Photoshop Image Processor Alternative: Batch Convert and Resize on Mac Without Actions

Is there an alternative to Photoshop's Image Processor?

Yes, for most of what people use it for. Photoshop's Image Processor, found under File → Scripts → Image Processor, takes a folder or the open documents, optionally resizes them to fit a width and height, and saves JPEG, PSD and/or TIFF copies, with options to convert to sRGB, add copyright info and run an action on each file. Together with File → Automate → Batch and droplets, it is how many photographers have batch processed for years.

If the batch only converts, resizes, compresses, watermarks or renames, Photoshop is more than the job needs: it has to launch, open every file and, for anything beyond Image Processor's options, rely on a recorded action. Operimage, a free Mac app, does those jobs directly, adds WebP and AVIF output and compression to a target file size, and runs entirely offline. The overview of batch image tasks on Mac maps each of those jobs if you are planning a whole pipeline.

What Photoshop's Image Processor actually does

Image Processor is a deliberately simple script. Its dialog is split into four numbered areas, and knowing exactly what each offers makes it easier to see what you would need elsewhere. The details below follow Adobe's help page.

• Source: process the open images or a folder, optionally including all subfolders.
• Destination: save in the same location or a chosen folder. Each format goes into its own subfolder named JPEG, PSD or TIFF.
• File types: Save as JPEG (quality 0–12, optional Convert Profile to sRGB), Save as PSD (with Maximize Compatibility) and Save as TIFF (optional LZW compression), in any combination.
• Resize to Fit: for each format, enter a width and height; the image fits inside those dimensions and keeps its proportions.
• Run Action: choose an action set and action loaded in the Actions panel to run on each image.
• Copyright Info and Include ICC Profile: add copyright metadata and embed the color profile in saved files.
• Saved settings: Save and Load keep a configuration in a file for reuse.

Actions, Batch and droplets

Anything Image Processor cannot do goes through actions. You record the steps once in the Actions panel, then run File → Automate → Batch on a folder. Adobe's Batch dialog can include all subfolders, save into a destination folder, override the action's Save As commands and build new file names from the File Naming fields, such as document name plus a serial number. File → Automate → Create Droplet turns the same action into an icon you can drop files onto.

This is also the route for formats Image Processor does not offer. Photoshop has opened and saved WebP natively since version 23.2 in February 2022, so a recorded Save a Copy as WebP step inside an action, run through Batch, produces WebP files. The trade-off is setup: Adobe's own instructions note that the action must include a save step, and file names recorded inside an action's Save As step are not replaced by the Batch override, which is a common source of overwritten files.

Photoshop automation vs Operimage

The table compares the batch jobs people most often run on folders. Photoshop values are based on Adobe's help pages for Image Processor, Batch and droplets as of October 2026. Manual setup means it is possible by recording an action rather than as a built-in option.

Where a dedicated batch app is faster

Photoshop is an editor that can batch. A dedicated batch app is built only to batch, so the common jobs take fewer steps and less setup. These are the places users of Image Processor most often notice the difference.

Size limits are a good example. Image Processor's JPEG quality is a single number from 0 to 12 for every file, so a folder of mixed photos comes out at mixed sizes. Operimage's Target file size (AI optimizer) searches for the highest quality under the budget you set, image by image, which is what marketplaces and upload forms actually require.

• Modern formats: WebP and AVIF are choices in the Convert menu, not a recorded save step. Resizing for the web? The guide to resizing a folder of photos on Mac covers fit, fill and long-edge sizing.
• Watermarks: the Watermark tool places text or a logo with placement, opacity, size and padding controls, without building an action. See adding a watermark to a whole folder for placement that survives cropping.
• Naming: the Rename tool's SEO, Canonical and Hybrid modes and Shopify, Amazon and WooCommerce packs go further than serial numbers; the guide on naming image files in bulk covers patterns.
• Cutouts: Remove background runs an on-device model across the batch with Smart, Fast, Balanced and Best modes. The guide to removing backgrounds offline explains the edge options.
• Preview: click any image to compare Before and After before the batch runs, instead of checking output after the fact.

How to redo your Image Processor or Batch workflow in Operimage

Open your Image Processor settings, or the action you run through Batch, and list each step. Source folder becomes the folder you load in Operimage. Resize to Fit becomes Manual resize with the same width and height and fit, so proportions are kept. Save as JPEG becomes Convert with JPEG; as a rough guide, Photoshop's 10 of 12 corresponds to a high setting, so start around 82–85% and compare. Convert Profile to sRGB is worth checking on a few colorful images, since web images look most consistent in sRGB.

Steps from an action map to tools: a watermark layer becomes the Watermark tool, a Save As with a naming pattern becomes Rename, and a Save a Copy as WebP becomes Convert with WebP. If your action strips metadata, enable metadata stripping in Compress; if you rely on Copyright Info to write copyright fields, keep that step in Photoshop, since Operimage strips metadata rather than editing it. Save the chain as a Workflow so the next folder is one click. Steps that edit pixels, such as curves, frequency separation or template layers, are the ones to leave in Photoshop.

Switching in 10 minutes

Start with the batch you run most often that does not edit pixels. Rebuild it once, compare results, and keep Photoshop for the batches that genuinely need it.

Common Image Processor jobs and their replacements

Most Image Processor and Batch runs fall into a handful of patterns. Here is how each one translates, along with the Photoshop-specific detail worth knowing.

• Client JPEG proofs from TIFF exports: Convert to JPEG at 82–85%, Resize to the proof size, Watermark with your name. Layered TIFFs are read as the flattened image that was visible when the file was saved.
• Web images from camera exports: Resize to 2048 px on the long edge, Convert to WebP around 80%, strip metadata.
• Product photos for a shop: Resize to the platform's square, Compress with a target file size, Rename with the Shopify or Amazon pack. The Shopify product image resizing guide lists common sizes.
• Archive TIFFs: Convert to TIFF when an archive or print workflow expects it, and compare file sizes with your Image Processor output, which may have used LZW compression.
• Format change only: for a quick JPEG, PNG or HEIC conversion of a few files, Preview's File → Export Selected Images on macOS may be enough without either app.

When to keep using Photoshop for batches

Keep Photoshop when each image needs real editing as part of the batch. Actions can apply adjustment layers, run filters, place images into layered templates, use Smart Objects and save layered PSDs, and none of that is what a batch converter does. Image Processor's ability to save JPEG, PSD and TIFF versions in one pass is also handy for photographers who deliver all three.

If you already work in Photoshop all day, running Image Processor on a finished set is a natural last step, and switching apps for it saves little. The case for a dedicated tool is strongest when Photoshop is opened only to batch, when colleagues without Photoshop need to run the job, or when the output must be WebP, AVIF or under a file-size limit. For other dedicated options, see the comparison of offline converters for Mac, and for help choosing formats, the hub on batch converting image formats.