Bulk EXIF/Metadata Extractor is a high-performance, client-side web application designed to extract comprehensive metadata from thousands of image and video files in a single batch operation. It operates entirely within the browser using WebAssembly and JavaScript, ensuring complete data privacy by avoiding server-side uploads.
Perfect for photographers, videographers, archivists, and anyone who needs to extract metadata from large media collections efficiently.
- Optimized to handle 2000+ files efficiently without freezing the browser
- Utilizes asynchronous chunk processing to keep the UI responsive
- Real-time progress tracking with speed metrics and time estimates
- Drag-and-drop entire folders with nested directory structures
- Preserves relative file paths in the output
- Supports both folder selection and individual file selection
Images (HEIC, JPEG, PNG):
- All available EXIF data using ExifReader
- GPS coordinates (Latitude, Longitude, Altitude)
- Date/Time information
- Camera settings (ISO, Aperture, Shutter Speed)
- Lens information
- And much more...
Videos (MOV, MP4):
- Detailed technical metadata using MediaInfo.js (WebAssembly)
- Video codec information
- Audio track details
- Duration, bitrate, frame rate
- Resolution and aspect ratio
- Automatically filters out large binary blobs to keep output JSON lightweight
- Intelligently retains readable manufacturer-specific data (e.g., Apple MakerNote) when possible
- GPS coordinates automatically converted to decimal format for easy mapping
- 100% client-side processing - no file data leaves your device
- No server uploads required
- All processing happens in your browser
Processing thousands of high-resolution media files on a server is:
- Resource-intensive and costly
- Slow due to upload bandwidth limitations
- Privacy-concerning due to sensitive media data
This tool solves these issues by shifting the workload entirely to the client's browser.
-
Asynchronous Chunking Strategy
- Files are processed in small batches (5 files at a time)
- Processing loop yields control to the UI thread periodically
- Prevents "Page Unresponsive" errors on large batches
-
Efficient Library Loading
- Robust initialization with proper error handling
- MediaInfo.js WebAssembly module loaded locally for reliability
- ExifReader CDN integration for image processing
-
Smart Filtering
- Removes binary blobs and oversized data
- Retains only useful, readable metadata
- Keeps output JSON compact and manageable
- ExifReader v4.20.0 - Superior HEIC/JPEG/PNG metadata parsing
- MediaInfo.js - WebAssembly-powered video metadata extraction
- Bootstrap 5.3 - Modern, responsive UI
- Vanilla JavaScript - No framework dependencies
- Web Server: Any static file server (Apache, Nginx, Python
http.server, etc.)- No backend logic required (PHP/Python/Node.js not needed for execution)
- Browser: Modern browser with WebAssembly support
- Chrome/Edge 57+
- Firefox 52+
- Safari 11+
-
Clone the Repository
git clone https://github.com/nhashimoto-gm/bulk_exif_extractor.git cd bulk_exif_extractor -
Download MediaInfo.js Dependencies
Download the following files from MediaInfo.js GitHub:
mediainfo.min.jsMediaInfoModule.wasm
Place them in:
assets/js/lib/mediainfo/ -
Configure the Path
Update the
locateFilepath inbulk_exif_extractor.php(line 188):locateFile: (path, prefix) => `/assets/js/lib/mediainfo/${path}`
Adjust this path to match your server directory structure.
-
Deploy to Web Server
Place the files on your web server and access via browser.
Quick Test (Python):
python3 -m http.server 8000
Then open
http://localhost:8000/bulk_exif_extractor.php
- Open the Application in your web browser
- Wait for the initialization message ("MediaInfo initialized")
- Choose your input method:
- Drag & drop files or folders
- Click "Select Folder" button
- Click "Select Files" button
- Monitor Progress with real-time updates
- Download Results as JSON when complete
- Pause - Temporarily halt processing (UI remains responsive)
- Resume - Continue from where you left off
- Stop - Cancel processing and download results so far
- Reset - Clear everything and start over
Results are exported as a JSON file with the following structure:
{
"path/to/image1.jpg": {
"Make": "Apple",
"Model": "iPhone 13 Pro",
"DateTime": "2024:01:15 14:30:22",
"GPSLatitudeDecimal": 35.6762,
"GPSLongitudeDecimal": 139.6503,
"GPSAltitude": 42.5,
...
},
"path/to/video1.mov": {
"media": {
"@ref": "path/to/video1.mov",
"track": [...]
}
}
}When using the Apple Photos app:
- The Photos Library cannot be directly selected
- Recommended workflow:
- Open Photos app
- Select files/albums you want to process
- Go to File > Export > Export Unmodified Original
- Use the exported folder with this tool
This ensures all metadata (GPS, Creation Date, etc.) is preserved.
Many generic EXIF libraries fail to extract accurate GPS coordinates from HEIC files. This tool uses ExifReader, which provides superior parsing accuracy for:
- HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container)
- Accurate GPS coordinates
- Altitude data
- Timestamp information
Standard browser APIs cannot read detailed video metadata. By integrating MediaInfo.js (WebAssembly), this tool provides:
- Desktop-class metadata extraction
- Support for MOV/MP4 formats
- Detailed codec and technical information
The application has been tested on:
- ✅ Chrome 90+
- ✅ Edge 90+
- ✅ Safari 14+
- ✅ Firefox 88+
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.
- Initial release
- Support for HEIC, JPEG, PNG images
- Support for MOV, MP4 videos
- Batch processing up to 2000+ files
- Real-time progress tracking
- Privacy-focused client-side processing
- ExifReader - Excellent EXIF parsing library
- MediaInfo.js - WebAssembly video metadata extraction
- Bootstrap - UI framework
For issues, questions, or suggestions, please open an issue on GitHub.
Made with ❤️ for photographers and videographers who value their privacy