XmpToolkitRuby

XmpToolkitRuby is a Ruby gem that provides fast, native bindings to the Adobe XMP Toolkit, enabling Ruby applications to read and write XMP metadata in various file formats (images, PDFs, etc.).

Full XMP read/write support
Works with PNG, JPEG, TIFF, PDF, and more
Command-line interface & Ruby API
Works on Linux, macOS, and via Docker

Installation

Recommended: Compile natively on your target system for best performance and compatibility.
A precompiled extension may be available for some platforms.

1. Get the Adobe XMP Toolkit

First, clone and prepare the Adobe XMP Toolkit SDK.

Linux example (adjust paths/versions as needed)

export XMP_TOOLKIT_SDK_VERSION=2025.03

# Prerequisites
sudo apt update && sudo apt install cmake build-essential curl

# Download and extract the SDK
mkdir XMP-Toolkit-SDK
cd XMP-Toolkit-SDK
curl -LO https://github.com/adobe/XMP-Toolkit-SDK/archive/refs/tags/v${XMP_TOOLKIT_SDK_VERSION}.tar.gz 
tar -xzf v${XMP_TOOLKIT_SDK_VERSION}.tar.gz --strip-components=1

# Prepare required third-party libraries
cd third-party

# zlib
cd zlib
curl -O https://zlib.net/zlib.tar.gz
tar --strip-components=1 -xzf zlib.tar.gz
cd ..

# expat
cd expat
curl -LO https://github.com/libexpat/libexpat/releases/download/R_2_5_0/expat-2.5.0.tar.gz
tar --strip-components=1  -xzf expat-2.5.0.tar.gz
cd ../..

# Build instructions
cd build
# ⚠️ Patch required: Remove `${XMP_GCC_LIBPATH}/libssp.a` from `ProductConfig.cmake` (see [this issue](https://github.com/adobe/XMP-Toolkit-SDK/issues/8))
# Optionally, disable secure settings in `shared/ToolchainGCC.cmake`:
#   -set(XMP_ENABLE_SECURE_SETTINGS "ON")
#   +set(XMP_ENABLE_SECURE_SETTINGS "OFF")
make

macOS example

When you copy and paste the following commands, make sure that during the paste nothing got escaped (e.g. { becomes \{).

export XMP_TOOLKIT_SDK_VERSION=2025.03

xcode-select --install # Ensure Xcode command line tools are selected

# within a directory of your choice

mkdir XMP-Toolkit-SDK

cd XMP-Toolkit-SDK
curl -LO https://github.com/adobe/XMP-Toolkit-SDK/archive/refs/tags/v${XMP_TOOLKIT_SDK_VERSION}.tar.gz 
tar -xzf v${XMP_TOOLKIT_SDK_VERSION}.tar.gz --strip-components=1

# Prepare required third-party libraries
cd third-party

# zlib
cd zlib
curl -O https://zlib.net/zlib.tar.gz
tar --strip-components=1 -xzf zlib.tar.gz
cd ..

# expat
cd expat
curl -LO https://github.com/libexpat/libexpat/releases/download/R_2_5_0/expat-2.5.0.tar.gz
tar --strip-components=1  -xzf expat-2.5.0.tar.gz
cd ../..

# cmake
cd tools/cmake
mkdir  bin
cd bin
curl -LO https://cmake.org/files/v3.15/cmake-3.15.5-Darwin-x86_64.tar.gz
tar --strip-components=1  -xzf cmake-3.15.5-Darwin-x86_64.tar.gz
cd ../../..

cd build
./GenerateXMPToolkitSDK_mac.sh

# choose 3 => Generate XMPToolkitSDK Static  64


cd xcode/static/universal/

# I needed to patch SDKROOT from macOS 13.1 SDK to 15.1 SDK in two places inside the Xcode project file:
# 
# From:
# SDKROOT = /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX13.1.sdk;
#
# To:
# SDKROOT = /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX15.1.sdk;
#
# The following sed script replaces both occurrences in-place, backing up the original file with a .bak extension:
#
# Usage:
#   sed -i.bak -E 's|(SDKROOT = /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX)13\.1(\.sdk;)|\115.1\2|g' ./XMPToolkitSDK64.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj
#
# Explanation:
# - The regex captures the prefix and suffix around "13.1" to ensure only the SDK version number is replaced.
# - The 'g' flag ensures all matching lines (both places) are updated.


# Build Debug configuration
xcodebuild -scheme ALL_BUILD -configuration Debug build

# Build Release configuration
xcodebuild -scheme ALL_BUILD -configuration Release build

See Adobe’s docs for details on other platforms.

