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Getting Started

Install

Section titled “Install”
  1. Download Picmal
  2. Open the DMG file
  3. Drag Picmal to your Applications folder
  4. Launch Picmal

Every download starts with a 7-day trial. Press Try free in the sidebar and every tool in the app window runs on that Mac for a week, no key, no card, no account. The command line, Shortcuts, Raycast and watched folders need a license. See License for what the trial covers.

Check the changelog for the latest version and release notes.

Your first conversion

Section titled “Your first conversion”
  1. Launch Picmal, Convert is selected in the sidebar
  2. Drop one or more files into the window (or click Add Files)
  3. Pick your output format from the dropdown
  4. Adjust settings if you want (compression, metadata, resize)
  5. Click Convert. Your new files appear alongside the originals

Your first compression

Section titled “Your first compression”
  1. Select Compress in the sidebar
  2. Drop your files in
  3. Pick a preset (e.g., Balanced, Web optimized) or configure custom settings
  4. Click Compress, compressed files are saved with a _compressed suffix by default

Your first PDF

Section titled “Your first PDF”

The sidebar’s PDF section has four tools:

  • Combine PDFs. Drop two or more PDFs, drag to set the order, click Combine
  • Split PDF. Drop a PDF, type page ranges like 1-3, 5, 8-, click Split
  • Images to PDF. Drop images, pick a page size, click Create PDF
  • Organize Pages. Drop a PDF, drag the pages into order or delete the ones you don’t need, click Save

See PDF tools for page ranges, page sizes, quality, and password protection.

Merge audio

Section titled “Merge audio”

The Audio section has Merge Audio. Drop in two or more tracks, drag them into order, and click Merge to get one file (it can even build a chaptered M4B audiobook), and Split by Chapter, which breaks a chaptered audiobook back into one file per chapter. See Audio tools.

Combine videos

Section titled “Combine videos”

The Video section has Combine Videos. Drop in two or more clips, drag them into order, and click Combine to get one video. Matching clips are joined losslessly; mismatched formats or sizes are scaled and re-encoded to match.

Next to it is Slideshow. Drop in photos and screen recordings, set how long each photo stays on screen, pick a frame shape and background, and click Create Slideshow to get an MP4. See Video tools.

Crop

Section titled “Crop”

Crop sits right under Convert and Compress. Drop images or PDFs in, type the margins to remove from each edge (pixels for images, millimeters for PDFs) and click Crop. Turn on auto-trim to strip a solid-color border off images without measuring anything. See Crop.

Download a video

Section titled “Download a video”

The Video section also has Download Video. Paste a link (or press ⌘V, or drag one from your browser), pick a folder, choose Best, 1080p, or Audio only, and click Download. Picmal makes sure what you get back opens in QuickTime. See Download Video.

Image tools

Section titled “Image tools”

The Image section has four tools. Remove Background lifts the subject out onto a transparent PNG. Upscale makes an image 2x or 4x larger with AI that runs on your Mac. Vectorize traces a PNG or JPG into a real SVG; pick a style per image and click Vectorize All. App Icons turns one image into icons for macOS, Windows and iOS. See Remove Background, Upscale, Vectorize and App Icons.

Batch processing

Section titled “Batch processing”

Drop multiple files or entire folders at once, up to 10,000 files. Picmal processes them all in one go, images, audio, and video. While a batch runs you can set per-file priority, pause and resume, or cancel; see managing the queue.

From the terminal

Section titled “From the terminal”

Picmal includes picmal-cli, a command-line tool that runs the same engines as the app. Install it from the menu bar via Picmal → Install Command Line Tool… and you can convert, compress, combine and split PDFs, and more from any terminal. See Command line (CLI) for the full reference.

What’s next

Section titled “What’s next”