HiPixel

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HiPixel

English | 中文

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AI-Powered Image Super-Resolution for macOS

HiPixel is a native macOS application for AI-powered image super-resolution, built with SwiftUI and leveraging Upscayl's powerful AI models.

✨ Features

🧠 AI Processing

• 🎨 Four built-in AI models: Standard, Lite, High Fidelity, and Digital Art
• 📦 Custom model support — load your own models from a local folder
• ✨ Double Processing — upscale twice in one pass for higher effective resolution
• 🔬 Optional TTA (Test-Time Augmentation) for even better quality
• 📷 EXIF metadata preservation — camera and orientation info survives upscaling
• 🚀 GPU acceleration with manual GPU selection and custom tile size

⚡ Workflow & Automation

• 🖱️ Drag-and-drop processing — images are processed automatically upon dropping
• 🗂️ Batch processing for multiple images at once
• 📁 Folder monitoring — new images added to designated folders are processed automatically
• 🔗 URL Scheme (hipixel://) with full processing options for scripts and third-party integration
• ⚙️ Apple Shortcuts integration — automate upscaling with the "Upscale Images" action
• 🗜️ Zipic integration for smart compression after upscaling

🖥️ Interface & Experience

• 🖥️ Native macOS application built with SwiftUI
• 🔍 Image comparison viewer with zoom (1x–5x), pan, and one-click reprocessing
• 💾 Manual or automatic saving — review results before saving, or save automatically
• 📌 Menu bar access with optional Dock icon hiding and silent launch
• 🔔 Three notification styles: HiPixel banner, notch-style, or system notifications
• 🖼️ Output as PNG, JPG, WebP, or the original format
• 🌓 Light/dark appearance and alternate app icon

💡 Why HiPixel?

While Upscayl already offers an excellent macOS application, HiPixel was developed with specific goals in mind:

1. Native macOS Experience

   • Built as a native SwiftUI application while utilizing Upscayl's powerful binary tools and AI models
   • Provides a seamless, platform-native experience that feels right at home on macOS

2. Enhanced Workflow Efficiency

   • Streamlined interaction with drag-and-drop processing - images are processed automatically upon dropping
   • Batch processing support for handling multiple images simultaneously
   • URL Scheme support for third-party integration, enabling automation and workflow extensions
   • Folder monitoring capability that automatically processes new images added to designated folders
   • Simplified interface focusing on the most commonly used features, making the upscaling process more straightforward

HiPixel aims to complement Upscayl by offering an alternative approach focused on workflow efficiency and native macOS integration, while building upon Upscayl's excellent AI upscaling foundation.

🧠 AI Models

HiPixel ships with four built-in models from Upscayl:

Model	ID	Best For
Standard	upscayl-standard-4x	General-purpose upscaling for photos
Lite	upscayl-lite-4x	Faster processing with lower resource usage
High Fidelity	high-fidelity-4x	Maximum detail preservation
Digital Art	digital-art-4x	Illustrations, anime, and digital artwork

Custom Models

Beyond the built-in models, you can load your own:

1. Put your model files in a folder — each model is a pair of <name>.bin and <name>.param files (ncnn format, the same format Upscayl uses)
2. Select this folder in Settings (or pass it via the customModelsFolder URL parameter)
3. Pick the custom model from the model list

When both a built-in and a custom model are specified, the custom model takes precedence.

On-Demand Resource Download

To keep the app download small, HiPixel fetches upscayl-bin and the AI models over the network on first launch:

• All downloads are verified with SHA256 checksums
• Resources are stored in ~/Library/Application Support/hipixel/
• Updates are checked automatically at launch; a manual check is available in the Advanced settings tab

🔗 URL Scheme Support

HiPixel supports URL Scheme for processing images via external applications or scripts. You can specify image processing options via URL query parameters, which will override the default settings in the app.

Basic URL Format

hipixel://?path=/path/to/image1&path=/path/to/image2

URL Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description	Example Values
path	String	Required. Path to image file(s) or folder(s). Multiple paths can be specified by repeating this parameter.	/Users/username/Pictures/image.jpg
saveImageAs	String	Output image format.	PNG, JPG, WEBP, Original
imageScale	Number	Upscaling factor (multiplier).	2.0, 4.0, 8.0
imageCompression	Number	Compression level (0-99). Only applies when not using Zipic compression.	0, 50, 90
enableZipicCompression	Boolean	Enable Zipic compression (requires Zipic app installed).	true, false, 1, 0
enableSaveOutputFolder	Boolean	Save output to a custom folder instead of the same directory as source.	true, false, 1, 0
saveOutputFolder	String	Custom output folder path (URL encoded). Requires enableSaveOutputFolder=true.	/Users/username/Output
overwritePreviousUpscale	Boolean	Overwrite existing upscaled images if they already exist.	true, false, 1, 0
gpuID	String	GPU ID to use for processing. Empty string uses default GPU.	0, 1, 2
customTileSize	Number	Custom tile size for processing. 0 uses default.	0, 128, 256, 512
customModelsFolder	String	Custom folder path for AI models (URL encoded).	/Users/username/Models
upscaylModel	String	Built-in AI model to use.	upscayl-standard-4x, upscayl-lite-4x, high-fidelity-4x, digital-art-4x
selectedCustomModel	String	Custom model name to use. Conflicts with upscaylModel (custom model takes precedence).	my-custom-model
doubleUpscayl	Boolean	Enable double upscaling (upscale twice for higher resolution).	true, false, 1, 0
enableTTA	Boolean	Enable Test Time Augmentation for better quality (slower processing).	true, false, 1, 0

