IMEI - ImageMagick Easy Install

Signed ImageMagick `.deb` packages for Debian and Ubuntu, with pre-built releases and local package builds.

What IMEI Does

IMEI installs ImageMagick and selected delegate libraries as proper Debian packages instead of running make install directly on the target system.

That gives you two installation paths:

pre-built signed .deb packages for supported release targets
local package builds for older systems or custom build options

In both cases, the end result is still managed by apt / dpkg, so removal stays clean.

Why IMEI Exists

IMEI is meant to solve the two common problems with ad-hoc ImageMagick install scripts:

building everything on the target machine can take too long
hand-installed files are hard to remove cleanly later

IMEI keeps the convenience of an install script, but the actual installation happens through generated .deb packages.

Security Model

IMEI verifies signatures in two places by default:

the local imei.sh script verifies itself against imei.sh.sig
pre-built release installs verify signed release metadata before any .deb is installed

The release install path verifies:

release-manifest.env
SHA256SUMS
the downloaded package hashes listed in SHA256SUMS

IMEI supports key rotation through the files in keys/. New signatures can point to a specific public key by key id, while older signatures can still be preserved in the keyring.

Notes:

--no-sig-verify disables only installer self-verification and is intended for local development or recovery cases
self-update only trusts release bundles signed by a key that already exists in the local keyring
if you rotate to a brand-new key that is not yet trusted locally, one manual keyring refresh is still required once

Compatibility

Pre-built release assets are currently intended for these amd64 targets:

Debian 11 (Bullseye)
Debian 12 (Bookworm)
Debian 13 (Trixie)
Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy Jellyfish)
Ubuntu 22.10 (Kinetic Kudu)
Ubuntu 23.04 (Lunar Lobster)
Ubuntu 23.10 (Mantic Minotaur)
Ubuntu 24.04 (Noble Numbat)
Ubuntu 24.10 (Oracular Oriole)
Ubuntu 25.04 (Plucky Puffin)
Ubuntu 25.10 (Questing Quokka)
Ubuntu 26.04 (Resolute Raccoon)

Older Debian and Ubuntu systems can still use IMEI through local package builds.

Package Layout

IMEI currently builds and installs these packages:

imei-libaom
imei-libheif
imei-libjxl
imei-imagemagick

The private runtime stack is installed below /opt/imei.

imei-imagemagick exposes the CLI tools through /usr/bin, while the delegate libraries remain under /opt/imei so IMEI does not overwrite distro libaom, libheif, or libjxl packages.

Default Behavior

Running sudo ./imei.sh does this:

verifies the installer signature
detects the local Debian/Ubuntu target
checks whether a matching signed pre-built release exists
installs pre-built packages when a match exists
otherwise falls back to a local .deb build

This means supported current targets should normally use release assets, while older or customized installs automatically drop to the local build path.

Installation

The primary install path is the one-step bootstrap launcher:

t=$(mktemp) && \
wget 'https://dist.1-2.dev/imei.sh' -qO "$t" && \
bash "$t" && \
rm "$t"

Manual verification of the bootstrap launcher still works too:

wget https://dist.1-2.dev/imei.sh && \
wget https://dist.1-2.dev/imei.sh.sig && \
wget https://dist.1-2.dev/imei.sh.pem && \
openssl dgst -sha512 -verify imei.sh.pem -signature imei.sh.sig imei.sh

The bootstrap launcher first tries to fetch the signed IMEI runtime bundle from the release assets. If that bundle is unavailable, it falls back to the repository source tree on main, where IMEI then follows its normal behavior: use pre-built packages when available, otherwise build locally.

If you want to pass options through the one-step installer, append them after bash "$t":

t=$(mktemp) && \
wget 'https://dist.1-2.dev/imei.sh' -qO "$t" && \
bash "$t" --build-local && \
rm "$t"

Manual checkout install:

git clone https://github.com/SoftCreatR/imei && \
cd imei && \
chmod +x imei.sh && \
sudo ./imei.sh

Self-Update

To update the local IMEI checkout itself:

./imei.sh --self-update

This downloads the signed IMEI runtime bundle from the selected release and updates:

imei.sh
scripts/*
versions/*
the public keyring in keys/*

User Install Mode

IMEI also supports an unprivileged source-build mode for installation into a user-owned prefix.

