Install ExifTool on Ubuntu 24.04

ExifTool is a command line application used for reading, writing, and editing metadata in a wide variety of file types, especially images, audio, and video files. It supports numerous metadata formats including EXIF, IPTC, XMP, and more. This tutorial shows how to install ExifTool on Ubuntu 24.04.

Install ExifTool

Fetch the latest version number from the official ExifTool website:

EXIFTOOL_VERSION=$(curl -s https://exiftool.org | grep -Po 'Version \K[\d.]+')

Download the corresponding archive from the GitHub repository:

wget -qO exiftool.tar.gz https://github.com/exiftool/exiftool/archive/refs/tags/${EXIFTOOL_VERSION}.tar.gz

Create a new directory and extract the archive to it:

sudo mkdir /opt/exiftool

sudo tar xf exiftool.tar.gz --strip-components=1 -C /opt/exiftool

Add ExifTool to the system PATH so it's available system-wide:

echo 'export PATH=$PATH:/opt/exiftool' | sudo tee -a /etc/profile.d/exiftool.sh

For the changes to take effect, log out and back in, or execute the command below to apply them now:

source /etc/profile

Verify the installation by checking the ExifTool version:

exiftool -ver

Clean up the downloaded archive:

rm -rf exiftool.tar.gz

Testing ExifTool

Once ExifTool is installed, you can test it by analyzing a sample image that contains embedded EXIF metadata. Download a test image using the command below:

wget -qO test.jpg https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ianare/exif-samples/master/jpg/exif-org/nikon-e950.jpg

Then run ExifTool on the downloaded image:

exiftool test.jpg

You should see a detailed list of metadata fields extracted from the image, including camera model, exposure time, ISO, date taken, and more.

File Name                       : test.jpg
Directory                       : .
File Size                       : 164 kB
File Modification Date/Time     : 2025:08:01 07:35:20+00:00
File Access Date/Time           : 2025:08:01 07:35:19+00:00
File Inode Change Date/Time     : 2025:08:01 07:35:20+00:00
File Permissions                : -rw-r--r--
File Type                       : JPEG
File Type Extension             : jpg
MIME Type                       : image/jpeg
JFIF Version                    : 1.02
Exif Byte Order                 : Little-endian (Intel, II)
Image Description               : 
Make                            : NIKON
Camera Model Name               : E950
...

Uninstall ExifTool

If you no longer need ExifTool and want to remove it from the system, remove the installation directory:

sudo rm -rf /opt/exiftool

Remove the PATH export script:

sudo rm -rf /etc/profile.d/exiftool.sh