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.jxl

JXL file: what it is and how to open it

A .jxl file is a JPEG XL image, the successor format the JPEG committee standardised in 2022.

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Contenta Converter results screen showing 32 converted photos and a before and after preview
The results screen of Contenta Converter: 32 photos converted in 47 seconds, with a before and after preview.
  1. Add your JXL filesDrop in single files or a whole folder.
  2. Pick output formatJPG, PNG, TIFF, PDF and more.
  3. Click ConvertEvery file converted in one pass.

It is about a third smaller than JPG at the same quality, but Chrome, Edge and Windows Photos do not display it out of the box. Safari and some free viewers do. Contenta Converter batch converts JXL to JPG, PNG or TIFF on Windows, and converts JPG and PNG to JXL.

JPEG XL converter: batch JXL to JPG, PNG and back →

How to open a .JXL file on Windows

  1. Windows Photos with the JPEG XL extension (free). Install the JPEG XL Image Extension from the Microsoft Store, then double-click the file.
  2. GIMP or XnView MP (free). Both open .jxl files and export them one at a time as JPG or PNG.
  3. Contenta Converter, for folders. Drop a folder of .jxl files and get JPG, PNG, TIFF or WEBP in one batch, resized or renamed in the same pass. It also writes JXL from JPG, PNG or RAW photos.

Before you convert JXL files

  1. What changes in the conversion
    A JPEG XL file can hold 16-bit colour, HDR and transparency as well as layers. Converting to JPG gives an 8-bit flat picture with no transparency, compressed once more; PNG and TIFF keep transparency and lose nothing further. A .jxl made from an existing JPEG is decoded and re-encoded rather than restored byte for byte, so the result is a new JPEG of the same picture, not the original file.
  2. What Contenta Converter does with JXL
    Contenta Converter decodes every .jxl with the reference libjxl decoder (djxl) and runs it through the normal pipeline, so you can resize, watermark and rename in the same batch and write JPG, PNG, TIFF, WEBP, AVIF or PDF. It also encodes JXL as an output format. Output is 8 bits per channel; an animated JXL gives its first frame.

The same photo, five outputs

Photo of a stage set with a bed, a small table and a checked sofaDSC_0001.NEF · 3900×2613
  • PNG.png1.9 s
    16.1 MB
  • AVIF.avif2.2 s
    2.02 MB
  • JPG.jpg1.7 s
    1.69 MB
  • WebP.webp1.7 s
    1.32 MB
  • JPEG XL.jxl1.7 s
    1.12 MB
One Nikon D60 RAW file converted to five formats, at quality 90 where the format has a quality setting. PNG is lossless, so it is the largest. Seconds are the median of three runs. Measured with the Contenta Converter 9.0.35 command line on an AMD Ryzen 9 3900X, 2026-09-30.
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Format

JXL

Company

Joint Photographic Experts Group
Description JPEG XL (.jxl) is the image format the JPEG committee standardised as ISO/IEC 18181 in 2022. It compresses photos about a third smaller than JPG at the same quality, can store an existing JPEG losslessly in a smaller file, and supports transparency, 16-bit colour, HDR and very large images. Safari shows it; Chrome dropped support in 2023.
Benefits Smaller than JPG and WEBP at the same quality. Lossless recompression of existing JPEGs. Transparency, HDR, wide gamut, layers and up to 32 bits per channel. Fast decoding.
Drawbacks Not shown by Chrome, Edge or Windows Photos without an extension; few editors save it. Adoption is uneven, so files sent to other people often need converting to JPG or PNG first.
Metadata Stores XMP metadata inline, including copyright, keywords, camera info, and ICC color profiles.

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JXL image organization

How to open JXL? How to process JXL? How to shrink JXL? How to reduce JXL? How to rename JXL automatically? How to organize JXL in sub-folders? How to recompress JXL? How to create a PDF photo album from JXL?

JXL image color processing

How to convert JXL to black and white? How to convert JXL to sepia? How to adjust the brightness of JXL? How to adjust the contrast of JXL? How to adjust the gamma of JXL? How to invert the colors of JXL? How to boost colors of JXL? How to boost the contrast of JXL?

JXL image processing

How to add a watermark to JXL? How to create animated GIF slideshows from JXL? How to create pencil/ink drawings from JXL? How to sharpen JXL? How to blur JXL? How to refocus JXL? How to denoise hot pixels from JXL? How to crop JXL? How to rotate JXL? How to flip JXL?

JXL image annotation

How to change the DPI resolution of JXL? How to modify the IPTC/XMP dates of JXL? How to modify the IPTC/XMP description of JXL? How to modify the IPTC/XMP location of JXL? How to modify the IPTC/XMP legal information of JXL? How to edit the IPTC/XMP workflow of JXL? How to edit the IPTC/XMP copyright of JXL?

Frequently Asked Questions about JXL

Why can't Chrome open a JXL file?

Google removed JPEG XL from Chrome in 2023, and Edge followed. Safari, GIMP and XnView MP open it, and Windows Photos does once the free JPEG XL Image Extension is installed. Converting to JPG or PNG makes it open everywhere.

Is JXL to JPG lossless?

No. JPG is lossy, so the picture is compressed again. Keep the quality at 90 or higher and the difference is hard to see after one conversion. For a lossless copy, convert to PNG or TIFF instead.

Can Contenta Converter write JXL files?

Yes. Pick JXL as the output format and a folder of JPG, PNG, HEIC or RAW photos is encoded to JPEG XL in one batch, at the quality you set.

Need more than JXL conversion? Browse supported cameras that produce JXL files below, or:

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