Exiftool

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Comprehensive exiftool commands and workflows for system administration across all platforms.

Basic Commands

Command	Description
exiftool --version	Show exiftool version
exiftool --help	Display help information
exiftool init	Initialize exiftool in current directory
exiftool status	Check current status
exiftool list	List available options
exiftool info	Display system information
exiftool config	Show configuration settings
exiftool update	Update to latest version
exiftool start	Start exiftool service
exiftool stop	Stop exiftool service
exiftool restart	Restart exiftool service
exiftool reload	Reload configuration

Installation

Linux/Ubuntu

# Package manager installation
sudo apt update
sudo apt install exiftool

# Alternative installation
wget https://github.com/example/exiftool/releases/latest/download/exiftool-linux
chmod +x exiftool-linux
sudo mv exiftool-linux /usr/local/bin/exiftool

# Build from source
git clone https://github.com/example/exiftool.git
cd exiftool
make && sudo make install

macOS

# Homebrew installation
brew install exiftool

# MacPorts installation
sudo port install exiftool

# Manual installation
curl -L -o exiftool https://github.com/example/exiftool/releases/latest/download/exiftool-macos
chmod +x exiftool
sudo mv exiftool /usr/local/bin/

Windows

# Chocolatey installation
choco install exiftool

# Scoop installation
scoop install exiftool

# Winget installation
winget install exiftool

# Manual installation
# Download from https://github.com/example/exiftool/releases
# Extract and add to PATH

Configuration

Command	Description
exiftool config show	Display current configuration
exiftool config list	List all configuration options
exiftool config set <key> <value>	Set configuration value
exiftool config get <key>	Get configuration value
exiftool config unset <key>	Remove configuration value
exiftool config reset	Reset to default configuration
exiftool config validate	Validate configuration file
exiftool config export	Export configuration to file

