How to Open HEIC Files on a Mac

A Mac opens HEIC files natively. Double-click one, or select it and press the Space bar. There is nothing to install.

That is the whole answer for most people, which makes this a shorter guide than the Windows equivalent. The useful part is what to do in the cases where it does not work.

Why HEIC just works on a Mac

Apple created HEIC, so macOS ships with the HEVC decoder built in.

Support arrived in macOS High Sierra (10.13) in 2017, alongside iOS 11. Every version since reads HEIC in Finder, Preview, Photos, Quick Look and Spotlight.

macOS has decoded HEIC natively since High Sierra in 2017. Unlike Windows, there is no extension to install and no codec to buy.

This is also why Safari can display HEIC images while Chrome and Firefox cannot: Safari borrows the system codec, the others ship their own and do not include one for HEVC.

Three ways to view a HEIC

Method 1Quick Look — press Space

Select the file in Finder and press the Space bar. The photo appears immediately in an overlay.

Arrow keys move between files in the same folder, which makes it a genuinely fast way to sort through a batch of photos from someone’s iPhone.

Press Space again to dismiss.

Use this when: you want to glance at a photo without opening anything.

Method 2Preview

Double-clicking a HEIC opens it in Preview by default. From there you get the full set of tools: zoom, rotate, crop, markup and export to other formats.

Preview also handles multiple files in one window, with a sidebar for moving between them.

Use this when: you want to zoom, crop, annotate or export.

Method 3Photos

Drag HEIC files into Photos and they import like any other image. The app reads them natively and keeps them in their original format.

Use this when: the images are part of your library rather than loose files.

When a Mac won’t open a HEIC

If your Mac is refusing, it is almost always one of these three.

Your macOS is older than High Sierra

Anything before 10.13 predates HEIC support entirely. There is no official codec to add.

On an older Mac, converting is the only route. The browser-based converter works regardless of macOS version because it carries its own decoder.

The app doesn’t support it, even though macOS does

This trips people up. macOS can read the file, but a specific application may still refuse it.

Common offenders

Older versions of Photoshop, some third-party editors, and a surprising number of upload dialogs inside web apps. The system codec does not help when the software filters by file extension.

What to do

Convert the file to JPEG or PNG first. That is usually faster than hunting for a plugin.

The file isn’t actually a HEIC

More common than you would think. Files get renamed, or downloaded from a service that already converted them.

Run file ~/Downloads/photo.heic in Terminal and it will tell you what the file really is. Alternatively, open it in the HEIC viewer — if it reports no HEIC image was found, the extension is lying.

How to convert HEIC on a Mac

Three built-in routes, plus one that needs nothing installed.

Method 1Preview → Export

Open the file in Preview.
Choose File → Export…
Set Format to JPEG, PNG or TIFF.
Adjust the quality slider, then Save.

To convert a batch, select every file in Finder first and open them together. They appear in one Preview window’s sidebar — select all of them there and a single export converts the lot.

Use this when: you want control over quality and format.

Method 2Finder Quick Actions

Right-click one or more HEIC files in Finder, then choose Quick Actions → Convert Image.

Pick JPEG or PNG and a size, and Finder writes converted copies alongside the originals. It handles multiple files without complaint, which makes it the fastest built-in batch option.

Use this when: you want to convert without opening an app.

Method 3Drag out of Photos

Drag an image from Photos onto the desktop or into a folder. macOS converts it to JPEG during the drag.

There is no quality control, but it takes about a second.

Use this when: the photo is already in your library and you want it quickly.

Method 4In your browser

Nothing is uploaded and nothing is installed, and it behaves identically on every macOS version including ones far older than High Sierra.

Use this when: the Mac is old, or you want the same tool you use elsewhere.

The Terminal option most guides skip

macOS includes a command-line image tool called sips, and it has handled HEIC since High Sierra. For anyone comfortable in Terminal it is the fastest batch converter on the machine.

Convert one file

sips -s format jpeg photo.heic --out photo.jpg

Convert an entire folder

cd ~/Desktop/photos
mkdir -p converted
for f in *.heic; do sips -s format jpeg "$f" --out "converted/${f%.heic}.jpg"; done

That runs through hundreds of files without opening a single window.

Resize while converting

sips -s format jpeg -Z 1920 photo.heic --out photo.jpg

-Z scales the image so its longest edge is 1920 pixels while preserving the aspect ratio.

Why it is worth knowing

No installation, no third-party software, and it is scriptable. If you regularly receive HEIC files from someone’s iPhone, a three-line shell script removes the chore permanently.

⚠️ Watch out: sips writes over the original if you omit --out. Always specify an output path.

Making HEIC easier to live with

Set a different default app

If you would rather HEICs open in something other than Preview, right-click one, choose Get Info, pick your app under “Open with”, then click Change All…

Missing thumbnails in Finder

Usually a stale icon cache rather than a real problem. Switching the Finder view mode, or relaunching Finder from the Force Quit dialog, normally restores them.

Preview the format before you convert

Quick Look shows you the photo but not what it is. To check the real format, size and dimensions of a file, select it in Finder and press Command + I for the Get Info panel.

This is worth doing before converting a batch, because a folder that appears to be all HEIC often turns out to be a mixture of formats from different sources.

Stop the files arriving as HEIC

If they come from your own iPhone, the fix is on the phone rather than the Mac. Turning HEIC off on the iPhone makes every new photo a JPEG.

There is also a separate transfer setting that converts photos automatically as they move to a computer, which is often the better choice because it keeps the storage saving on the phone.

The bottom line

On any Mac from 2017 onwards, HEIC files simply open — press Space and you are done.

When you need them in another format, Preview → Export or Finder’s Quick Actions handle it without installing anything. For older Macs, or for a tool that works the same everywhere, HEIC to JPG runs entirely in your browser.

📖 Further reading: what a HEIC file is, and how to open HEIC on Windows for the considerably messier PC situation.

Frequently asked questions

Can a Mac open HEIC files without extra software?

Yes. Every version of macOS since High Sierra (10.13, released in 2017) reads HEIC natively. Double-click the file, or select it and press Space for Quick Look. No download or extension is needed.

Why won't my Mac open a HEIC file?

The three usual causes are macOS older than High Sierra, a third-party app that does not support HEIC even though the system does, or a file that was renamed to .heic without actually being one. The last is more common than people expect.

How do I convert HEIC to JPG on a Mac?

Open the file in Preview and choose File then Export, with Format set to JPEG. Select several files first and Preview will convert them all in one pass. Finder's Quick Actions can do it without opening an app at all.

Can I convert a whole folder of HEIC files on a Mac?

Yes. Select every file in Finder, right-click, and choose Quick Actions then Convert Image. Preview also handles batches if you open the whole selection at once.

Why do my HEIC photos have no thumbnail in Finder?

Usually a stale icon cache rather than a HEIC problem. Switching the Finder view or restarting Finder normally fixes it. If thumbnails are missing everywhere, check your macOS version.

Can Photoshop open HEIC on a Mac?

Yes, from Photoshop 2020 onwards, because it uses the system codecs macOS provides. Older versions may need the file converted to JPEG or TIFF first.

Does converting on a Mac lose quality?

Exporting to JPEG re-encodes once, which is technically lossy but invisible at high quality settings. Exporting to PNG or TIFF is lossless but produces much larger files.

How do I stop receiving HEIC files in the first place?

If they come from your own iPhone, change Settings, Camera, Formats to Most Compatible and new photos will be JPEG. If they come from other people, converting on arrival is the only option.