Does sips modify the original HEIC file?

No. The commands above all use --out and write to a new file, leaving the original .heic untouched. Still, do not delete the originals after converting.

What value should formatOptions use?

85 is the everyday balance: noticeably smaller than 100 with no visible quality loss. For web use where size matters more, 70 to 75 works well.

Terminal says sips is not a command. Why?

sips ships with macOS and should never be missing. That message usually means a typo, or that you are running it in a Windows or Linux shell. Confirm you are in a macOS terminal.

Opening and converting HEIC on a Mac

Mac users have a much easier time here: the system handles HEIC natively, so double-clicking just works. What is actually worth learning is converting dozens or hundreds of files at once — the built-in command-line tool does it in a single line.

Last updated：2026-10-14

macOS supports it out of the box

Since macOS High Sierra (10.13), HEIF support has been part of the operating system. All of these handle HEIC directly:

Preview — double-click a .heic file; paging through, rotating and exporting all work.
Photos — import and edit normally, with a format choice on export.
Finder — icons and Quick Look (select and press space) both render correctly, with no grey placeholders.
Safari — you can drag a HEIC straight into a browser window, since it uses the system decoder.

So on a Mac the problem is rarely opening the file. It is producing a JPG to hand to someone else.

Batch conversion with a single sips command

sips is the image-processing command-line tool built into macOS. Nothing to install. Open Terminal, change into the folder with your photos, then:

Convert one file:

sips -s format jpeg IMG_0001.HEIC --out IMG_0001.jpg

Convert a whole folder:

mkdir -p jpg
for f in *.HEIC; do
  sips -s format jpeg "$f" --out "jpg/${f%.HEIC}.jpg"
done

Control the quality as well:

sips -s format jpeg -s formatOptions 85 IMG_0001.HEIC --out IMG_0001.jpg

formatOptions is the JPG quality on a 0–100 scale, and 85 is the sweet spot between size and quality. Drop to 70 for smaller files, or push to 95 to stay closer to the original.

Resize at the same time:

sips -s format jpeg -s formatOptions 85 -Z 1920 IMG_0001.HEIC --out IMG_0001.jpg

-Z 1920 scales the longest edge to 1920 pixels and never enlarges. Useful for social media or web images.

Turn it into a right-click action

If you do this often, build a Shortcut and run it from Finder:

Open Shortcuts and create a new shortcut.
In the sidebar enable Quick Action, and set it to receive Image Files.
Add the Convert Image action, choose JPEG, and set quality around 85%.
Add a Save File action and turn off Open When Run.

After that, select a batch of .HEIC files in Finder, right-click, and run it from Quick Actions. Easier than opening Terminal each time, and no commands to remember.

On older versions of macOS the equivalent tool is Automator, and the approach is the same: create a Quick Action, add Change Type of Images, and save to a chosen folder.

Make the iPhone hand over JPG in the first place

If the photos are synced from an iPhone, you can also solve it at the source by making the phone shoot JPG: Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible.

Weigh it though — that costs roughly half your phone storage. If you only need a JPG occasionally on the Mac, converting on demand with sips is the better trade.

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