Example:

./imei.sh --user-install

Default user prefix:

~/.local/imei

Custom user prefix:

./imei.sh --user-install --prefix "$HOME/.opt/imei"

User-install mode:

does not use apt or dpkg
does not install system-wide files under /usr/bin
does not provide package-managed removal
expects the required system build dependencies to already be installed

After installation:

. "$HOME/.local/imei/imei-env.sh"

Removal:

rm -rf "$HOME/.local/imei"

Pre-Built Release Commands

Install only from release assets and fail instead of building locally:

sudo ./imei.sh --prebuilt-only

Download release packages without installing them:

sudo ./imei.sh --download-only --keep-downloads

Install from a specific release tag:

sudo ./imei.sh --release-tag im-7.1.2-18_aom-3.13.2_heif-1.21.2_jxl-0.11.2

Test against a different release repository:

sudo ./imei.sh --github-repository SoftCreatR/imei-private-test

Local Build Commands

Force a local package build:

sudo ./imei.sh --build-local

Common examples:

sudo ./imei.sh --build-local --imagemagick-version 7.1.2-18
sudo ./imei.sh --build-local --aom-version 3.13.2
sudo ./imei.sh --build-local --libheif-version 1.21.2
sudo ./imei.sh --build-local --jpeg-xl-version 0.11.2
sudo ./imei.sh --build-local --imagemagick-quantum-depth 8
sudo ./imei.sh --build-local --imagemagick-opencl
sudo ./imei.sh --build-local --imagemagick-build-static
sudo ./imei.sh --build-local --imagemagick-with-magick-plus-plus
sudo ./imei.sh --build-local --imagemagick-with-perl
sudo ./imei.sh --build-local --disable-delegate raqm
sudo ./imei.sh --build-local --skip-jpeg-xl
sudo ./imei.sh --build-local --work-dir /tmp/imei-build
sudo ./imei.sh --build-local --output-dir /tmp/imei-dist
sudo ./imei.sh --build-local --keep-build-deps

PHP imagick

IMEI does not ship a separate php-imagick package. To make PHP use the IMEI ImageMagick installation, rebuild the imagick extension against /opt/imei.

Important notes:

the distro php-imagick package is usually built against the distro ImageMagick libraries, not IMEI
imagick uses MagickCore and MagickWand, not Magick++, so --imagemagick-with-magick-plus-plus is not required
after upgrading IMEI to a newer ImageMagick release, rebuild the PHP imagick extension too

Recommended path with PECL:

sudo apt install php-dev php-pear pkg-config
sudo apt remove php-imagick --purge || true
sudo pecl uninstall imagick || true
sudo pecl channel-update pecl.php.net

export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/opt/imei/lib/pkgconfig
export CPPFLAGS="-I/opt/imei/include"
export LDFLAGS="-L/opt/imei/lib -Wl,-rpath,/opt/imei/lib"

printf "\n" | sudo -E pecl install imagick

Enable the extension if PECL did not already do it:

PHP_VERSION="$(php -r 'echo PHP_MAJOR_VERSION . "." . PHP_MINOR_VERSION;')"
echo "extension=imagick.so" | sudo tee "/etc/php/${PHP_VERSION}/mods-available/imagick.ini" >/dev/null
sudo phpenmod imagick

Restart PHP afterward:

sudo systemctl restart php"${PHP_VERSION}"-fpm

If you use Apache instead of PHP-FPM:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Verify that PHP is using the IMEI build:

php --ri imagick
php -r '$i = new Imagick(); print_r($i->getVersion());'
php -r '$i = new Imagick(); print_r($i->queryFormats("HEIC"));'
magick -list format | grep -E '(^|[[:space:]])(HEIC|HEIF|AVIF|JXL)\*?[[:space:]]'

