MERT-Convert

A super user-friendly CLI tool that converts images to WebP and videos to WebM format with an interactive, menu-driven interface. No command-line knowledge required!

Version 2.0.0 - Now available on npm with enhanced professional features and improved reliability.

Features

• 🖼️ Image Conversion: JPG, JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, BMP, SVG → WebP
• 🎥 Video Conversion: MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, WMV, etc. → WebM
• 🎯 Smart Compression: Automatically adjusts quality to meet your target file size
• 📁 Batch Processing: Convert entire folders including subfolders
• 🎨 Interactive UI: Simple menu-driven interface with arrow key navigation
• 📊 Progress Tracking: Real-time progress bar and status updates
• 🚀 Drag & Drop: Support for dragging files/folders into the terminal

Installation

Method 1: Using npx (Recommended - No Installation Required)

The fastest way to use MERT-Convert without installing anything:

npx mertconvert@latest

Method 2: Global Installation

Install once and use anywhere:

npm install -g mertconvert

Then run from any directory:

mertconvert

Method 3: Local Development

For contributors and developers:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/iamthamanic/mertconvert.git
cd mertconvert

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the project
npm run build

# Run locally
npm start

# Or run in development mode
npm run dev

Quick Start

After installation, simply run:

# Using npx (no installation)
npx mertconvert

# Or if globally installed
mertconvert

The interactive menu will guide you through the conversion process!

Requirements

• Node.js: Version 14 or higher

• FFmpeg: Required for video conversion (optional for image-only conversion)

  Install FFmpeg:

  • macOS: brew install ffmpeg
  • Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt install ffmpeg
  • Windows: Download from ffmpeg.org

Usage

1. Run npx mertconvert
2. Select what you want to convert: Images, Videos, or Both
3. Enter the path to your file or folder (or drag & drop)
4. Set the maximum output file size (default: 100 KB)
5. Choose quality level (0-100, default: 100)
6. Specify output folder (default: ./converted-media)
7. Confirm and start conversion

The tool will:

• Process all media files in the selected folder and subfolders
• Automatically adjust compression to meet your size requirements
• Show progress with a real-time progress bar
• Display a summary when complete

Example Workflow

👋 Welcome to MERT-Convert!

What would you like to convert?
  > [Images]   [Videos]   [Both]

Please enter the path to your folder or file (Tip: You can also drag and drop...):
  > /Users/ben/Pictures

What is the maximum file size for the output? (in KB, default: 100)
  > 100

Which quality do you want to use? (0-100, default: 100)
  > 100

Where should the converted files be saved? (default: ./converted-media)
  > ./my-converted

--- Conversion Summary ---
Media Type: images
Input: /Users/ben/Pictures (folder)
Max Size: 100 KB
Quality: 100
Output: ./my-converted
-------------------------

Start conversion? [Yes/No]
  > Yes

Converting |████████████████████| 100% | 10/10 Files

✓ Done!
Successfully converted: 10 files
Time elapsed: 3.45s

Your files are ready in: ./my-converted

Tips

• Drag & Drop: Most modern terminals support dragging files/folders from your file manager
• File Size: The tool will automatically reduce quality if needed to meet your size target
• Quality: Higher quality (90-100) is best for images, 70-85 often works well for web use
• Output Folder: The tool preserves your folder structure in the output directory

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for details on how to contribute to MERT-Convert.

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for a detailed history of changes and releases.

Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions
• npm Package: npmjs.com/package/mertconvert

License

ISC License - see LICENSE file for details.

Author

Created by iamthamanic

Made with ❤️ for the developer community