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 # imgst
+
+`imgst` is a command-line tool for processing and metadata removal from
+image files (currently JPEG).
+
+It recursively scans a directory, removes metadata such as EXIF, and writes the
+cleaned files into a separate output directory while preserving the folder
+structure.
+
+## Why
+
+When publishing images on websites or sharing them publicly, embedded metadata
+(EXIF) may leak sensitive information:
+
+- GPS coordinates
+- Device information (camera model, serial)
+- Date and time the photo was taken
+- Thumbnails containing past edits
+- Optional personal identifiers
+
+Images uploaded from mobile devices frequently include **location metadata**,
+which can expose private home or workplace addresses.
+
+Additionally, metadata increases file size, affecting storage and page load
+performance.
+
+### Safer and lighter images
+
+By stripping metadata:
+
+- No privacy-leaking metadata remains
+- Storage and bandwidth usage shrink
+- Website performance improves
+
+## Features
+
+- Recursive directory scanning with ignore rules (`.gitignore`, `.ignore`)
+- JPEG EXIF metadata removal (`web-image-meta`)
+- Preserves the directory hierarchy
+- Parallel processing for performance
+- Dry-run mode shows what would be processed without modifying files
+- Optional statistics (`--stats`) including total space savings
+- Logging with adjustable verbosity (`-v`, `RUST_LOG`)
+
+## Requirements
+
+- Rust toolchain (Rust 1.89 or newer recommended)
+
+To install Rust:
+
+```sh
+curl https://sh.rustup.rs -sSf | sh
+```
+
+Verify installation:
+
+```sh
+rustc --version
+cargo --version
+```
+
+## Building
+
+Clone the repository and build the binary:
+
+```sh
+git clone ssh://anon@ijanc.org/imgst
+cd imgst
+cargo build --release
+```
+
+The binary will be located at:
+
+```
+target/release/imgst
+```
+
+You can add it to your PATH or move it to `/usr/local/bin`.
+
+or
+
+```
+cargo install --path .
+```
+
+## Command Overview
+
+`imgst` currently supports one primary operation:
+
+### Metadata Cleaning
+
+Recursively removes metadata from image files and writes the result to a
+separate output folder:
+
+```sh
+imgst --input ./photos --output ./public/photos
+```
+
+Preserves folder structure:
+
+```
+photos/
+ └── albums/
+     └── party/
+         └── img_001.jpg
+
+public/photos/
+ └── albums/
+     └── party/
+         └── img_001.jpg  <-- cleaned
+```
+
+### Dry-run mode
+
+Shows what would be processed but does not write anything:
+
+```sh
+imgst -i ./photos -o ./out --dry-run -v
+```
+
+### Statistics mode
+
+Display space savings after completion:
+
+```sh
+imgst -i ./photos -o ./out --stats
+```
+
+Example output:
+
+```
+Stats:
+  Original total : 9.83 GB
+  Clean total    : 8.97 GB
+  Saved          : 860 MB (8.7%)
+```
+
+## Logging and verbosity
+
+`imgst` uses standard Rust logging (`env_logger`).
+
+Default level: **INFO**
+
+Use `-v` to enable DEBUG:
+
+```sh
+imgst -v -i ./photos -o ./out
+```
+
+Or configure directly:
+
+```sh
+RUST_LOG=debug imgst ...
+```
+
+## License
+
+Licensed under the ISC license\
+(see [`LICENSE`](LICENSE) or https://opensource.org/licenses/ISC)