2. Install the Gem

Bundler:

# for linux 
bundle config set --local build.xmp_toolkit_ruby "--with-xmp-lib=/path/to/XMP-Toolkit-SDK/public/libraries/i80386linux_x64/debug --with-xmp-include=/path/to/XMP-Toolkit-SDK/public/include"
# for macOS
bundle config set --local build.xmp_toolkit_ruby "--with-xmp-lib=/path/to/XMP-Toolkit-SDK/public/libraries/macintosh/universal/Debug --with-xmp-include=/path/to/XMP-Toolkit-SDK/public/include"

bundle add xmp_toolkit_ruby

Or, with plain RubyGems:

# for linux 
gem install xmp_toolkit_ruby -- --with-xmp-lib /path/to/XMP-Toolkit-SDK/public/libraries/i80386linux_x64/debug --with-xmp-include /path/to/XMP-Toolkit-SDK/public/include
# for macOS
gem install xmp_toolkit_ruby -- --with-xmp-lib /path/to/XMP-Toolkit-SDK/public/libraries/macintosh/universal/Debug --with-xmp-include /path/to/XMP-Toolkit-SDK/public/include

Replace paths as needed for your environment.

Precompiled Binaries and Platform Support

This gem ships with precompiled binaries for the native libraries libxmpcore and libxmpfile for common platforms.

⚠️ Note:
These precompiled binaries may not work on your system, especially if your OS, architecture, or C++ standard library differs from those used to build the binaries.
For maximum compatibility, it is strongly recommended to compile the native libraries yourself on your target machine.

If you encounter issues or want maximum portability, please build the SDK from source using the instructions above.

Tip:
Check out docker/Dockerfile in this repository for a full working example of a native build setup, including all dependencies and configuration flags.

Usage

In Ruby

require "xmp_toolkit_ruby"

xmp = XmpToolkitRuby.xmp_from_file("BlueSquare.png")

pp xmp.keys
puts xmp["xmp_data"]

new_xmp = <<~XMP
  <x:xmpmeta xmlns:x="adobe:ns:meta/" x:xmptk="XMP Core 6.0.0">
    <rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf="#{XmpToolkitRuby::Namespaces::XMP_NS_RDF}">
      <rdf:Description xmlns:xmp="#{XmpToolkitRuby::Namespaces::XMP_NS_XMP}" rdf:about="">
        <xmp:CreateDate>2025-06-04T20:20:40+02:00</xmp:CreateDate>
        <xmp:ModifyDate>2025-06-04T20:20:40+02:00</xmp:ModifyDate>
      </rdf:Description>
    </rdf:RDF>
  </x:xmpmeta>
XMP

XmpToolkitRuby.xmp_to_file(
  "BlueSquare.png",
  new_xmp,
  override: true # Set to false to upsert/merge instead of replacing
)

# fine-grained control

# if you want to take full control over the SDK lifecycle
# you can use the XmpToolkitRuby::XmpToolkit module directly:
XmpToolkitRuby::XmpToolkit.initialize_xmp(XmpToolkitRuby::PLUGINS_PATH)
# in this case you can call here 
XmpToolkitRuby::XmpFile.register_namespace XmpToolkitRuby::Namespaces::XMP_NS_PDFUA_ID, "pdfuaid"

XmpToolkitRuby::XmpFile.with_xmp_file(filename, open_flags: XmpToolkitRuby::XmpFileOpenFlags.bitmask_for(:open_for_update, :open_use_smart_handler, auto_terminate_toolkit: false)) do |xmp_file|
  # in case the lifecycle is managed by with_xmp_file
  XmpToolkitRuby::XmpFile.register_namespace XmpToolkitRuby::Namespaces::XMP_NS_PDFUA_ID, "pdfuaid"

  xmp_file.update_localized_property schema_ns: XmpToolkitRuby::Namespaces::XMP_NS_DC,
                                     alt_text_name: "title",
                                     generic_lang: "en",
                                     specific_lang: "en-US",
                                     item_value: "Hello world",
                                     options: 0

  xmp_file.update_property XmpToolkitRuby::Namespaces::XMP_NS_PDFUA_ID, "part", "1"
end

# if auto_terminate_toolkit is false, you must call
XmpToolkitRuby::XmpToolkit.terminate
# to clean up resources

If you built the XMP Toolkit yourself or store the plugins elsewhere, set the XMP_TOOLKIT_PLUGINS_PATH environment variable so the gem can locate the PDF handler:

export XMP_TOOLKIT_PLUGINS_PATH=/path/to/XMP-Toolkit-SDK/XMPFilesPlugins/PDF_Handler/<platform>

Run your Ruby code or CLI commands in the same shell so this variable is visible.

