The Shrink Ray

The core Python script utilizes file system operations and image processing libraries that run on a server. This web application provides a user-friendly interface to demonstrate the *concept* of the Shrink Ray. In a full deployment, the image would be sent to a backend server for actual compression and then returned.

To use the full power of The Shrink Ray, you'll run the Python script directly on your computer.

Prerequisites

Make sure you have Python installed (Python 3.6+ recommended).

You'll also need the Pillow library. Install it using pip:

pip install Pillow

Running the Script

1. Save the Script: Save the provided Python code as shrink_ray.py in your project directory.
Click to view `shrink_ray.py` code

from PIL import Image
import io
import os

def compress_image_to_1mb(input_filename, output_filename):
    print(f"Running script in directory: {os.getcwd()}")
    print(f"Files available: {os.listdir()}")
    input_path = os.path.join(os.getcwd(), input_filename)
    output_path = os.path.join(os.getcwd(), output_filename)
    try:
        img = Image.open(input_path)
    except FileNotFoundError:
        print(f"Error: Input file '{input_filename}' not found in {os.getcwd()}")
        return
    quality = 95
    while True:
        buffer = io.BytesIO();
        img.save(buffer, format='JPEG', quality=quality);
        size = buffer.tell();
        if size <= 1_000_000 || quality <= 10:
            break;
        quality -= 5;
    with open(output_path, 'wb') as f:
        f.write(buffer.getvalue());
    print(f'Compressed image saved as {output_filename} with quality {quality} and size {size} bytes');

if __name__ == '__main__':
    compress_image_to_1mb('input-image.png', 'output-image.jpg');

2. Place Your Image: Put the image you want to compress (e.g., my-large-photo.png) in the same directory as shrink_ray.py.
3. Modify the Script (Optional but Recommended): Open shrink_ray.py and change the input-image.png and output-image.jpg values in the if __name__ == '__main__': block to match your desired filenames.

if __name__ == '__main__':
    compress_image_to_1mb('my-large-photo.png', 'compressed-photo.jpg');

4. Run from Terminal: Navigate to your script's directory in your terminal or command prompt and run:

python shrink_ray.py

The compressed image will be saved in the same directory!