SeaMaestro

🔱 Multiformat image resizer and converter + Background remover (SeaMaestroCut.exe) for Windows. A single static executable — no installer, no external DLLs, no MSVC runtime. Download, run, done.

Relax, SeaMaestro is doing the heavy lifting...

How it works

SeaMaestro is designed to be as simple or as advanced as you need. There are no config files, no install, no dependencies. Three ways to use it:

1. Drag and drop. Drop a photo onto the exe — it is resized in the same folder. Drop several photos — they land in a SeaMaestroResized folder next to them. Drop a folder — the whole tree is rebuilt under SeaMaestroResized, preserving the folder structure.

2. Rename the exe. Bake your settings into the file name. Rename SeaMaestro.exe to SeaMaestro_q80_w800_webp.exe, drop a photo on it — you get an 800px wide WebP at quality 80. Same exe, different name, different output.

3. Command line. Full control, plus stdin → stdout piping:

SeaMaestro.exe holiday.jpg --size 1600 --format webp --quality 90
SeaMaestroCut.exe portrait.jpg --format png        # transparent PNG
SeaMaestro.exe scans\ --format pdf --scan --merge  # documents -> one PDF
type photo.jpg | SeaMaestro.exe --format webp > out.webp

Contents

The short version

• How it works
• Which file to download

Reference

• Features · Supported formats
• CLI options & EXE rename — every flag
• Examples
• PDF & merge
• SVG & PDF
• EXIF behavior · Languages
• Diagnostics — timings and cut runtime logs
• Requirements — RAM, GPU and codec notes

For developers

• Build from source
• License · Code signing policy · Third-party codecs · Author

Which file to download

Take SeaMaestro.exe if you only need resize / convert / PDF. Take SeaMaestroCut.exe if you also want the background removed.

file	what it is	size
SeaMaestro.exe	the resizer: resize, crop, smart scan, formats, PDF and merge	~35 MB
SeaMaestroCut.exe	the same resizer plus AI background cut (BEN2, DirectML GPU or CPU)	~300 MB

The cut build removes the background by default, and it is the file name that switches it on (cut inside SeaMaestroCut.exe). Renaming the light build to a name containing cut enables nothing: the light build has no cut engine inside, it only reminds you to take the cut build instead. To make the cut build behave exactly like the light one, rename it without cut/cutout (SeaMaestroRenamed.exe) or pass --nocut — then the pipeline and the output are identical, and the inference runtime is never unpacked from the executable.

Features

• Batch & parallel processing with recursive directory scan (Rayon).
• Resize modes: long edge (800), exact width (w800), exact height (h600), cover crop (800x600), percentage (50pct).
  • Fast JPEG downscale: JPEG→JPEG downscaling uses a scaled-IDCT fast path (no full decode), so percentage/width/height downscales of JPEG run faster, with the ICC profile preserved.
  • High-quality upscale: Lanczos3 resampling keeps raster enlargements crisp, and SVG/SVGZ are rasterized at the target size, so vector sources scale to any size without pixelation.
• Convert between WebP, JPEG, AVIF, JXL, PNG, ICO, TIFF, QOI, BMP, GIF.
• PDF output — --format pdf writes one PDF per input; --merge writes one PDF per folder and rebuilds the tree with Path Compression. Pages are sorted, generated chunked and in parallel, so memory stays constant.
• Multi-drive & USB routing — inputs are grouped by drive/network prefix, each disk keeps its own output; removable USB drives are never written back (output lands next to the program).
• Quality control for lossy formats, lossless WebP/JXL/PDF, progressive JPEG.
• Grayscale (--bw), sharpen (--sharpen), and Smart Scan (--scan).
• Background cut (SeaMaestroCut.exe, --cut): AI matting (BEN2) on the GPU via DirectML. The inference runtime (~38 MB) is embedded in the executable and unpacks once into %LOCALAPPDATA%\SeaMaestro\ort\ — nothing is installed and no DLL sits next to the program.
• Two cut looks: --soft (default, raw model alpha — best for photos) and --hard (crisp, old look — best for flat art, logos and screenshots), plus --plain to keep the raw edge colour without the halo cleanup.
• ICC color profile passthrough for JPEG, PNG, JXL, WebP, TIFF, AVIF.
• EXIF passthrough (--exif) with orientation normalization and resized pixel-dimension update; EXIF is cleared by default.
• Auto-rotation from EXIF Orientation.
• Drag-and-drop / EXE rename: bake settings into the executable name.
• stdin → stdout pipe mode.
• 8 languages: English, Русский, Українська, Deutsch, Español, Français, Ελληνικά, Filipino.
• Sea shanties while it works (--shanty).

