How to reduce image file size in monday.com
Key takeaways
- What is the fastest way to reduce an image's file size in monday.com?
- Add a File Compress recipe at the medium level with a button trigger, then click the button on the item. A typical photo drops 40–65% with no visible change.
- Does reducing file size change the image's dimensions?
- Only at the high level, which caps the longest edge at 4000px. Low and medium keep the original width and height and only re-encode the pixels.
- Why are my monday.com images so large in the first place?
- Phone cameras and design exports produce 24-bit PNGs and maximum-quality JPEGs. They look identical to a compressed copy but can be three to ten times bigger.
- Can I reduce the size of many images at once?
- Yes. A single recipe processes every image in the source column on the triggering item, and a batch status change fires it across many items at once.
Reducing image file size in monday.com means re-encoding the pixels of a JPEG, PNG, or WebP so the file takes fewer bytes while looking the same. The File Compress app by ColumnMate does this from a monday.com automation: it pulls the image from a Files column, runs it through the sharp and mozjpeg encoders, and uploads the smaller version back.
Why monday.com images are bigger than they need to be
A photo straight from a phone is a maximum-quality JPEG with full camera EXIF, often 4–12MB. A design export is frequently a 24-bit PNG even when it contains a photograph, which PNG cannot compress efficiently. Neither is wrong, but on a board with hundreds of items the storage adds up and the board loads slowly.
Compression removes visual data the eye does not notice — high-frequency detail, precision in flat color areas — and repacks what remains.
How much smaller can images actually get?
| Image type | Level | Typical result |
|---|---|---|
| Phone photo (JPEG) | Medium | 45–65% smaller |
| Phone photo (JPEG) | High | 65–80% smaller |
| Screenshot (PNG) | Medium | 10–40% smaller |
| Photo saved as PNG | Any | Convert to JPEG first for 60%+ |
| Already-optimized JPEG | Any | Skipped, no change |
Step by step
- Install File Compress from the monday.com marketplace (an admin does this once).
- In the board's automation center, add a Compress Images recipe.
- Pick a trigger — when a file column changes for new uploads, or when a button is clicked to shrink one item's images on demand.
- Set the source column and a target column: the same column to replace images in place, or a different column to keep the originals.
- Pick medium for a safe reduction, or high to reduce size the most.
- Turn it on and fire the trigger.
Reducing size without losing quality you need
The three levels map to intent. Low (JPEG quality 85) is visually lossless for practical purposes — use it when a designer or client will inspect the image. Medium (quality 70) is the default and the right choice for the vast majority of board attachments. High (quality 50, plus a 4000px dimension cap) is for thumbnails, archives, and storage recovery.
Google's image optimization guidance makes the same point: the "right" size depends on how the image is displayed, not on a universal number.
Should I resize images instead of compressing them?
Resizing (fewer pixels) and compressing (fewer bytes per pixel) both reduce file size, and they stack. If a board image is 6000px wide but never displayed larger than 1200px, downscaling it saves more than compression alone. The high level does a coarse version of this by capping at 4000px; for tighter control, resize on export before upload — see compressing images before uploading to monday.com.
Keeping it reduced automatically
A button-triggered recipe fixes today's images. New uploads arrive at full size. If images land on a board through a form or a request pipeline, switch to the when a file column changes trigger so every image is compressed on upload without anyone thinking about it.
The short version
Image file size in monday.com comes down through re-encoding, and a File Compress recipe does it with a low/medium/high choice. Medium is the safe default and halves most photos. High reduces the most and caps dimensions at 4000px. Use a button trigger for one-off items and an on-upload trigger for boards that keep filling up. Details are in the setup guide.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I reduce image file size in monday.com without a separate tool?
- Use the File Compress app by ColumnMate. A recipe reads images from a Files column, re-encodes them at a compression level you choose, and writes the smaller file back — all inside monday.com.
- What image size does monday.com allow?
- monday.com accepts uploads up to 500MB per file. File size does not have a hard minimum, but large boards with many full-resolution images consume account storage quickly.
- Which compression level should I use to reduce size the most?
- High. It uses the most aggressive quality settings and also limits dimensions to 4000px. Use medium if the images will be viewed closely.
- Does reducing file size affect image metadata?
- Re-encoding drops most embedded metadata such as camera EXIF and color profiles beyond what is needed to display the image correctly.
- What happens if an image cannot be made smaller?
- File Compress detects when the compressed output would be larger than the original and keeps the original instead.
Zack
File Compress Developer at ColumnMate. Writes about file management, storage, and automation inside monday.com.
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