The dropmorph command
Convert files and folders from a terminal, a script or a scheduled task, with the same engines and presets as the app. Or let a watch folder do it on its own.
Set up
Windows: in Setup, tick Add the "dropmorph" command to PATH. Open a new terminal (PowerShell, Command Prompt or Windows Terminal) and run dropmorph help.
macOS and Linux: ./install.sh adds the command.
Usage
dropmorph convert <files or folders...> --to <format> [options] dropmorph convert <files or folders...> --preset <preset> [options] dropmorph watch <folder> --to <format> [options] dropmorph formats [<format>] dropmorph presets dropmorph help [<command>] dropmorph version
convert
Files can be wildcards (*.heic). Folders convert the files in them that DropMorph knows. Results are saved next to the sources unless you give -o.
# a photo > dropmorph convert photo.heic --to jpg # every PNG, smaller WebP files in a "converted" folder > dropmorph convert *.png --to webp --quality 80 -o converted # a scans folder and its sub folders, with an app preset > dropmorph convert D:\Scans --recursive --preset to-pdf # machine-readable result > dropmorph convert report.docx --to pdf --json
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
-t, --to <format> | Target format, e.g. jpg, png, pdf, docx, mp4 (see dropmorph formats) |
-p, --preset <preset> | A preset from the app, by id or name (see dropmorph presets) |
-o, --output <folder> | Save there instead of next to the sources |
-r, --recursive | Include sub folders |
-q, --quality <1-100> | Image quality for JPG, WebP, AVIF, … |
--overwrite | Replace existing output files (default: add a number) |
--skip | Leave existing output files alone |
--keep-dates | Give converted files the created and modified dates of the originals |
--zip | Save the result of each file as one ZIP |
--json | Print the result as JSON, for scripts and other programs |
--quiet | Print nothing but errors |
watch
Converts files that land in a folder until you press Ctrl+C. A file is converted once it's complete: no longer growing or open in another program. Output goes to a converted folder inside it unless -o is given.
# every new file in D:\Inbox becomes a PDF; originals are moved aside > dropmorph watch D:\Inbox --to pdf --move-originals
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
-t, --to <format> | Target format |
-p, --preset <preset> | A preset from the app, by id or name |
-o, --output <folder> | Where converted files go (default: <folder>\converted) |
-r, --recursive | Also watch sub folders; their files keep the sub folder in the output |
--move-originals | Move converted sources to <folder>\originals; files already waiting are converted at start |
--settle <seconds> | How long a file must stay unchanged before converting (default 2) |
--keep-dates | Keep the originals' created and modified dates |
--zip | Save each file's result as one ZIP |
--quiet | Print nothing but errors |
formats and presets
dropmorph formats lists every format, and dropmorph formats heic shows what one format converts to. dropmorph presets lists the presets saved in the app, both built-in and your own; use them with --preset.
Exit codes
0 | All files converted |
1 | Some files failed |
2 | Wrong arguments or a missing input |
3 | Nothing to convert |
Stop uploading files to convert them.
Drag. Drop. Morphed. Free for Windows, macOS and Linux.