Supported formats

Input

• Standard: JPEG, PNG, GIF, WEBP, AVIF, JXL, HEIC/HEIF/HIF, TIFF, ICO, BMP, QOI
• Vector: SVG, SVGZ
• Specialized: TGA, HDR, EXR, DDS, PNM/PBM/PGM/PPM/PAM, Farbfeld (FF)
• RAW: CR2, CR3, CRW, NEF, NRW, ARW, SRF, SR2, DNG, RAF, ORF, PEF, RW2, MRW, MEF, ERF, KDC, DCS, DCR, SRW, IIQ, 3FR, MOS, X3F, ARI

Output

jpeg/jpg (default), webp, avif, png, jxl, ico, tiff/tif, qoi, bmp, gif, pdf.

Metadata

• ICC color profiles are preserved for JPEG, PNG, JXL, WEBP, TIFF, AVIF.
• EXIF is preserved only with --exif. It is read from JPEG, PNG, WEBP, JXL, AVIF, HEIC/HEIF and written to JPEG, PNG, WEBP, JXL, AVIF.

CLI options & EXE rename

Every option has two spellings: a CLI flag (--flag) and an exe-name token (no --). Drop the -- and write the word into the file name — that is all. Tokens may be separated by _, -, or glued together.

CLI flag	EXE token	Description
--size 800 / w800 / h600 / 800x600 / 50pct	same tokens	800 = long edge, w800 = width, h600 = height, 800x600 = cover crop, 50pct = percentage
--quality <1..100>	q85	Lossy quality, default 85
--format webp|jpg|png|avif|jxl|ico|tiff|qoi|bmp|gif|pdf	same token	Output format; jpeg by default, png with cut
--bw	bw, gray, grey, mono	Grayscale
--lossless	lossless	Lossless WebP / JXL / PDF (JPEG & AVIF stay lossy)
--progressive	progressive, prog	Progressive JPEG
--sharpen	sharp	Sharpen after resize (sigma 1.0, threshold 3)
--scan	scan	Smart Scan filter for document photos (combine with pdf/merge)
--crop	crop	Auto-crop & deskew a scanned page
--cut	cut, cutout	Background cut (cut build): remove background, keep transparency
--soft / --hard	soft / hard	Edge style: soft = raw model alpha (default), hard = crisp flat art
--plain	plain	Keep raw edge colour, no halo cleanup (alias --no-de-fringe)
--nocut	nocut	Resize only, even when the exe name or a flag asks for a cut
--tile	tile	Tiled inference for very large frames (off by default)
--norefine	norefine	Skip the edge refine: global mask only — nets, webbing, thin strands
--epauto / --epcpu / --epdml	epauto / epcpu / epdml	Inference provider: auto (default), CPU, DirectML
--threads4	threads4	CPU threads for the cut — put your core count in place of 4 (0 = all cores)
--bgwhite / --bgnone / --bg#rrggbb	same tokens	Backdrop: needed for jpeg/pdf, mattes any format once set; bgnone keeps alpha
--exif	exif	Keep EXIF metadata (cleared by default; alias --keep-exif)
--merge	merge	One PDF per folder, mirroring the tree (Path Compression; implies --format pdf)
--name	name	Keep the original file names — no _cut/_w800/_q85 suffix (a clash gets _1)
--output <FILE>	—	Output file name/path (single file only)
--nopause	nopause	Do not wait for Enter on exit (alias --no-pause)
--shanty	shanty	Sea shanties while working
--lang <CODE>	_en, _ru, _uk, _de, _es, _fr, _el, _fil	Interface language (default English)
--profile	(hidden)	Print per-stage timings — see Diagnostics

Spaced forms (--bg white, --ep cpu, --threads 4) keep working too.

Usage:

SeaMaestro [OPTIONS] <FILES...>

Auto-crop shooting advice. --crop looks for the edge of the sheet, so it works best when the paper lies on a plain, contrasting surface. Two cases are outside what the detector can promise:

• the sheet fills the whole frame (no background left to detect), and
• paper and background share the same tone (white sheet on white cloth) — there is no edge to find in brightness, so the crop keeps the full frame or trims inside the sheet.

Sheet orientation is never forced: the output keeps the way the photo was taken (EXIF Orientation is applied before cropping, so a page shot sideways stays sideways).

Examples

SeaMaestro.exe --size 800 --format webp --quality 80 photo.jpg
SeaMaestro.exe --size 1024x768 --format jpeg --progressive *.jpg
SeaMaestro.exe --size 50pct --format avif photo.heic
SeaMaestro.exe --size 300 --format png --bw --output result.png photo.jpg
SeaMaestro.exe --format pdf photo.jpg
SeaMaestro.exe --merge vacation_folder
type photo.jpg | SeaMaestro.exe --format webp > out.webp
SeaMaestro.exe --format pdf logo.svg

PDF & merge

SeaMaestro.exe --format pdf photo.jpg             → photo_q85.pdf
SeaMaestro.exe --format pdf --lossless photo.jpg  → photo.pdf (FlateDecode)
SeaMaestro.exe --merge vacation_folder             → vacation_folder_Merged\ (one PDF per folder)
SeaMaestro.exe --merge --lossless --bw folder      → folder_Merged\ (FlateDecode, grayscale)

--merge builds one document per folder; a folder that contains a single image simply produces a one-page PDF (it does not need the merge path).