Advanced Operations

File Operations

# Create new file/resource
exiftool create <name>

# Read file/resource
exiftool read <name>

# Update existing file/resource
exiftool update <name>

# Delete file/resource
exiftool delete <name>

# Copy file/resource
exiftool copy <source> <destination>

# Move file/resource
exiftool move <source> <destination>

# List all files/resources
exiftool list --all

# Search for files/resources
exiftool search <pattern>

Network Operations

# Connect to remote host
exiftool connect <host>:<port>

# Listen on specific port
exiftool listen --port <port>

# Send data to target
exiftool send --target <host> --data "<data>"

# Receive data from source
exiftool receive --source <host>

# Test connectivity
exiftool ping <host>

# Scan network range
exiftool scan <network>

# Monitor network traffic
exiftool monitor --interface <interface>

# Proxy connections
exiftool proxy --listen <port> --target <host>:<port>

Process Management

# Start background process
exiftool start --daemon

# Stop running process
exiftool stop --force

# Restart with new configuration
exiftool restart --config <file>

# Check process status
exiftool status --verbose

# Monitor process performance
exiftool monitor --metrics

# Kill all processes
exiftool killall

# Show running processes
exiftool ps

# Manage process priority
exiftool priority --pid <pid> --level <level>

Security Features

Authentication

# Login with username/password
exiftool login --user <username>

# Login with API key
exiftool login --api-key <key>

# Login with certificate
exiftool login --cert <cert_file>

# Logout current session
exiftool logout

# Change password
exiftool passwd

# Generate new API key
exiftool generate-key --name <key_name>

# List active sessions
exiftool sessions

# Revoke session
exiftool revoke --session <session_id>

Encryption

# Encrypt file
exiftool encrypt --input <file> --output <encrypted_file>

# Decrypt file
exiftool decrypt --input <encrypted_file> --output <file>

# Generate encryption key
exiftool keygen --type <type> --size <size>

# Sign file
exiftool sign --input <file> --key <private_key>

# Verify signature
exiftool verify --input <file> --signature <sig_file>

# Hash file
exiftool hash --algorithm <algo> --input <file>

# Generate certificate
exiftool cert generate --name <name> --days <days>

# Verify certificate
exiftool cert verify --cert <cert_file>

Monitoring and Logging

System Monitoring

# Monitor system resources
exiftool monitor --system

# Monitor specific process
exiftool monitor --pid <pid>

# Monitor network activity
exiftool monitor --network

# Monitor file changes
exiftool monitor --files <directory>

# Real-time monitoring
exiftool monitor --real-time --interval 1

# Generate monitoring report
exiftool report --type monitoring --output <file>

# Set monitoring alerts
exiftool alert --threshold <value> --action <action>

# View monitoring history
exiftool history --type monitoring

Logging

# View logs
exiftool logs

# View logs with filter
exiftool logs --filter <pattern>

# Follow logs in real-time
exiftool logs --follow

# Set log level
exiftool logs --level <level>

# Rotate logs
exiftool logs --rotate

# Export logs
exiftool logs --export <file>

# Clear logs
exiftool logs --clear

# Archive logs
exiftool logs --archive <archive_file>

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue: Command not found

# Check if exiftool is installed
which exiftool
exiftool --version

# Check PATH variable
echo $PATH

# Reinstall if necessary
sudo apt reinstall exiftool
# or
brew reinstall exiftool

Issue: Permission denied

# Run with elevated privileges
sudo exiftool <command>

# Check file permissions
ls -la $(which exiftool)

# Fix permissions
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/exiftool

# Check ownership
sudo chown $USER:$USER /usr/local/bin/exiftool

Issue: Configuration errors

# Validate configuration
exiftool config validate

# Reset to default configuration
exiftool config reset

# Check configuration file location
exiftool config show --file

# Backup current configuration
exiftool config export > backup.conf

# Restore from backup
exiftool config import backup.conf

Issue: Service not starting

# Check service status
exiftool status --detailed

# Check system logs
journalctl -u exiftool

# Start in debug mode
exiftool start --debug

# Check port availability
netstat -tulpn|grep <port>

# Kill conflicting processes
exiftool killall --force

Debug Commands

Command	Description
exiftool --debug	Enable debug output
exiftool --verbose	Enable verbose logging
exiftool --trace	Enable trace logging
exiftool test	Run built-in tests
exiftool doctor	Run system health check
exiftool diagnose	Generate diagnostic report
exiftool benchmark	Run performance benchmarks
exiftool validate	Validate installation and configuration

Performance Optimization

Resource Management

# Set memory limit
exiftool --max-memory 1G <command>

# Set CPU limit
exiftool --max-cpu 2 <command>

# Enable caching
exiftool --cache-enabled <command>

# Set cache size
exiftool --cache-size 100M <command>

# Clear cache
exiftool cache clear

# Show cache statistics
exiftool cache stats

# Optimize performance
exiftool optimize --profile <profile>

# Show performance metrics
exiftool metrics

Parallel Processing

# Enable parallel processing
exiftool --parallel <command>

# Set number of workers
exiftool --workers 4 <command>

# Process in batches
exiftool --batch-size 100 <command>

# Queue management
exiftool queue add <item>
exiftool queue process
exiftool queue status
exiftool queue clear

Integration

Scripting

#!/bin/bash
# Example script using exiftool

set -euo pipefail

# Configuration
CONFIG_FILE="config.yaml"
LOG_FILE="exiftool.log"

# Check if exiftool is available
if ! command -v exiftool &> /dev/null; then
    echo "Error: exiftool is not installed" >&2
    exit 1
fi

# Function to log messages
log() \\\\{
    echo "$(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S') - $1"|tee -a "$LOG_FILE"
\\\\}

# Main operation
main() \\\\{
    log "Starting exiftool operation"

    if exiftool --config "$CONFIG_FILE" run; then
        log "Operation completed successfully"
        exit 0
    else
        log "Operation failed with exit code $?"
        exit 1
    fi
\\\\}

# Cleanup function
cleanup() \\\\{
    log "Cleaning up"
    exiftool cleanup
\\\\}

# Set trap for cleanup
trap cleanup EXIT

# Run main function
main "$@"

API Integration

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""
Python wrapper for the tool
"""

import subprocess
import json
import logging
from pathlib import Path
from typing import Dict, List, Optional

class ToolWrapper:
    def __init__(self, config_file: Optional[str] = None):
        self.config_file = config_file
        self.logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)

    def run_command(self, args: List[str]) -> Dict:
        """Run command and return parsed output"""
        cmd = ['tool_name']

        if self.config_file:
            cmd.extend(['--config', self.config_file])

        cmd.extend(args)

        try:
            result = subprocess.run(
                cmd,
                capture_output=True,
                text=True,
                check=True
            )
            return \\\\{'stdout': result.stdout, 'stderr': result.stderr\\\\}
        except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
            self.logger.error(f"Command failed: \\\\{e\\\\}")
            raise

    def status(self) -> Dict:
        """Get current status"""
        return self.run_command(['status'])

    def start(self) -> Dict:
        """Start service"""
        return self.run_command(['start'])

    def stop(self) -> Dict:
        """Stop service"""
        return self.run_command(['stop'])

# Example usage
if __name__ == "__main__":
    wrapper = ToolWrapper()
    status = wrapper.status()
    print(json.dumps(status, indent=2))

