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Batch-Resize a Folder of Photos with sips

Shrink every JPG in a folder to a maximum side length with a one-line shell loop using built-in sips.

macOSbatchimagessipsLow risk
Run for f in ~/Desktop/Photos/*.jpg; do sips -Z 1200 "$f"; done so no photo exceeds 1200 px on its longest side.

01Command

Command
$ for f in ~/Desktop/Photos/*.jpg; do sips -Z 1200 "$f"; done

02What it does

sips -Z keeps the aspect ratio and caps the longest side at the given pixel count — perfect for email-sized copies. The loop feeds every *.jpg in the folder to sips, and you can widen the glob (or use find) for other formats and subfolders. This is the quick, no-app way to prepare photos for email, forums or a website upload.

03Risk

RiskLow risk
Requirementssips overwrites each file in place — copy the folder first if you want to keep the originals.
!Warning: sips rewrites the files in place; keep the originals by copying the folder first, and note PNG/HEIC files need their own glob since the loop only matches *.jpg.

04Undo

✓No undo needed — this command does not change persistent state.

05Sources

  • sips - Scriptable Image Processing System
    SS64 · technical · 2026-09-17
    Evidence: Documents the -Z resampleHeightWidthMax option which resizes an image so its longest side matches the given pixel count.
  • sips(1) man page
    manpagez.com · technical · 2026-09-17
    Evidence: The sips man page describes the resample properties (-Z resampleHeightWidthMax) used to change image dimensions in place.

Last verified: 2026-09-19 · Category: Media

06Related solutions

Print Images in the Terminal With catimg
macOSimagesmedia

Render a JPEG or PNG as colored blocks inside the terminal.

Low risk ✓ 2026-09-20