assets-metadata-remover 1.3.0

Remove metadata from images and videos recursively

assets-metadata-remover

Command-line tool that removes metadata from images and videos recursively, generating clean copies in an output folder that mirrors the original structure. Original files are never modified.

Installation

With pipx (recommended)

pipx install assets-metadata-remover

With pip

pip install assets-metadata-remover

System dependencies

• ffmpeg — required for video processing
• exiftool — required for image processing

Install with Homebrew:

brew install ffmpeg exiftool

If a tool is missing, the script detects it at startup and processes only the files it can, showing a clear warning.

Commands

clean — Remove metadata

assets-metadata-remover clean /path/to/your_files

This creates /path/to/your_files_clean/ with the same folder structure and metadata-free files.

Options

usage: assets-metadata-remover clean [-h] [-o OUTPUT] [--dry-run] [-v] [--verify] [--report] input

positional:
  input              Directory (or file) to process

options:
  -o, --output DIR   Output directory (default: <input>_clean)
  --dry-run          Simulate without writing
  -v, --verbose      Per-file logging
  --verify           Re-inspect copies and report residual metadata
  --report           Show table of metadata removed from each file

Examples

Process a directory with custom output:

assets-metadata-remover clean ~/Photos -o ~/Photos_clean

Simulate without writing (dry run):

assets-metadata-remover clean ~/Photos --dry-run

Verbose mode with cleanup verification:

assets-metadata-remover clean ~/Photos -v --verify

Show metadata removal report:

assets-metadata-remover clean ~/Photos --report

Process a single file:

assets-metadata-remover clean ~/photo.jpg -o ~/clean/

read — Display metadata

assets-metadata-remover read /path/to/your_files

Displays metadata from images and videos in a human-readable table format.

Options

usage: assets-metadata-remover read [-h] [--json] input

positional:
  input              Directory (or file) to inspect

options:
  --json             Output as JSON

Examples

Read metadata from a single file:

assets-metadata-remover read ~/photo.jpg

Read metadata from a directory:

assets-metadata-remover read ~/Photos

Output as JSON for programmatic use:

assets-metadata-remover read ~/Photos --json

Safety

Original files are never modified. The script always writes to a separate output folder.

Supported formats

Images: JPG, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, TIF, WebP, HEIC, HEIF, GIF, BMP

Videos: MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, M4V, WebM, WMV, FLV, 3GP

Extension comparison is case-insensitive (.JPG and .jpg are equivalent).

Limitations

• Videos are copied without re-encoding (-c copy), which is fast and lossless, but some exotic formats may not be compatible with the output container.
• Some metadata embedded in proprietary formats may not be fully removed by exiftool.
• Directory symlinks are not followed to avoid loops.