ACACIA

Spec sheet

Purpose

ACACIA is an image compression tool that targets specified image quality or file size when compressing JPEG or WebP images.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Free plan

YesRead 24 Sep 2026 · github.com

License

ACACIA is free, open source software licensed under GPL-3.0.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

API access

NoRead 24 Sep 2026 · github.com

Batch processing

YesRead 24 Sep 2026 · github.com

Build requirements

Building requires Qt, libjpeg and libwebp, and the program requires a CPU with AVX and AVX2 support.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Compression method

It uses machine learning to predict how an individual image will compress and adjusts compression aggressiveness accordingly.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Compression modes

lossyRead 24 Sep 2026 · github.com

Contact

The README lists John Thomson and Oleksandr Murashko as contacts at the University of St Andrews.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Dependencies

Building it requires Qt, libjpeg or libjpeg-turbo, and libwebp.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Image compatibility

The software is designed for previously uncompressed images; previously compressed images may produce less accurate results.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Input suitability

It is designed for previously uncompressed images; previously compressed images may produce less accurate results.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Integration licensing

The README says users interested in integrating ACACIA under a different license can contact the maintainers to discuss it.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Interfaces

It provides a graphical interface and a command line mode for batch processing.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Method

It uses machine learning to predict how an image will compress and adjusts compression strength for each image.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Performance requirement

The program uses AVX and AVX2 vector instructions, so it requires a CPU that supports them.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Research citation

The README asks research users to cite the paper “Predicting and Optimizing Image Compression,” published in the Proceedings of the 2016 ACM Conference on Multimedia.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Research status

The README says ACACIA is not production software and is primarily intended to demonstrate research techniques.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Support contact

The README invites users to contact John Thomson at [email protected] with feedback or interest.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Supported formats

JPEG,WebPRead 24 Sep 2026 · github.com

Unsupported images

Alpha channel images and images with high-contrast vector graphics are not supported.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Version

The README lists the current version as 0.17.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Windows limitation

The README notes that the Windows graphical interface does not currently scale properly on 4K screens.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Where Specifiction places it

• Image Compression Software#79 of 857.0