Single PDF keeps the normal output name, e.g. photo_q85.pdf. --merge rebuilds the folder tree next to the source: each folder becomes one PDF. Path Compression drops the shared prefix, keeps branches with several children as real subfolders, and folds single-child paths into the PDF name (Trip/Day1 → Trip_Day1_q85.pdf). Over-long names are capped to ~120 characters (first_..._last_<hash>), and paths beyond 260 characters are handled via the \\?\ prefix. Pages are sorted, generated chunked and in parallel, and written to a temp file first, so an interrupted run leaves no half-written PDF behind.

SVG & PDF

SVG/SVGZ inputs render two ways:

• Raster (all non-PDF outputs, and the PDF fallback): rendered with resvg at the target size. Gradients, filters, masks, clip paths, patterns, embedded images and text are supported.
• Vector (--format pdf / --merge): flat graphics — solid fill/stroke, gradients (PDF shadings), tiling patterns, transforms, opacity, dashes and text — are written as native PDF, so they stay sharp at any zoom and produce small files.

The vector engine embeds TrueType and OpenType CFF fonts subsetted to the used glyphs (CIDFontType2 / CIDFontType0C), keeping text selectable. If a font cannot be subsetted (e.g. color fonts) or text uses a non-solid paint, the text is flattened to curves. Embedded JPEGs are passed through as DCTDecode; PNGs are decoded and re-encoded with /SMask for alpha and ICC preserved when present.

If an SVG contains anything the vector writer cannot map to PDF (masks, filters, non-normal blend modes, transparent gradient stops, isolated groups), the whole page falls back to raster automatically — correct output, just not vector.

Notes:

• --sharpen and cover-crop sizes (WxH) always rasterize SVG.
• --bw stays vector: grayscale is applied natively to the PDF vector output.
• Transparent gradient stops (stop-opacity < 1) rasterize the page.
• Animations, scripting and other dynamic SVG features are not supported (static SVG subset only).

EXIF behavior

Default: EXIF is removed.

--exif (old spelling --keep-exif still works): preserves EXIF (input: JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, JXL, HEIC/HEIF; output: JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, JXL); normalizes Orientation to 1 (the image is already auto-rotated) and updates pixel dimensions to the resized size.

Languages

en (default), ru, uk, de, es, fr, el, fil.

Diagnostics

These switches only print information — they never change the pixels. Handy for a bug report, or for comparing two machines or two photos.

what	how
per-stage timings (decode / inference / refine / encode)	--profile
the ONNX Runtime's own log lines (cut build)	set SEAMAESTRO_ORT_LOG=1

--profile is hidden from --help on purpose. It works in both builds: the light build prints its own stages, the cut build adds the cut stages.

> SeaMaestroCut.exe portrait.jpg --profile
  ⏱ read | pipeline | encode | preview | total
  ⏱ decode | effects
  ⏱ cut infer | refine

If the cut build refuses to start, check the two usual causes first: the inference runtime unpacks itself into %LOCALAPPDATA%\SeaMaestro\ort\ on first use (an unsigned exe that drops DLLs can look suspicious to antivirus — see Windows Security → Protection history), and SmartScreen may show "Unknown publisher" on the very first run (see Code signing policy).

Requirements

• Windows 10 (1903+) or 11, x64 only — there is no 32-bit build.
• ~4 GB RAM minimum, 8 GB comfortable. The tool keeps its own memory budget at 60 % of the free RAM (never below 256 MB) and caps a single allocation at 8 GB — a frame that cannot fit is refused instead of silently oversubscribing memory.
• ~300 MB for SeaMaestroCut.exe, plus ~40 MB in %LOCALAPPDATA%\SeaMaestro\ort\ after the first cut run. The resizer build is ~35 MB and writes nothing to AppData.
• The background cut uses the GPU through DirectML when available and falls back to the CPU automatically. On the CPU expect several seconds per frame; a DirectML-capable GPU (Intel HD 5000+, any 2015+ NVIDIA/AMD) is far faster.
• AVIF encoding needs a CPU with AVX2 (Intel 2011+, AMD 2015+); on older CPUs the tool says so instead of failing with a codec error.
• Intel UHD and DirectML. The built-in Intel UHD graphics is the least stable DirectML backend: on some drivers the GPU backend runs out of memory (8007000E) or the driver itself fails (887A0020, 887A0005). SeaMaestro detects both and continues on the CPU automatically (you will see a note), so the job still finishes — but on the CPU a cut frame takes seconds instead of fractions of a second. Nothing has to be configured for this: the fallback is automatic. If a machine is known to fail on the GPU every single time, the attempt can be skipped altogether with epcpu in the exe name or --epcpu.
• AVIF alpha in viewers. Some system viewers on Windows (including some versions of Photos and Explorer thumbnails) draw AVIF on a white or black background and do not show the transparency, while the file itself carries a correct alpha channel — check it in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, which render AVIF transparency correctly. PNG and WebP are always shown as expected.