Example Usage

Terminal:

# Process a single image with default settings
open "hipixel://?path=/Users/username/Pictures/image.jpg"

# Process multiple images
open "hipixel://?path=/Users/username/Pictures/image1.jpg&path=/Users/username/Pictures/image2.jpg"

# Process with custom options: 4x scale, PNG format, double upscaling enabled
open "hipixel://?path=/Users/username/Pictures/image.jpg&imageScale=4.0&saveImageAs=PNG&doubleUpscayl=true"

# Process with custom output folder and Zipic compression
open "hipixel://?path=/Users/username/Pictures/image.jpg&enableSaveOutputFolder=true&saveOutputFolder=/Users/username/Output&enableZipicCompression=true"

# Process with specific AI model and TTA enabled
open "hipixel://?path=/Users/username/Pictures/image.jpg&upscaylModel=high-fidelity-4x&enableTTA=true"

AppleScript:

tell application "Finder"
    set selectedFiles to selection as alias list
    set urlString to "hipixel://"
    set firstFile to true
    repeat with theFile in selectedFiles
        if firstFile then
            set urlString to urlString & "?path=" & POSIX path of theFile
            set firstFile to false
        else
            set urlString to urlString & "&path=" & POSIX path of theFile
        end if
    end repeat
    -- Add processing options
    set urlString to urlString & "&imageScale=4.0&saveImageAs=PNG"
    open location urlString
end tell

Shell Script:

#!/bin/bash
# Process all images in a folder with custom settings

IMAGE_PATH="/Users/username/Pictures"
OUTPUT_FOLDER="/Users/username/Upscaled"

for image in "$IMAGE_PATH"/*.{jpg,jpeg,png}; do
    if [ -f "$image" ]; then
        open "hipixel://?path=$image&imageScale=4.0&enableSaveOutputFolder=true&saveOutputFolder=$OUTPUT_FOLDER&doubleUpscayl=true"
    fi
done

Notes

• All parameters except path are optional. If not specified, the app will use the default settings configured in the app preferences.
• Multiple path parameters can be specified to process multiple images or folders in a single call.
• Boolean values accept: true, false, 1, 0, yes, no, on, off (case-insensitive).
• File paths and folder paths containing special characters should be URL encoded.
• When both upscaylModel and selectedCustomModel are specified, selectedCustomModel takes precedence.
• If enableSaveOutputFolder=true but saveOutputFolder is not provided, the output will be saved in the same directory as the source image.

⚙️ Shortcuts Integration

HiPixel supports Apple Shortcuts via the App Intents framework. Add the "Upscale Images" action in the Shortcuts app to build your own automation — every processing option is configurable per shortcut, including AI model (built-in or custom), scale factor, output format, output folder, compression, double processing, and TTA.

🚀 Installation

Via Homebrew

brew install okooo5km/tap/hipixel

Manual Download

1. Visit hipixel.5km.tech to download the latest version
2. Move HiPixel.app to your Applications folder
3. Launch HiPixel

Note: HiPixel requires macOS 13.0 (Ventura) or later.

🛠️ Building from Source

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/okooo5km/hipixel
cd hipixel

2. Open HiPixel.xcodeproj in Xcode
3. Build and run the project

📝 License

HiPixel is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPLv3). This means:

• ✅ You can use, modify, and distribute this software
• ✅ If you modify the software, you must:
  • Make your modifications available under the same license
  • Provide access to the complete source code
  • Preserve all copyright notices and attributions

This software uses Upscayl's binaries and AI models, which are also licensed under AGPLv3.

☕️ Support the Project

If you find HiPixel helpful, please consider supporting its development:

• ⭐️ Star the project on GitHub
• 🐛 Report bugs or suggest features
• 💝 Support via:

Your support helps maintain and improve HiPixel!

👉 Recommended Tool

• Zipic - Smart image compression tool with AI optimization
  • 🔄 Perfect Pairing: After upscaling images with HiPixel, use Zipic for intelligent compression to reduce file size while maintaining clarity
  • 🎯 Workflow Suggestion: HiPixel upscaling → Zipic compression → Optimized output image
  • ✨ Enhanced Results: Compared to using either tool alone, combined use provides the optimal balance of quality and file size

Explore more 5KM Tech products that bring simplicity to complex tasks.

🙏 Attribution

HiPixel uses the following components from Upscayl:

• upscayl-bin - The binary tool for AI upscaling (AGPLv3)
• AI Models - The AI models for image super-resolution (AGPLv3)

Special thanks to zaotang.xyz for designing the new application icon and main window interaction interface for HiPixel v0.2.

HiPixel also uses:

• FSWatcher - A high-performance, Swift-native file system watcher for macOS and iOS with intelligent monitoring (MIT License)
• Sparkle - A software update framework for macOS applications (MIT License)
• NotchNotification - A custom notch-style notification banner for macOS (MIT License)
• GeneralNotification - A custom notification banner for macOS (MIT License)