2Imgd

2Imgd is an open-source image decoding and processing library and command-line tool designed for fast, reliable handling of common image formats. It targets software developers building image-rich applications and server-side services that require efficient decoding and manipulation. The project emphasizes a clean API, portability, and predictable performance across platforms.

Supported formats include JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP, AVIF, BMP, and TIFF. 2Imgd offers progressive decoding for JPEGs, alpha-channel support, and basic color-space management. It provides operations such as resizing, cropping, and color conversion, along with metadata extraction (EXIF/IPTC). The library emphasizes deterministic behavior and robust error reporting, with optional hardware acceleration via SIMD on supported architectures.

Architecture and API: The core is written in C with a stable API. It includes bindings for Python, Rust, and Go. Build artifacts comprise a static library, a dynamic library, and a command-line tool named 2imgd that decodes images, converts formats, and inspects metadata from streams or files.

History: 2Imgd originated in 2016 as a research project at Nebula Labs and was released as an open-source project under the MIT license. It has since grown through community contributions, with ongoing codec updates and cross-platform support across Linux, Windows, and macOS, plus lightweight mobile environments.

Usage and reception: 2Imgd is used by image editors, content-management systems, and image servers to speed up decoding pipelines and reduce memory usage. The project maintains documentation, issue tracking, and contribution guidelines to promote interoperability with other image-processing ecosystems.