Fine-grained Control with `XmpFile`

The XmpToolkitRuby::XmpFile class exposes low-level access to XMP metadata files, allowing you to:

Register new or custom namespaces to extend XMP property support
Open files with precise control over file open modes and handlers
Update localized properties (e.g., multi-language text with alternatives)
Update simple properties in specified namespaces
Use blocks to ensure file handles are properly closed and changes saved

In order to work properly you need to ensure the XMP Toolkit is initialized:

XmpToolkitRuby::XmpToolkit.initialize_xmp(XmpToolkitRuby::PLUGINS_PATH)

Alternatively, you can use the with_xmp_file method which automatically initializes and terminates the toolkit.

Registering a Namespace

Before working with properties in custom or less-common namespaces, you need to register them with a prefix:

XmpToolkitRuby::XmpFile.register_namespace XmpToolkitRuby::Namespaces::XMP_NS_PDFUA_ID, "pdfuaid"

This allows the SDK to recognize and correctly handle properties within that namespace.

Opening a File with Custom Flags

You can open an XMP file with specific flags to control behavior:

open_for_update: Open the file for modifying metadata
open_use_smart_handler: Use smart handlers for better metadata processing

Flags are combined via the bitmask_for helper method:

flags = XmpToolkitRuby::XmpFileOpenFlags.bitmask_for(:open_for_update, :open_use_smart_handler)

Open the file in a block to ensure safe usage:

XmpToolkitRuby::XmpFile.with_xmp_file(filename, open_flags: flags) do |xmp_file|
  # work with xmp_file inside this block
end

Updating a Localized Property

Localized properties support multiple language alternatives. Use update_localized_property with options:

schema_ns: Namespace URI for the schema (e.g., Dublin Core)
alt_text_name: The property name that holds alternative texts
generic_lang: Language tag for the generic language (e.g., "en")
specific_lang: Specific locale variant (e.g., "en-US")
item_value: The actual text value to set
options: Optional flags (typically 0)

Example:

xmp_file.update_localized_property(
  schema_ns: XmpToolkitRuby::Namespaces::XMP_NS_DC,
  alt_text_name: "title",
  generic_lang: "en",
  specific_lang: "en-US",
  item_value: "Hello world",
  options: 0
)

This sets or updates the localized "title" property in English (US).

Updating a Simple Property

For simpler property updates without localization, use update_property:

xmp_file.update_property(
  XmpToolkitRuby::Namespaces::XMP_NS_PDFUA_ID,
  "part",
  "1"
)

This updates the "part" property within the PDF/UA ID namespace.

Summary

The fine-grained control API empowers you to work precisely with metadata:

Register custom namespaces for extended support
Open files with control over update modes and handlers
Modify localized text properties with language variants
Update simple XMP properties by namespace and name

Using these methods allows sophisticated metadata management, crucial for professional publishing, digital asset management, or compliance workflows.

CLI

The gem ships with a xmp_toolkit_ruby command for basic operations:

# Print XMP metadata to stdout
xmp_toolkit_ruby print_xmp BlueSquare.png

# Print XMP metadata and save to a file
xmp_toolkit_ruby print_xmp BlueSquare.png xmp_metadata.xml

# Update XMP metadata (replace/merge)
xmp_toolkit_ruby override_xmp --override BlueSquare.png xmp_metadata.xml

Docker

You can run the CLI tool via Docker without installing any build tools:

docker run -it --rm   -v $(pwd):/workspace   dieters877565/xmp-toolkit-ruby:main   xmp_toolkit_ruby print_xmp /workspace/BlueSquare.png

Development

Clone the repo
bin/setup to install dependencies
rake spec to run tests
bin/console for an interactive shell

Build & install locally with:

bundle exec rake install

Release process:

Bump the version in lib/xmp_toolkit_ruby/version.rb
bundle exec rake release to tag, push, and publish to rubygems.org

Contributing

Bug reports and pull requests are welcome on GitHub.

License

This project is open source, licensed under the MIT License.

xmp_toolkit_ruby

Development

Runtime

XmpToolkitRuby

Installation

1. Get the Adobe XMP Toolkit

Linux example (adjust paths/versions as needed)

macOS example

2. Install the Gem

Precompiled Binaries and Platform Support

Usage

In Ruby

Fine-grained Control with XmpFile

Registering a Namespace

Opening a File with Custom Flags

Updating a Localized Property

Updating a Simple Property

Summary

CLI

Docker

Development

Contributing

License

Fine-grained Control with `XmpFile`