Common Options Reference

Syntax and typical values for -strip, -quality, -auto-orient, -gravity, -background, and -composite used across resize and batch workflows.

These options appear throughout the quickstart, tutorial, and batch how-to. Dimension strings (800x600>, 50%, …) are covered in the Geometry syntax reference.

-strip

Role: Operator. Removes profiles, comments, and other metadata blobs from the current image at the point it appears in the command line.

Syntax: -strip (no arguments).

Typical use: Web delivery and privacy (strip EXIF GPS, device names, ICC profiles you do not intend to ship).

Example:

magick input.jpg -strip output.jpg

-quality

Role: Setting. Sets lossy compression for the next JPEG, WebP, or similar write, until you change it again. Does not apply the same numeric scale to every format the same way; treat values as tunable defaults.

Syntax: -quality integer (commonly 1–100; higher is usually better fidelity and larger files for JPEG and WebP).

Typical use: Balance file size vs. artifacts after -resize and before the output filename.

Across these docs: examples often use -quality 85 for web-bound JPEG and WebP so copy-paste commands match each other; treat that as a starting point, not a requirement. Tune per asset and format.

Example:

magick input.jpg -resize '1200x>' -quality 85 output.webp

-auto-orient

Role: Operator. Reads EXIF orientation, physically rotates pixels to upright, and normalizes orientation metadata so downstream -resize uses correct width/height.

Syntax: -auto-orient (no arguments).

Typical use: Phone photos before any geometry that assumes “width” is the long edge of the displayed picture.

Example:

magick input.jpg -auto-orient -resize '800x800>' -quality 85 output.webp

Place it immediately after the input (or right after reading the first image in a stack) so every later operator sees the corrected pixels.

-gravity

Role: Setting. Chooses an anchor for placement operators (-crop, -extent, -composite, -annotate, …) until you change or clear it.

Syntax: -gravity name

Common values: NorthWest (default), North, NorthEast, West, Center, East, SouthWest, South, SouthEast. For text overlays you may also see directional hints like North for “top-centered.”

Example (crop from center):

magick input-wide.jpg -gravity center -crop 800x600+0+0 +repage output-crop.jpg

Reset unusual gravity with -gravity None when you need the default origin again.

-background

Role: Setting. Defines the color used when an operator creates new pixels (letterboxing, -extent, flattened alpha, etc.).

Syntax: -background color

Values: Named colors (white, black, none for transparent), #RRGGBB, #RRGGBBAA, or expressions like srgb(255,255,255) depending on build.

Example (pad to square with white bars):

magick input.jpg -resize '800x800>' -gravity center -background white -extent 800x800 output-square.jpg

-composite

Role: Operator. Merges the current image stack (typically a base image plus one overlay loaded just before this token). Often paired with -gravity and -geometry for margins.

Syntax: -composite (no arguments). With multiple pairs of overlays, ImageMagick composites in order; see the official composite docs for advanced forms.

Typical pattern: magick base.ext overlay.ext -gravity SouthEast -geometry +20+20 -composite out.ext

Example:

magick input.jpg watermark.png -gravity SouthEast -geometry +20+20 -composite output.jpg

Here input.jpg is the bottom layer, watermark.png is stacked on top, and -composite flattens them using the given gravity and offset.