Shipping JPEG XL in Chrome

Chrome now offers decoding support for JPEG XL, a next-generation image format that promises 30-50% better compression than JPEG. JPEG XL brings lossless compression, built-in HDR support, lossless JPEG transcoding, and more to the web. The company recommends trying both AVIF and JPEG XL to attain the best results. JPEG XL is particularly beneficial for high-fidelity or lossless compression, especially photographic images and fine-grained progressive decoding.

Developers were instrumental in bringing JPEG XL to Chrome. The team integrated jxl-rs, a Rust implementation of the JPEG XL decoder, to ensure memory safety. Rust's memory-safe nature, combined with SIMD hardware optimization, made the decoder both secure and fast. The performance improvements were verified using various state-of-the-art techniques, including fuzzing and AI code review, with no memory safety bugs found throughout the implementation.

The Chrome team considers developer feedback from diverse sources when deciding on features. JPEG XL's inclusion in Chrome was strongly supported by web developers, as evidenced by the Interop Process in 2026 and prior years. Interop 2026 JPEG XL Investigation ensured the format's interoperability across browsers. The introduction of JPEG XL in Chrome makes web content richer, faster, and more secure.

The company encourages developers and content creators to start using .jxl images and animations in their pipelines, reporting any issues to help build a safer and faster web.