Free webp to jpg
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Image MIME Reference
Compressed-XCF

Compressed GIMP XCF Image

image/x-compressed-xcf
VS

JPEG XL

image/jxl
JXL

A complete technical comparison of Compressed GIMP XCF Image and JPEG XL — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.

JXL wins on browser support

Feature Support

Feature Compressed-XCF JXL
Transparency (Alpha) Yes Yes
Animation Support Yes Yes
Progressive Loading ✕ No Yes
HDR Support Yes Yes
EXIF Metadata Yes Yes
ICC Color Profile Yes Yes
Compressed GIMP XCF Image
image/x-compressed-xcf
Extension
.xcf.gz.xcf.bz2.xcfgz.xcfbz2
Container Gzip or Bzip2 Archive
Compression Gzip (Deflate) / Bzip2
Algorithm
DeflateBWT (Burrows-Wheeler)
Color Depth 8-bit (Per Channel), 16-bit (Integer/Floating Point), 32-bit (Integer/Floating Point)
Developed by The GIMP Team
Released 1995
Magic Bytes
1F 8B 08 (gzip) or 42 5A 68 (bzip2)
Full Compressed-XCF reference →
JPEG XL
image/jxl
Extension
.jxl
Container ISOBMFF / JPEG XL Codestream
Compression Lossy (VarDCT) / Lossless (Modular)
Algorithm
VarDCT (Variable block-size DCT)Modular (Predictive coding for lossless)
Color Depth 8-bit, 10-bit, 12-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit (Float)
Developed by Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG)
Released 2021
Magic Bytes
FF 0A (Codestream) / 00 00 00 0C 4A 58 4C 20 0D 0A 87 0A (Container)
Full JXL reference →

Browser Support Comparison

Browser Compressed-XCF JXL
Chrome Chrome
✕ ✕
Firefox Firefox
✕ ✕
Safari Safari
✕
✓ 17+
Edge Edge
✕ ✕
IE IE (Legacy)
✕ ✕
Compressed-XCF

Compressed-XCF Strengths

  • Drastically reduces the massive file sizes of standard XCF project files, saving significant disk space
  • Preserves 100% of the non-destructive editing data (layers, masks, paths, guides) from the GIMP workspace
  • Uses standard, universally supported compression algorithms (gzip/bzip2) meaning the archive can be rescued or extracted by standard OS tools if GIMP is unavailable
Limitations
  • Increases file load and save times due to the CPU overhead required to compress and decompress the massive pixel arrays
  • Impossible for automated tools to parse metadata or dimensions without first unarchiving the payload into memory
  • File extension combinations (.xcf.gz) can confuse basic MIME sniffers which stop reading at the .gz extension
JXL

JXL Strengths

  • Capable of losslessly recompressing legacy JPEG files, saving ~20% space while retaining perfect byte-for-byte restorability
  • Highly superior progressive decoding (Saliency-driven), allowing recognizable images to load extremely fast on slow connections
  • Outperforms WebP and competes favorably with AVIF, especially at high-fidelity settings and for complex textures/photography
  • Royalty-free with an open-source reference implementation (libjxl)
Limitations
  • Google's removal of JXL support from Chrome severely hindered its adoption as a universal web standard
  • Lack of hardware decoding chips compared to video-derived codecs like AVIF (AV1)
  • File parsing logic is complex due to the split between raw codestreams and ISOBMFF containers

When to choose which format

Compressed-XCF
Use Compressed-XCF when…
  • GIMP Multi-layer Project Archival
  • Saving disk space for complex raster edits
  • Open-source graphic design workflows
JXL
Use JXL when…
  • High-End Web Delivery (via Safari/Polyfills)
  • HDR Photography
  • Legacy JPEG Archiving
  • Digital Art & Image Storage

More comparisons

Compressed-XCF vs ACES → JXL vs ACES → Compressed-XCF vs APNG → JXL vs APNG → Compressed-XCF vs AVCI → JXL vs AVCI → Compressed-XCF vs AVCS → JXL vs AVCS → Compressed-XCF vs AVIF → JXL vs AVIF → All comparisons →
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