If pecl install imagick still links against the wrong ImageMagick, build it manually:

sudo apt install php-dev pkg-config
sudo apt remove php-imagick --purge || true
pecl download imagick
tar -xf imagick-*.tgz
cd imagick-*/
phpize

export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/opt/imei/lib/pkgconfig
export CPPFLAGS="-I/opt/imei/include"
export LDFLAGS="-L/opt/imei/lib -Wl,-rpath,/opt/imei/lib"

./configure --with-php-config="$(command -v php-config)"
make -j"$(nproc)"
sudo make install

Available Installer Options

General behavior:

without any options, sudo ./imei.sh verifies the installer, detects the local target, prefers a matching signed pre-built release, and falls back to a local package build if no supported release asset exists
most build-specific flags force the local build path automatically, because a published pre-built package cannot be reconfigured on the target machine

Installer path options:

--build-local Forces a local build instead of using release assets. Default: off.
--user-install Uses the unprivileged source-build backend and installs into a user-owned prefix such as ~/.local/imei. Default: off.
--prebuilt-only Restricts IMEI to release assets and fails if no exact pre-built target is available. Default: off.
--download-only Downloads the selected release assets but does not install them. Default: off.
--self-update Updates the local IMEI checkout itself from the signed self-update bundle instead of installing ImageMagick. Default: off.
--download-dir <dir> Uses a custom directory for downloaded release assets. Default: a temporary directory.
--keep-downloads Preserves downloaded release assets after install or download-only mode completes. Default: off.
--no-sig-verify Skips only the local imei.sh self-signature check. Release metadata verification still applies to pre-built installs. Default: off.
--release-tag <tag> Installs or downloads assets from a specific GitHub release tag instead of latest. Default: latest release.
--github-repository <owner/repo> Uses another GitHub repository as the release source. Default: SoftCreatR/imei.
--target <target> Overrides automatic target detection. Mainly useful for testing, CI, or release-asset inspection. Default: detected local target.
--help Prints the built-in command help and exits.

Local build and user-install options:

--prefix <dir> Overrides the install prefix for --user-install. Default: ~/.local/imei. In the normal package-managed path, IMEI still installs under /opt/imei.
--imagemagick-version <version> Builds a specific ImageMagick release instead of the version pinned in versions/imagemagick.
--aom-version <version> Builds a specific libaom release instead of the pinned default.
--libheif-version <version> Builds a specific libheif release instead of the pinned default.
--jpeg-xl-version <version> Builds a specific libjxl release instead of the pinned default.
--imagemagick-quantum-depth <n> Sets the ImageMagick quantum depth. Valid values: 8, 16, 32. Default: 16.
--imagemagick-opencl Enables OpenCL support in the local ImageMagick build. Default: off.
--imagemagick-build-static Builds ImageMagick static instead of shared. Default: shared build.
--imagemagick-with-magick-plus-plus Builds the Magick++ C++ interface in the local ImageMagick build. Default: off for faster builds.
--imagemagick-with-perl Builds PerlMagick in the local ImageMagick build. Default: off for faster builds.
--disable-delegate <name> Disables a specific ImageMagick delegate from IMEI's default delegate set. Can be passed multiple times. Default: no delegates disabled.
--skip-aom Skips building libaom. Default: off. This also requires skipping libheif, because IMEI's libheif build expects the IMEI libaom stack.
--skip-libheif Skips building libheif and the heic delegate path. Default: off.
--skip-jpeg-xl Skips building libjxl and the jxl delegate path. Default: off.
--work-dir <dir> Uses a custom build workspace instead of IMEI's temporary work directory.
--output-dir <dir> Writes generated .deb files to a custom directory during local package builds. Default: dist/<target>.
--no-install Builds the local .deb packages without installing them afterward. Only applies to the package-build path, not --user-install.
--keep-build-deps Keeps the temporary build dependencies that IMEI installed for the local package build. Default: off. Without this flag, IMEI removes build-only packages it introduced after a successful local build.
--keep-work-dir Keeps the build workspace after completion for debugging or inspection. Default: off.

