G'MIC is a free and open-source image processing framework that comes with hundreds of filters. With so many options available, it can be hard to know where to start.
This is where gmic-filters-overview becomes useful. It lets you preview all non-interactive G'MIC filters at once on a single image. Just run the script and enjoy all filters applied automatically to your image. Then, view the results in a convenient HTML file with features like source image comparison and the ability to select and group your favorite filters for easier side-by-side comparison.
To generate images from the command line:
- Bash (tested on GNU/Linux)
- G'MIC (latest version tested: 2.9.4)
Download the archive of the latest version and extract it. That's it. gmic-filters-overview is ready to be used by the current user.
Note: For this documentation, let's say the resulting folder from extracting the archive is ~/gmic-filters-overview-master and the user navigated to this directory using a console (cd ~/gmic-filters-overview-master).
gmic-filters-overview consists of two parts: the Bash script to generate images (back-end) and the HTML file to view the results (front-end).
To display help and all command line options, run the script with the -h option:
./gmic-filters-overview.sh -h
The two main options are the source image and the HTML working folder. If no options are passed:
./gmic-filters-overview.sh
a default sample image will be used and an HTML working folder will be created inside the script folder, as if the command line were the following:
./gmic-filters-overview.sh -s data/sample.jpg -w user/html
The source image is the one used to apply all filters. It's set with the -s option:
./gmic-filters-overview.sh -s /path/to/source-image
The HTML working folder is the location where the HTML file is created and the images are saved. It will be created if it doesn't exist. It's set with the -w option:
./gmic-filters-overview.sh -w /path/to/html-working-folder
If the HTML working folder exists and was previously used by gmic-filters-overview, the -d option can be used to delete files before generating new ones.
By default, all filters from all filter categories are used. The -c option allows you to restrict filter categories to the specified list:
./gmic-filters-overview.sh -c "Arrays & Tiles",Colors
In this example, only filters from Arrays & Tiles and Colors will be included. Categories must be separated by commas. Category names containing spaces must be quoted. If set to CATEGORIES, the list of possible choices will be displayed.
Another way to select a subset of all available filters is to copy the file data/filters.tsv as user/data/custom-filters.tsv and edit the copy. It contains the list of filters used by the script. A filter can be disabled by commenting its line (i.e., adding the character # at the beginning of the line).
Applying hundreds of filters can take a long time for large images. In such cases, it's advisable to resize the source image before applying filters. It can be done with the -r option:
./gmic-filters-overview.sh -r 750,500
In this example, the source image is resized to 750 × 500 px. Note that the original image is not modified. A copy is created.
The script creates an HTML file. The -a option hides the "About" section by default (displayed at the beginning of the file).
The -o option allows you to automatically open the HTML file in the default browser.
If you want to use up-to-date filters from the current G'MIC version installed on your computer, you can pass the -f option, and an up-to-date filters file will be generated in user/data/filters.tsv and used by gmic-filters-overview. However, note that the file user/data/custom-filters.tsv, if it exists, will have precedence over user/data/filters.tsv.
To use filters from the current G'MIC version installed on your system, use the -f option. This will generate an up-to-date filters file in user/data/filters.tsv, which will be used by gmic-filters-overview. If user/data/custom-filters.tsv exists, it will take precedence over filters.tsv.
Some or all of these options can be combined:
./gmic-filters-overview.sh -s /path/to/image -w /path/to/folder -c "Arrays & tiles",Colors -r 750,500 -a -d -o
After all images are generated, a log file is created at the root of the HTML working folder. It contains information about each filter used, such as filter name, command line, exit status, and running time. Errors (if any) are also listed.
Default settings such as output formats, image quality, and command timeout are defined in inc/config.sh. To override these values, create a custom configuration file at user/inc/config.sh. It will be automatically loaded if it exists.
A file index.html is created at the root of the HTML working folder (see demos online) and provides an overview of each filter. Information and instructions are displayed at the beginning of the file.
Git is used for revision control. The repository can be browsed online or cloned.
Author: Jean-Philippe Fleury (https://github.com/jpfleury)
Copyright © 2015, 2025 Jean-Philippe Fleury
This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program. If not, see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/.
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