Troubleshooting and FAQ

Quick fixes for the problems people run into, and answers to common questions.

#squish: command not found

Right after installing, open a new Terminal window: the installer added ~/.local/bin to your PATH, and only new windows see it. Still not found? Check that this line is in ~/.zshrc (or ~/.bashrc on Linux):

export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

#A file shows "couldn't compress this file"

The details are in .squish-errors.log, a hidden file in the output folder. Open it with:

open compressed/.squish-errors.log      # macOS
less compressed/.squish-errors.log      # Linux

It is usually a damaged file, a password-protected PDF, or a format your FFmpeg can't read. The other files are not affected.

#No colours or no arrow keys

When squish doesn't run in a real terminal (or with NO_COLOR=1), it switches to plain text and numbered menus: type the number of your choice and press Enter.

#iPhone HDR videos look washed out

squish encodes standard 8-bit video so the result plays everywhere. HDR clips lose their extra brightness range. Keep the originals of HDR videos you care about.

#FFmpeg or Ghostscript is missing

squish offers to install what it needs the first time. You can also do it yourself:

brew install ffmpeg ghostscript pngquant          # macOS with Homebrew
sudo apt install ffmpeg ghostscript pngquant      # Debian, Ubuntu

On a Mac without Homebrew, accept the standalone FFmpeg: it is downloaded once to ~/.squish and verified before use.

#FAQ

Will it ever change or delete my files?

No. squish only reads your originals and writes new files in a separate folder. Even with -o pointing at the source folder, a result never replaces an original.

Can I stop halfway?

Yes, press Ctrl-C. Run the same command again later and squish skips what is already done.

Why is a file "copied as is"?

It was already well compressed, and the new version would not have been smaller. squish never gives you a bigger file.

H.264 or H.265?

H.264 plays absolutely everywhere. H.265 is about 40% smaller at the same quality and plays on Apple devices, recent phones, TVs and browsers. When in doubt, keep H.264.

Does it upload my files anywhere?

No. Everything happens on your computer. See Privacy for the single anonymous install count.

Is it free?

Yes, free and open source under the MIT license. Bugs and ideas are welcome on GitHub.