We’re excited to share we have added support for two new image formats in Appwrite Storage: HEIC and AVIF. This will give you more tools to manage, manipulate, and serve images the way you need.
You can generate image previews directly in .heic and .avif formats, which are natively supported in Appwrite.
No converters. No extra steps. Just fast, flexible image handling built in.
Native support for next-gen formats
Image performance matters. Whether you're building a high-performance photo app or just optimizing media delivery, modern formats like AVIF and HEIC offer massive benefits: smaller sizes, better quality, and native platform support.
With this update, Appwrite now supports outputting previews in HEIC (Apple’s proprietary format) and AVIF (a modern open format with excellent compression).
Why it matters
Previously, if you wanted to serve HEIC or AVIF images from Appwrite, you had to download them, convert them manually, and re-upload or host elsewhere.
Now, the Appwrite Storage preview API can do it all automatically.
This means:
No more external tools
No extra conversion steps
No breaking your image pipeline
Just fast, reliable image delivery in the formats you need.
Built for Apple and beyond
HEIC is Apple’s default image format on iOS. AVIF is increasingly used across modern browsers and devices.
This feature was designed for mobile app developers, especially those targeting iOS and working with native image capture and display. But it’s just as useful for any developer looking to serve modern image formats with better compression and quality.
How to use it
Use the image preview endpoint as you normally would, just set the desired output format to HEIC or AVIF. It works the same way as existing format conversions like jpg or png.
You’ll see smaller file sizes, faster load times, and better integration with native apps and devices.
How to get started
HEIC and AVIF support is available on Appwrite Cloud and self-hosted installations.
import { Client, Storage, ImageFormat } from "appwrite";
const client = new Client()
.setEndpoint('https://<REGION>.cloud.appwrite.io/v1')
.setProject('<PROJECT_ID>');
const storage = new Storage(client);
const resultHeic = storage.getFilePreview(
'photos', // bucket ID
'sunset.png', // file ID
1800, // width, will be resized using this value
0, // height, ignored when 0
'center', // crop center
'90', // slight compression
5, // border width
'CDCA30', // border color
15, // border radius
1, // full opacity
0, // no rotation
'FFFFFF', // background color
ImageFormat.Heic // output heic format
);
console.log(resultHeic.href);
const resultAvif = storage.getFilePreview(
'photos', // bucket ID
'sunset.png', // file ID
1800, // width, will be resized using this value.
0, // height, ignored when 0
'center', // crop center
'90', // slight compression
5, // border width
'CDCA30', // border color
15, // border radius
1, // full opacity
0, // no rotation
'FFFFFF', // background color
ImageFormat.Avif // output avif format
);
console.log(resultAvif.href);
Visit the documentation to learn more.
Smarter storage for better apps
This feature is part of our ongoing commitment to giving you modern tools that work the way you expect. Whether you're building a media-heavy app, targeting Apple platforms, or just caring about performance, you now have more control and better output without extra overhead.
More resources
Take a look at what else we released this week.
