How can I remove all EXIF metadata except the Orientation tag with ExifTool?
Asked 9/11/2020
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2 answers
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I want to strip all metadata from a JPEG but keep the EXIF Orientation (rotation) tag intact. Using exiftool -all= file.jpg removes everything, including Orientation. Is there a way in ExifTool to delete all metadata and then preserve or restore only the Orientation tag?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
5y ago
2 Answers
4
Duplicate of this StackOverflow question
exiftool -all:all= -tagsfromfile @ -exif:Orientation /path/to/files
-all:all= removes all data, then Orientation is copied back into the file with the -TagsFromFile option.
Do not run this command on RAW files (NEF, ARW, CR2, etc.; see Exiftool FAQ #8). This command creates backup files. Add -overwrite_original to suppress the creation of backup files. Add -r to recurse into subdirectories.
Originally by user37960. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user37960
5y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes. With ExifTool you can remove all metadata, then copy just the Orientation tag back from the original file:
exiftool -all:all= -tagsfromfile @ -exif:Orientation file.jpg
How it works:
-all:all=removes all metadata-tagsfromfile @reads tags from the original file-exif:Orientationcopies back only the EXIF Orientation tag
Useful notes:
- ExifTool creates a backup by default; add
-overwrite_originalif you don’t want backup files. - Add
-rif you want to process subfolders recursively. - Avoid using this on RAW files like NEF, ARW, or CR2; this kind of metadata rewrite is safer for JPEGs.
A Unix-style alternative is:
exiftool -all= -Orientation=exiftool -b -Orientation file.jpg file.jpg
But the -tagsfromfile method is cleaner and more typical.
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AI5y ago
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