compress-image-to-target-size

name	compress-image-to-target-size
description	Compress an image to fit within a specific file size in bytes using quality-first compression.

Compress Image to Target File Size

Marketing teams and content platforms use this recipe to compress images for email attachments, CMS upload limits, or mobile app asset budgets. Specify a target file size in bytes and the API handles the quality-dimension tradeoff automatically.

APIs Used

Image Transformation (1 credits/request)

Prerequisites

You need an Iteration Layer API key. Get one at platform.iterationlayer.com — free trial credits included, no credit card required.

For full integration guidance (SDKs, auth, MCP, error handling), see the Iteration Layer Integration Guide.

Implementation

curl -X POST \
  https://api.iterationlayer.com/image-transformation/v1/transform \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "file": {
      "type": "url",
      "name": "photo.jpg",
      "url": "https://cdn.example.com/uploads/photo.jpg"
    },
    "operations": [
      {
        "type": "compress_to_size",
        "max_file_size_in_bytes": 500000
      }
    ]
  }'

import { IterationLayer } from "iterationlayer";
const client = new IterationLayer({ apiKey: "YOUR_API_KEY" });

const result = await client.transformImage({
  file: {
    type: "url",
    name: "photo.jpg",
    url: "https://cdn.example.com/uploads/photo.jpg",
  },
  operations: [
    {
      type: "compress_to_size",
      max_file_size_in_bytes: 500_000,
    },
  ],
});

from iterationlayer import IterationLayer
client = IterationLayer(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")

result = client.transform_image(
    file={
        "type": "url",
        "name": "photo.jpg",
        "url": "https://cdn.example.com/uploads/photo.jpg",
    },
    operations=[
        {
            "type": "compress_to_size",
            "max_file_size_in_bytes": 500_000,
        },
    ],
)

package main

import il "github.com/iterationlayer/sdk-go"

func main() {
	client := il.NewClient("YOUR_API_KEY")

	result, err := client.TransformImage(il.TransformImageRequest{
		File: il.FileInput{Type: "url", Name: "photo.jpg", Url: "https://cdn.example.com/uploads/photo.jpg"},
		Operations: []il.TransformOperation{
			il.NewCompressToSizeOperation(500_000),
		},
	})
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}
}

{
  "name": "Compress Image to Target File Size",
  "nodes": [
    {
      "parameters": {
        "content": "## Compress Image to Target File Size

Marketing teams and content platforms use this recipe to compress images for email attachments, CMS upload limits, or mobile app asset budgets. Specify a target file size in bytes and the API handles the quality-dimension tradeoff automatically.

**Note:** This workflow uses the Iteration Layer community node (`n8n-nodes-iterationlayer`). Install it via Settings > Community Nodes on self-hosted n8n, or add it directly on n8n Cloud with Verified Community Nodes enabled.",
        "height": 280,
        "width": 500,
        "color": 2
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        200,
        40
      ],
      "id": "620f3f66-b3fe-48b4-a3a5-130a7ed310b4",
      "name": "Overview"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "content": "### Step 1: Transform Image
Resource: **Image Transformation**

Configure the Image Transformation parameters below, then connect your credentials.",
        "height": 160,
        "width": 300,
        "color": 6
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        475,
        100
      ],
      "id": "a87d9afb-d1c2-4e2b-9fac-05039ee12b2a",
      "name": "Step 1 Note"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {},
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.manualTrigger",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        250,
        300
      ],
      "id": "b2c3d4e5-f6a7-4b8c-9d0e-1f2a3b4c5d6e",
      "name": "Manual Trigger"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "resource": "imageTransformation",
        "fileInputMode": "url",
        "fileName": "photo.jpg",
        "fileUrl": "https://cdn.example.com/uploads/photo.jpg",
        "operations": {
          "operationValues": [
            {
              "operationType": "compress_to_size",
              "maxFileSizeInBytes": 500000
            }
          ]
        }
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-iterationlayer.iterationLayer",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        500,
        300
      ],
      "id": "e5f6a7b8-c9d0-4e1f-2a3b-4c5d6e7f8a9b",
      "name": "Transform Image",
      "credentials": {
        "iterationLayerApi": {
          "id": "1",
          "name": "Iteration Layer API"
        }
      }
    }
  ],
  "connections": {
    "Manual Trigger": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Transform Image",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    }
  },
  "settings": {
    "executionOrder": "v1"
  }
}

Compress the image at [file URL] to fit within [max file size in bytes] bytes. Use the transform_image tool with a compress_to_size operation.

Response

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "buffer": "/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQ...",
    "mime_type": "image/jpeg"
  }
}

Links

• Integration guide
• Full documentation
• OpenAPI spec
• Browse all recipes