HEIF to JXL Converter
FileFlip converts HEIF to JXL entirely inside your browser, using ImageMagick compiled to WebAssembly. The file is never uploaded to a server: it is read off your disk, converted on your own machine, and saved back by the browser. That means no file-size limit, no queue and no account.
How do I convert an HEIF file to JXL?#
- Drop your HEIF file onto the converter at the top of this page, or click it to pick one from your computer. You can add as many as you like.
- Leave the target set to JXL and the conversion starts on its own. FileFlip downloads 14.1 MB of WebAssembly the first time and nothing after that, then runs ImageMagick on your own machine.
- Save the JXL file. Your browser writes it straight to your downloads folder, because there was never a server holding it.
Does converting HEIF to JXL lose quality?#
It depends on what is inside the file. HEIF is a container rather than a codec, so whether the JXL conversion copies the streams across untouched or re-encodes them is decided by the codecs that particular file happens to use.
Is it safe to convert HEIF files online?#
Yes, because nothing is uploaded. FileFlip converts HEIF files inside the browser tab you already have open, using WebAssembly builds of the same engines a desktop converter would install. Your file is read from your own disk into the page's memory, and no request carrying it is ever made.
You do not have to take that on trust. Open your browser's network panel, run a conversion, and you will see the engine come down and your file go nowhere. There is no upload, no server-side copy, no retention window, and no account tied to what you converted.
How FileFlip works lists every engine, its version and its download size, and shows how to check for yourself that nothing leaves your machine.
What HEIF to JXL actually does to the file#
Converting HEIF to JXL runs on ImageMagick, downloads 14.1 MB of WebAssembly the first time and nothing after that, re-encodes or copies through depending on the codecs in the file, keeps EXIF metadata, ICC colour profile and transparency, and drops animation frames and extra images.
| Engine | ImageMagick |
|---|---|
| Conversion path | One step: HEIF → JXL |
| Downloaded to your browser | 14.1 MB, once, then cached by your browser |
| Quality | Decided by the codecs inside the file |
| You get back | One file |
| Where it runs | In a background worker, so the page stays responsive |
What survives the conversion
| What is in the file | This conversion | Why |
|---|---|---|
| EXIF metadata | Kept | Carried through into the converted file. |
| ICC colour profile | Kept | Carried through into the converted file. |
| Transparency | Kept | Carried through into the converted file. |
| Animation frames | Dropped | The target format has nowhere to put it. |
| Extra images | Dropped | The target format has nowhere to put it. |
Worth knowing before you start:
- ImageMagick is asked for a single image, so only the first frame, page, or icon size is read
What is an HEIF file?#
An HEIF file is a general-purpose container, built on the same ISO base media file format as MP4, that can hold one or more images encoded with any of several codecs, HEVC being the case Apple names HEIC and AV1 being the case standardized separately as AVIF.
Expect HEIF, rather than HEIC specifically, from cameras and devices that encode stills with a codec other than HEVC, since HEIF is the umbrella container those files also use.
Convert a HEIF file to JPEG or PNG when the destination only accepts a single, codec-agnostic raster image, since most upload forms and older software carry no HEIF decoder at all.
What is a JXL file?#
A JXL file stores an image under the JPEG XL coding system, a format built to losslessly repackage an existing JPEG into a smaller file or to encode a new photo at higher quality per byte than JPEG, WebP or AVIF.
Use JPEG XL for archiving and photo libraries where you want smaller files than JPEG without giving up the option to reconstruct the original JPEG exactly, especially once Chrome and Firefox finish rolling out default decoding.
Convert JXL to JPEG or PNG for anything going on the web today, since most browsers still require a manual flag to display JPEG XL directly.
HEIF to JXL questions people ask#
What's the difference between HEIF and HEIC?
HEIF is the container format, defined by ISO/IEC 23008-12, and it can hold images encoded with several different codecs. HEIC is specifically a HEIF file whose images are encoded with HEVC, which is the case Apple uses for iPhone and iPad photos, so every HEIC file is a HEIF file but not every HEIF file is a HEIC file.
Is AVIF the same thing as HEIF?
AVIF is a HEIF file whose images are encoded with the AV1 codec, in the same way HEIC is a HEIF file encoded with HEVC. The AVIF specification is written explicitly as a profile of HEIF, but it registers its own MIME type and extension because AV1 avoids the patent licensing that comes with HEVC.
Why does my camera save photos with a .heif extension instead of .heic?
Some cameras, including recent Canon and Sony models, encode HEIF stills for 10-bit HDR photography using a codec setup that isn't the HEVC-in-HEIF case Apple calls HEIC, so they label the file with the generic .heif extension instead. The underlying container is the same either way.
What is a JXL file?
A JXL file is an image encoded with JPEG XL, a format from the JPEG standards committee designed either to losslessly shrink an existing JPEG or to encode new photos at better quality per byte than JPEG, WebP or AVIF. It became an ISO standard starting in 2021.