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
EXIFTOOL_CONFIG	Configuration file path	~/.exiftool/config.yaml
EXIFTOOL_HOME	Home directory	~/.exiftool
EXIFTOOL_LOG_LEVEL	Logging level	INFO
EXIFTOOL_LOG_FILE	Log file path	~/.exiftool/logs/exiftool.log
EXIFTOOL_CACHE_DIR	Cache directory	~/.exiftool/cache
EXIFTOOL_DATA_DIR	Data directory	~/.exiftool/data
EXIFTOOL_TIMEOUT	Default timeout	30s
EXIFTOOL_MAX_WORKERS	Maximum workers	4

Configuration File

# ~/.exiftool/config.yaml
version: "1.0"

# General settings
settings:
  debug: false
  verbose: false
  log_level: "INFO"
  log_file: "~/.exiftool/logs/exiftool.log"
  timeout: 30
  max_workers: 4

# Network configuration
network:
  host: "localhost"
  port: 8080
  ssl: true
  timeout: 30
  retries: 3

# Security settings
security:
  auth_required: true
  api_key: ""
  encryption: "AES256"
  verify_ssl: true

# Performance settings
performance:
  cache_enabled: true
  cache_size: "100M"
  cache_dir: "~/.exiftool/cache"
  max_memory: "1G"

# Monitoring settings
monitoring:
  enabled: true
  interval: 60
  metrics_enabled: true
  alerts_enabled: true

Examples

Basic Workflow

# 1. Initialize exiftool
exiftool init

# 2. Configure basic settings
exiftool config set host example.com
exiftool config set port 8080

# 3. Start service
exiftool start

# 4. Check status
exiftool status

# 5. Perform operations
exiftool run --target example.com

# 6. View results
exiftool results

# 7. Stop service
exiftool stop

Advanced Workflow

# Comprehensive operation with monitoring
exiftool run \
  --config production.yaml \
  --parallel \
  --workers 8 \
  --verbose \
  --timeout 300 \
  --output json \
  --log-file operation.log

# Monitor in real-time
exiftool monitor --real-time --interval 5

# Generate report
exiftool report --type comprehensive --output report.html

Automation Example

#!/bin/bash
# Automated exiftool workflow

# Configuration
TARGETS_FILE="targets.txt"
RESULTS_DIR="results/$(date +%Y-%m-%d)"
CONFIG_FILE="automation.yaml"

# Create results directory
mkdir -p "$RESULTS_DIR"

# Process each target
while IFS= read -r target; do
    echo "Processing $target..."

    exiftool \
        --config "$CONFIG_FILE" \
        --output json \
        --output-file "$RESULTS_DIR/$\\\\{target\\\\}.json" \
        run "$target"

done < "$TARGETS_FILE"

# Generate summary report
exiftool report summary \
    --input "$RESULTS_DIR/*.json" \
    --output "$RESULTS_DIR/summary.html"

Best Practices

Security

• Always verify checksums when downloading binaries
• Use strong authentication methods (API keys, certificates)
• Regularly update to the latest version
• Follow principle of least privilege
• Enable audit logging for compliance
• Use encrypted connections when possible
• Validate all inputs and configurations
• Implement proper access controls

Performance

• Use appropriate resource limits for your environment
• Monitor system performance regularly
• Optimize configuration for your use case
• Use parallel processing when beneficial
• Implement proper caching strategies
• Regular maintenance and cleanup
• Profile performance bottlenecks
• Use efficient algorithms and data structures

Operational

• Maintain comprehensive documentation
• Implement proper backup strategies
• Use version control for configurations
• Monitor and alert on critical metrics
• Implement proper error handling
• Use automation for repetitive tasks
• Regular security audits and updates
• Plan for disaster recovery

Development

• Follow coding standards and conventions
• Write comprehensive tests
• Use continuous integration/deployment
• Implement proper logging and monitoring
• Document APIs and interfaces
• Use version control effectively
• Review code regularly
• Maintain backward compatibility

Resources

Official Documentation

• Official Website
• Documentation
• API Reference
• Installation Guide
• Configuration Reference

Community Resources

• GitHub Repository
• Issue Tracker
• Community Forum
• Discord Server
• Reddit Community
• Stack Overflow

Learning Resources

• Getting Started Guide
• Tutorial Series
• Best Practices Guide
• Video Tutorials
• Training Courses
• Certification Program

Related Tools

• Git - Complementary functionality
• Docker - Alternative solution
• Kubernetes - Integration partner

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Last updated: 2025-07-06|Edit on GitHub