simply-edit

A simple CLI tool for manipulating images.

simply-edit is a convenient command-line utility for everyday image tasks: flip, rotate, invert, grayscale, binarize, pad, resize, scale, and convert between common formats. It is designed to be easy to use, with sensible defaults, straightforward commands, and quality-of-life features, such as optional in-place replacement, batch operations, and view/preview functionality using the Kitty Terminal Graphics Protocol.

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Installation

Prerequisites

• Rust 1.85 or later — Install from rustup.rs

Install from Source

Install simply-edit so you can run the simply commands from anywhere:

cargo install --git https://github.com/Maelkiz/simply-edit.git

Verify Installation

command -v simply
simply --help

Cargo installs binaries to:

$HOME/.cargo/bin

So, if simply is not found, add this directory to your PATH and refresh your shell.

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Quick Start

Run commands with:

simply <command> <args>

Command Overview

Command	What it does
help	Prints an overview of the available commands
flip	Mirror an image along the X axis (-x, vertical), Y axis (-y, horizontal), or both (interactive if no flag given)
rotate	Rotate image (interactive by default, or explicit 90/180/270)
invert	Invert image colors
grayscale	Convert image to grayscale
binarize	Convert image to pure black and white at a brightness cutoff
pad	Add padding (transparent or colored) around an image
resize	Resize an image to specified dimensions
scale	Scale an image by a factor (--factor), width only (-x), or height only (-y)
convert	Convert between PNG/JPG/ICO/WebP formats
vectorize	Convert a raster image to SVG (auto-downscales large images for speed; use --full-quality to disable)
rasterize	Convert an SVG to a raster image
info	Display image metadata and properties
view	Display an image inline in the terminal (requires Kitty graphics protocol support (Kitty, WezTerm, or Ghostty))

To get a more detailed description of any given command and its available flags, run:

simply <command> --help

For those who do not want to memorize a bunch of flags, you can run all commands with an image path as the only argument:

simply <command> <path-to-img>

Note:
Currently, when only an image path is provided, some commands will start an interactive prompt while others run with a sane default.

Output Path

If you omit the output path, the tool generates one automatically: transforms keep the source format (e.g., image.png → image_flipv.png, image_fliph.png, or image_flipxy.png for flip), while vectorize and rasterize switch to .svg and .png respectively. When you provide an explicit output path, the format is determined by its extension.

Common Examples

Transforms

# Flip along X axis (vertical mirror, top to bottom)
simply flip -x ./image.png

# Flip along Y axis (horizontal mirror, left to right)
simply flip -y ./image.png

# Flip both axes at once
simply flip -x -y ./image.png

# Flip interactively (prompts for axis when no flag is given)
simply flip ./image.png

# Rotate (interactive: choose 90, 180, or 270 degrees)
simply rotate ./image.png

# Rotate bypassing interactive mode
simply rotate --angle 90 ./image.png

# Replace original file in-place
simply rotate --angle 180 --replace ./image.png

# Binarize with default threshold (128)
simply binarize ./image.png

# Binarize with custom threshold
simply binarize --threshold 200 ./image.png

# Pad with 20px on every side (default when no size flags given)
simply pad ./image.png

# Pad individual sides
simply pad --top 10 --bottom 10 ./image.png

# Pad left and right equally using the -x shorthand
simply pad -x 20 ./image.png

# Pad top and bottom equally using the -y shorthand
simply pad -y 15 ./image.png

# Pad with a custom fill color (hex: rrggbb or rrggbbaa)
simply pad --top 20 -x 15 --color 00ff00 ./image.png

# Pad and replace the original file in-place
simply pad --top 5 --replace ./image.png

# Scale uniformly by factor
simply scale --factor 0.5 ./image.png

# Scale width only (height unchanged)
simply scale -x 0.5 ./image.png

# Scale height only (width unchanged)
simply scale -y 2 ./image.png

# Scale each axis independently
simply scale -x 2 -y 0.5 ./image.png

Format Conversion

# Convert between formats
simply convert ./photo.png ./photo.jpg

# Convert a raster image to SVG
simply vectorize ./image.png

# Faster conversion with lower fidelity
simply vectorize --fast ./image.png

# Full-resolution vectorization (no downscaling, slow for large images)
simply vectorize --full-quality ./image.png

# Convert an SVG to a raster image
simply rasterize ./icon.svg

# Convert SVG to raster at 2× scale 
simply rasterize --scale 2 ./icon.svg ./icon.png

Batch Processing

# Invert all images in a directory
simply invert ./photos/

# Convert all JPGs to WebP, writing results to a separate directory
simply convert --format webp ./photos/ --output-dir ./converted/

# Grayscale only matching files, recursively
simply grayscale ./photos/ -R --pattern "^photo_"

# Binarize all images in a directory with a custom threshold
simply binarize --threshold 100 ./scans/ --output-dir ./cleaned/

View & Preview

# Display an image inline in the terminal
simply view ./photo.png

# Preview a transform without saving
simply flip -x --preview ./photo.png
simply flip -y --preview ./photo.png
simply rotate --angle 90 --preview ./photo.png
simply grayscale --preview ./photo.png
simply binarize --preview ./photo.png
simply pad --top 20 -x 10 --preview ./photo.png
simply vectorize --preview ./photo.png

Format Support

• PNG: Full support, preserves transparency
• JPG/JPEG: Supported for input and output
• ICO: Supported for input and output. Images larger than 256×256 pixels are automatically resized while maintaining aspect ratio
• WebP: Supported for input and output
• SVG output: Raster images can be vectorized to SVG via vectorize (or convert with an .svg destination). Images larger than 2000px on the long edge are automatically downscaled before vectorization for performance, with the SVG retaining the original dimensions via a viewBox. Pass --full-quality to vectorize at full resolution.
• SVG input: SVG files can be rasterized via rasterize (supports --scale, --width, --height) or convert (at native resolution)

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