token. You can convert images without any internet connection.

What if I run getwebp status while offline?#

The CLI returns cached license data from its last successful server check. You will see cached: true in JSON output. Conversions continue to work normally. See Troubleshooting -- Status shows "cached" data.

Uninstalling#

How do I uninstall GetWebP?#

1. Remove the binary:

   # macOS / Linux
   sudo rm /usr/local/bin/getwebp
    
   # Windows
   del C:\path\to\getwebp.exe

2. Remove the configuration directory (optional):

   # macOS / Linux
   rm -rf ~/.config/getwebp
    
   # Windows (PowerShell)
   Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$env:APPDATA\getwebp"

3. Free your device slot (optional, if licensed): Run getwebp logout before deleting the binary, or unbind the device from the dashboard.

Still have questions? Check the Troubleshooting guide or visit getwebp.com.