Build from source

Only needed if you want to compile SeaMaestro yourself. If you came for the ready-made exe, use How it works and Which file to download at the top of this page.

Requirements:

• Rust (MSVC toolchain on Windows)
• Windows 10/11
• vcpkg (manifest deps: HEIC/HEIF, AVIF, pkgconf)
• NASM 2.14+ on PATH (dav1d/aom AV1 assembly)

# NASM (if not already installed)
winget install --id NASM.NASM -e

$vcpkg = "C:\path\to\vcpkg"
$env:VCPKG_ROOT = $vcpkg
$env:VCPKG_DEFAULT_TRIPLET = "x64-windows-static"
$env:VCPKGRS_TRIPLET = "x64-windows-static"
$env:PKG_CONFIG = "pkgconf"
$env:PKG_CONFIG_PATH = "$vcpkg\installed\x64-windows-static\lib\pkgconfig"

# Build manifest dependencies (static triplet)
& "$vcpkg\vcpkg.exe" install --triplet x64-windows-static --x-install-root="$vcpkg\installed"

# pkgconf from the vcpkg manifest must be discoverable
$env:Path = "$vcpkg\installed\x64-windows-static\tools\pkgconf;$env:Path"

cargo build --release

The release binary is built as a single static executable (static CRT). To enable static CRT on a fresh clone, create a local .cargo/config.toml (already gitignored) or export the flag:

[target.x86_64-pc-windows-msvc]
rustflags = ["-C", "target-feature=+crt-static"]

Output: target/release/SeaMaestro.exe

Two builds

build_cut.bat builds both executables: it sets the model and calls build_release.bat, which runs the two cargo builds (light, then the cut build). The cut build needs the model and the inference runtime, which are not stored in the repository:

build_cut.bat                     -> dist\SeaMaestro.exe + dist\SeaMaestroCut.exe
build_cut.bat models\Other.onnx   -> the same, with another model
build_release.bat                 -> the worker: both cargo builds (needs SEAMAESTRO_CUT_MODEL)

Pinned inputs (their SHA-256 is verified on every CI build):

• models\BEN2_Base.onnx — BEN2 matting model (MIT), https://huggingface.co/PramaLLC/BEN2 — 222 932 053 B, sha256 22cea62108ff53b7ccc20f7a008bf30494228d84b1687f29ecbe76936a998101
• runtime\onnxruntime.dll, runtime\DirectML.dll, runtime\onnxruntime_providers_shared.dll — the runtime that is embedded into the cut build (the runtime\ folder of this repository)

Both executables carry the same version, but their file metadata differs: SeaMaestroCut.exe reports SeaMaestro Multiformat Image Resizer + Background Cut, so the two builds can be told apart in Explorer.

GitHub Actions builds both: run the CI workflow manually to get the two binaries with their SHA-256 in the job summary and as artifacts; pushing a v* tag creates a release with both files and checksums.txt.

License

SeaMaestro is licensed under the MIT License.

Code signing policy

Release binaries are currently unsigned. Each release is built locally or by the GitHub workflow and scanned with VirusTotal before upload; Windows SmartScreen may show an "Unknown publisher" warning on first run.

• Committers and reviewers: Volodymyr Gumanyuk
• Approvers: Volodymyr Gumanyuk
• Privacy policy: This program will not transfer any information to other networked systems unless specifically requested by the user or the person installing or operating it.

Third-party codecs

This project links several codec libraries, each under its own license (mostly permissive BSD/MIT/Apache): libjxl, libavif, libheif, libde265, libwebp, mozjpeg (libjpeg-turbo), dav1d, svt-av1, oxipng, zune-jpeg, and others.

HEIC/HEIF support uses libheif and libde265, both licensed under LGPL-3.0. When distributing the binary you must comply with LGPL-3.0 — in particular, make the libheif and libde265 source available and allow relinking.

mimalloc (MIT) is used as the global allocator.

The full list of third-party licenses is in THIRD_PARTY_LICENSES.md.

Author

Captain Volodymyr Gumanyuk — seamaestro@proton.me