choudhry18/convert-airdrop-photos

This repository is not really a software project. It is a short written guide for Mac users that explains how to set up an automation so that AirDropped photos in the HEIC format automatically get a JPG copy made next to them. HEIC is the picture format iPhones use by default, and it can be awkward to open or share on non-Apple systems, while JPG works almost everywhere. The guide does not install any third-party app. It uses only tools that already come with macOS: Automator, which is Apple's built-in workflow builder; a feature called Folder Actions, which runs a workflow whenever a file appears in a specific folder; and a small command-line tool called sips that ships with macOS and can convert images. AirDrop saves received files to the Downloads folder, so the whole setup is wired to watch Downloads. The walkthrough takes you step by step through Automator. You start a new Folder Action, point it at the Downloads folder, drag in a Run Shell Script step, and paste in a short zsh script. The script looks at each new file, checks whether the extension is heic or heif, and if it is, it calls sips to write out a JPG copy in the same folder. If a JPG with the same name already exists, the script uses a different name so nothing gets overwritten. The original HEIC file is left alone. There is a short section on enabling Folder Actions, which sometimes have to be switched on from Finder by right-clicking the folder and going through the Folder Actions Setup menu. The guide also covers how to test the workflow by AirDropping a file and checking that both the HEIC and the new JPG show up. A short troubleshooting list at the end covers the common reasons it might not work, such as the file not actually being in Downloads, the wrong extension, the Automator step not being set to pass input as arguments, or Folder Actions being turned off. There is no license file mentioned in the README.