Phew
Phew is a macOS FLIF image viewer and Quick Look plugin for opening, previewing, and exporting FLIF image files.
What is Phew?
Phew is a native macOS utility for working with FLIF image files. It lets users open and view images stored in the Free Lossless Image Format, a format designed for efficient lossless compression. The app can export FLIF images to more common formats such as PNG, TIFF, and BMP, which makes it useful when you need to convert files for sharing or editing in other software. Phew also includes a Quick Look plugin so FLIF files can show Finder thumbnails and previews, helping macOS users browse these files more naturally. It is an open-source app published by Sveinbjorn and is intended for people who specifically need to handle FLIF images on a Mac.
Key features
- Open and display FLIF image files on macOS
- Export FLIF images to PNG, TIFF, and BMP
- View FLIF files through Finder Quick Look previews
- Show FLIF thumbnails in Finder and Spotlight with the plugin installed
- Access raw pixel data export for supported images
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Safety overview
Status: Mostly safe
Phew is a legitimate image utility for macOS and its file access is consistent with opening and converting image files. The Finder preview component is a normal extension for this kind of app, but removing the app or its plugin can stop FLIF thumbnails and previews from working in Finder. The product is no longer maintained, so use extra care with uncommon files and keep macOS updated.
Recommendation: Keep Phew if you work with FLIF images or want Finder previews for that format. If you do not use FLIF files, you can remove it with little impact beyond losing FLIF viewing, conversion, and Quick Look support.
Common paths
/Applications/Phew.app
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