How to read WebP files in Java (Tutorial)

In this blog post, I will show you how to read WebP files in Java. We also have a related article covering how to write WebP files in Java.

ImageIO does not support WebP file types in default settings so you will need to use an ImageIO plugin or an external library. I will demonstrate adding webp support using an Open source ImageIO plugin and using the JDeli Image Library.

How to read a WebP image in Java with ImageIO

1. Download an ImageIO plugin (try this one or this one) and add it to classpath.
2. Create a File handle, InputStream, or URL pointing to the raw WebP image.
3. ImageIO will now be able to read a WebP file into a BufferedImage.

and the Java code to read WebP with ImageIO…

File file = new File(“/path/to/file.webp”);

BufferedImage image = ImageIO.read(file)

How to read a WebP image in Java with JDeli

1. Add JDeli to your class or module path. (download the free trial jar).
2. Create a File handle, InputStream pointing to the raw WebP image. You can also use a byte[] containing the image data.
3. Read the WebP image into a BufferedImage

and the Java code to read WebP with JDeli…

File file = new File(“/path/to/file.webp”);

BufferedImage image = JDeli.read(file);

Not sure if it’s working? Try print it out! If you see information about the image, it’s working!

JDeli allows users to read WebP files in Java without the need for an additional plugin. You can read and write images with JDeli across various modern image formats.

// Read an image
BufferedImage bufferedImage = JDeli.read(dicomImageFile);

// Read an image
BufferedImage bufferedImage = JDeli.read(heicImageFile);

// Write an image
JDeli.write(bufferedImage, "heic", outputStreamOrFile);

// Read an image
BufferedImage bufferedImage = JDeli.read(jpegImageFile);

// Write an image
JDeli.write(bufferedImage, "jpeg", outputStreamOrFile);

// Read an image
BufferedImage bufferedImage = JDeli.read(jpeg2000ImageFile);

// Write an image
JDeli.write(bufferedImage, "jpx", outputStreamOrFile);

// Write an image
JDeli.write(bufferedImage, "pdf", outputStreamOrFile);

// Read an image
BufferedImage bufferedImage = JDeli.read(pngImageFile);

// Write an image
JDeli.write(bufferedImage, "png", outputStreamOrFile);

// Read an image
BufferedImage bufferedImage = JDeli.read(tiffImageFile);

// Write an image
JDeli.write(bufferedImage, "tiff", outputStreamOrFile);

// Read an image
BufferedImage bufferedImage = JDeli.read(webpImageFile);

// Write an image
JDeli.write(bufferedImage, "webp", outputStreamOrFile);