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JPEG XL support restored. Google has enabled native decoding of JXL files in the Stable channel of Chrome 155, bringing an end to a saga that began in 2021 and led to the removal of experimental support. The new decoder was entirely rewritten in Rust.
With the release of Chrome 155, JPEG XL images can be opened directly without the need to install extensions or enable specific flags. This update, available for Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems, introduces native decoding of files with the .jxl extension, including animations. Google has thus kept its commitment made at the beginning of 2026, after declaring the format obsolete just three years prior.
JPEG XL support restored: why it matters
Technically, compression is claimed to be 30% to 50% more efficient than traditional JPEG. The format also offers lossless compression modes, High Dynamic Range (HDR) support, and fine-grained progressive decoding. It is also possible to transcode old JPEG files to JXL without any loss of quality, allowing existing archive sizes to be reduced without resorting to destructive reconversion.
According to Mountain View, the ideal use case for this format is high-fidelity photographic images and contexts where lossless compression is required. It is therefore not a format designed for thumbnails or small-sized images. The format, standardized as ISO/IEC 18181, has existed since 2021 but has not yet achieved widespread adoption.
The decoding engine, named jxl-rs, abandons the C++ used in the original library in favor of the Rust language. Image decoders represent one of the main targets for cyberattacks against browsers, and automatic memory management helps prevent issues such as out-of-bounds reads, heap overflows, and use-after-free vulnerabilities. The development team stabilized the target_feature_11 compiler feature and built jxl_simd, an abstraction layer inspired by the Highway library (originally developed for libjxl), achieving multi-platform optimizations without resorting to unsafe code. Extensive testing through fuzzing and automated code review did not reveal any memory-related vulnerabilities.
The acronym JXL, it is important to clarify, does not stand for Extra Large: the letter ‘X’ refers to the nomenclature of JPEG standards published since 2000 (XT, XR, XS), while the ‘L’ indicates the intention to keep the format active in the long term.
What changes and what are the effects
Google justifies this decision with requests from developers, which emerged from the Interop 2026 proposals and previous editions. The company now invites users to integrate JXL-format images and animations into their production pipelines, reporting any bugs or issues encountered. The new update is available for download via browser Settings, in the Help section and then About Google Chrome, with a final restart required.
Installing the update is also recommended due to the numerous security fixes included in this release, some of which have been classified as critical. It is important to note that Chrome can read JXL files but cannot write them: encoding remains the responsibility of publishers. The success of the format will therefore depend on adoption by Content Delivery Networks (CDN), Content Management Systems (CMS), and photo editing software.
Source and further reading on JPEG XL support restored: original article.
* Content created with the assistance of artificial intelligence systems.