JPEG-XL Viewer — Open .jxl Files with XnView MP

JPEG-XL (.jxl) is a next-generation image format standardized as ISO/IEC 18181 in 2021. XnView MP reads and displays JPEG-XL natively on Windows, macOS and Linux, with no plugin or external codec required. It can also convert JPEG-XL images to JPEG, PNG, TIFF, WebP and dozens of other formats, individually or in batch through XnConvert.

XnView JPEG-XL support at a glance

About the JPEG-XL format

JPEG-XL was developed by the Joint Photographic Experts Group and standardized as ISO/IEC 18181 in 2021. It is designed as a long-term successor to JPEG, supporting lossy and lossless compression, animation, HDR, wide color gamuts up to 32 bits per channel, and progressive decoding. JPEG-XL can also losslessly recompress an existing JPEG file with roughly 20% additional size savings while remaining bit-exact reversible.

Key characteristics of JPEG-XL

How to view and convert JPEG-XL files with XnView

Open a .jxl file

Launch XnView MP, then File > Open and select the JPEG-XL file, or drag the file directly onto the XnView MP window. The image displays immediately in the main viewer with full pan and zoom.

Convert JPEG-XL to JPEG, PNG or TIFF

In XnView MP: File > Save as, then pick the output format. For converting many JPEG-XL files at once, open XnConvert, drag the files in, choose the output format in the Output tab, and click Convert.

Export images to JPEG-XL

XnView MP and XnConvert can save images as JPEG-XL with adjustable quality. Open the image, choose File > Save as > JPEG-XL, and set the quality slider. In XnConvert, add a Format step with JPEG-XL selected to batch-export an entire folder.

Frequently asked questions

Does XnView MP support JPEG-XL natively?

Yes. XnView MP reads JPEG-XL (.jxl) files natively on Windows, macOS and Linux, with no plugin or external codec required. JPEG-XL support is built into the application.

Can XnView export images to JPEG-XL?

Yes. XnView MP can save and export images in JPEG-XL format, with control over quality and compression settings. XnConvert can also batch-export many images to JPEG-XL.

How do I convert JPEG-XL to JPEG or PNG?

Open the .jxl file in XnView MP, then choose File > Save as and pick JPEG or PNG as the output format. For batch conversion of many JPEG-XL files at once, use XnConvert: drag the files in, select the output format, and click Convert.

Does JPEG-XL preserve more quality than JPEG?

Yes. JPEG-XL provides better compression efficiency than JPEG at equivalent visual quality, supports lossless mode, animation, HDR and wide color gamuts. It can also losslessly recompress existing JPEG files with around 20% file-size savings.

Is JPEG-XL viewing free with XnView?

Yes. XnView MP is free for private, educational and non-profit use, including JPEG-XL viewing and conversion. A paid license is required for commercial use in a company.

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