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what is pil in python

PIL in Python usually refers to the Python Imaging Library , an (old) library that adds image loading, manipulation, and saving capabilities to Python, and today you almost always use it via its modern fork called Pillow (pip install pillow and from PIL import Image).

What is PIL in Python?

  • PIL stands for Python Imaging Library.
  • It’s an extension library that lets Python work with images: open them, edit them, and save them in many formats (JPEG, PNG, GIF, etc.).
  • Original PIL is no longer maintained and only supports Python 2; Pillow is the actively maintained successor that you install now.
  • Even with Pillow installed, you still import using the PIL namespace, e.g. from PIL import Image.

In modern code, when people say “PIL”, they often mean “Pillow (the friendly PIL fork)” rather than the original library.

What can PIL/Pillow do?

Common capabilities include:

  • Opening images: JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, and more.
  • Resizing, cropping, rotating, flipping.
  • Changing formats (e.g. JPEG → PNG).
  • Applying filters: blur, contour, sharpen, edge detection.
  • Adjusting brightness, contrast, and color.
  • Drawing shapes and text on images (e.g. watermarks, labels).

A tiny example:

python

from PIL import Image

# Open an image
img = Image.open("photo.jpg")

# Resize and convert to grayscale
small = img.resize((300, 300))
gray = small.convert("L")

# Save as PNG
gray.save("photo_small_gray.png")

This kind of workflow (open → manipulate → save) is exactly what PIL/Pillow is designed for.

Quick “forum style” scoop (as if you saw it discussed online)

“PIL is basically the OG Python image library. It’s dead now, but Pillow took over and kept the same import style (from PIL import Image). If you’re doing anything simple with images in Python—thumbnails, filters, format conversion—Pillow/PIL is still the default go‑to.”

In recent years (up to around 2024–2025), discussions and guides about “what is PIL in Python” almost always clarify that you should install Pillow instead of the original PIL, but the import name stays PIL , which is why the term is still trending in tutorials and Q&A threads.

Meta description (SEO-style):
PIL in Python stands for Python Imaging Library, a library for opening, manipulating, and saving images. Today you use its maintained fork Pillow (from PIL import Image) for image processing tasks in Python.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.