JPEG

JPEG Image

image/jpeg Released 1992 · by Joint Photographic Experts Group

JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) is the world's most widely supported image format, using lossy DCT compression optimized for complex photographic images. Released in 1992, it remains the universal standard for photography on the web.

Web Progressive Production Ready

Technical Specifications

MIME Type

image/jpeg

Extensions

.jpg.jpeg.jpe.jfif

Container

JFIF / Exif

Compression

Lossy

Algorithms

DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform)

Color Depth

8-bit

Metadata

EXIF XMP ICC

Capabilities

Transparency

Animation

Progressive Loading

Alpha Channel

HDR Support

Official Specification

Aliases: image/pjpegimage/jpg

Magic Bytes & HTTP Headers

File Signature (Magic Bytes)

FF D8 FF

ASCII: ÿØÿ

HTTP Headers

Content-Type: image/jpeg

HTML Accept Attribute

accept="image/jpeg, .jpg, .jpeg"

Browser Support Matrix

Browser	Status	Min Version
Chrome	Supported	All
Firefox	Supported	All
Safari	Supported	All
Edge	Supported	All
Internet Explorer	Supported	Legacy

Advantages & Limitations

Advantages

Universal support — every browser, OS, and application handles JPEG
Excellent compression for complex photographs with natural color gradients
Rich metadata support: EXIF (GPS, camera settings), ICC color profiles

Limitations

No transparency — cannot have a transparent background
Lossy compression introduces visible artifacts on sharp edges and text
No animation support

Developer Code Snippets

import imghdr
print(imghdr.what('file.jpg')) # Outputs 'jpeg'

const FileType = require('file-type');
const type = await FileType.fromFile('file.jpg');
console.log(type.mime); // image/jpeg

import "net/http"

mimeType := http.DetectContentType(fileBytes)
fmt.Println(mimeType) // image/jpeg

$mime = mime_content_type('file.jpg');
echo $mime; // image/jpeg

File Detection Steps

How to programmatically detect a image/jpeg file by reading its raw bytes:

1 Check first 3 bytes for FF D8 FF signature
2 Verify SOI marker (FF D8) at byte offset 0

Software Support

A

Adobe Photoshop

L

Lightroom

GIMP

A

Affinity Photo

C

Canva

ImageMagick

W

Windows Photos

A

Apple Photos

Conversion Tools

Convert JPEG to →

JPEG WebP

Share & Embed

Markdown Badge

[![JPEG Format](https://freewebptojpg.com/mime/image/jpeg/badge.svg)](https://freewebptojpg.com/mime/image/jpeg)

Interactive iframe Widget

<iframe src="https://freewebptojpg.com/mime/image/jpeg/embed" width="100%" height="280" style="border:1px solid #cbd5e1;border-radius:8px;" title="JPEG Specs"></iframe>

JSON API

All data on this page is available as a free, open JSON API. Use it in your project, documentation, or tooling.

GET https://freewebptojpg.com/mime/image/jpeg.json Open JSON

Free to use

No auth required

CORS enabled

Use from any domain

Cached 24h

Cache-Control headers set

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the magic byte for JPEG?

The magic bytes for JPEG are FF D8 FF (hex). All valid JPEG files start with this 3-byte signature, which corresponds to the SOI (Start of Image) and APP marker.

Does JPEG support transparency?

No. Standard JPEG does not support transparency or alpha channels. For images requiring transparency, use PNG, WebP, or AVIF instead.

Does JPEG support progressive loading?

Yes. Progressive JPEG encodes the image in multiple passes, allowing browsers to display a low-resolution version immediately while the full image loads — improving perceived performance.