Important combinations and limits:

--user-install cannot be combined with --prebuilt-only or --download-only
--user-install cannot be combined with --output-dir or --no-install
--prebuilt-only is useful when you want a hard failure instead of a surprise local compile
any option that changes build features, versions, delegates, or install style should be treated as a local-build request

Delegate Support

IMEI aims to build ImageMagick with as much delegate support as the target distro can reasonably provide.

Default behavior:

delegates are enabled by default
local builds can disable specific delegates explicitly with --disable-delegate <name>
dependency installation and ImageMagick configure flags are driven from the shared delegate policy in scripts/delegates.sh

This keeps the intended delegate set explicit without hardcoding every distro-specific package name forever.

Private Repository Testing

IMEI can download release assets from another repository through --github-repository.

For private repositories:

GH_TOKEN is preferred
GITHUB_TOKEN also works
when using sudo, preserve the environment with sudo -E

Example:

export GH_TOKEN=...
sudo -E ./imei.sh --github-repository owner/private-repo

In GitHub Actions, GITHUB_TOKEN is available automatically, but it still needs to be passed into the shell environment when a workflow step runs the script.

Removal

Remove the installed IMEI packages cleanly through apt:

sudo apt remove imei-imagemagick imei-libheif imei-libjxl imei-libaom --purge

Default Versions

ImageMagick version: 7.1.2-18 (Q16)
libaom version: 3.13.2
libheif version: 1.21.2
libjxl version: 0.11.2

Operational Notes

imei-imagemagick is intended to be mutually exclusive with distro ImageMagick command packages. If stock ImageMagick is already installed, apt may remove it to install IMEI. Installing stock ImageMagick afterward may remove imei-imagemagick for the same reason. Use --user-install if you need IMEI without taking over /usr/bin.
pre-built release assets are target-specific; if no exact match exists, IMEI falls back to a local build unless --prebuilt-only is set
release metadata must match the published asset filenames exactly, so release generation normalizes filenames before creating the manifest and checksums
--user-install is a separate source-build backend and intentionally does not try to behave like a package-managed install

License

ISC © 1-2.dev

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 488 Commits
.github		.github
keys		keys
scripts		scripts
versions		versions
.coderabbit.yaml		.coderabbit.yaml
.editorconfig		.editorconfig
.gitattributes		.gitattributes
.gitignore		.gitignore
CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md		CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
LICENSE.md		LICENSE.md
README.md		README.md
_config.yml		_config.yml
imei-bootstrap.sh		imei-bootstrap.sh
imei-bootstrap.sh.sig		imei-bootstrap.sh.sig
imei-bootstrap.sh.sig.key		imei-bootstrap.sh.sig.key
imei-logo.png		imei-logo.png
imei.sh		imei.sh
imei.sh.pem		imei.sh.pem
imei.sh.sig		imei.sh.sig
imei.sh.sig.key		imei.sh.sig.key
update_version_info.sh		update_version_info.sh

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IMEI - ImageMagick Easy Install

Signed ImageMagick `.deb` packages for Debian and Ubuntu, with pre-built releases and local package builds.

What IMEI Does

Why IMEI Exists

Security Model

Compatibility

Package Layout

Default Behavior

Installation

Self-Update

User Install Mode

Pre-Built Release Commands

Local Build Commands

PHP imagick

Available Installer Options

Delegate Support

Private Repository Testing

Removal

Default Versions

Operational Notes

License

About

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IMEI - ImageMagick Easy Install

Signed ImageMagick .deb packages for Debian and Ubuntu, with pre-built releases and local package builds.

What IMEI Does

Why IMEI Exists

Security Model

Compatibility

Package Layout

Default Behavior

Installation

Self-Update

User Install Mode

Pre-Built Release Commands

Local Build Commands

PHP imagick

Available Installer Options

Delegate Support

Private Repository Testing

Removal

Default Versions

Operational Notes

License

About

Topics

Resources

License

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Signed ImageMagick `.deb` packages for Debian and Ubuntu, with pre-built releases and local package builds.