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wtf is heroku-buildpack-imagemagick?

mcollina/heroku-buildpack-imagemagick — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-17 · repo last pushed 2015-01-31

★ 45ShellAudience · ops devopsComplexity · 2/5DormantSetup · moderate

TL;DR

A deprecated Heroku buildpack that used to install ImageMagick for image resizing and conversion, no longer compatible with modern Heroku stacks.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Installs ImageMagick
      Heroku buildpack
      Image processing
    Tech stack
      Shell
      Heroku
      ImageMagick
    Status
      Deprecated since 2013
      Incompatible with Cedar 14 plus
    Audience
      Legacy Heroku apps
      Buildpack learners

Code map

Detail Auto

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filefunction / class

Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Reference this buildpack to understand how Heroku buildpacks are structured and installed.

REASON 2

Maintain a very old Heroku app still on the Cedar stack that already relies on this buildpack.

REASON 3

Learn how to automate installing a system dependency like ImageMagick at deploy time.

What's in the stack?

ShellHerokuImageMagick

How it stacks up

mcollina/heroku-buildpack-imagemagicksingularityos-lab/singularity-desktophailoc12/ai_native_company
Stars454546
LanguageShellShellShell
Last pushed2015-01-31——
MaintenanceDormant——
Setup difficultymoderatehardeasy
Complexity2/54/51/5
Audienceops devopsdeveloperpm founder

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Deprecated and does not work on Heroku Cedar 14 or later, last updated around 2013.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
Explain how this old Heroku buildpack automates installing ImageMagick at deploy time.
Prompt 2
I have a legacy Heroku app using this buildpack, help me find a modern replacement for image processing on current Heroku stacks.
Prompt 3
Show me the structure of a Heroku buildpack using this repo as a reference example.
Prompt 4
What would break if I tried to use this buildpack on a modern Heroku Cedar-14+ app?

Frequently asked questions

wtf is heroku-buildpack-imagemagick?

A deprecated Heroku buildpack that used to install ImageMagick for image resizing and conversion, no longer compatible with modern Heroku stacks.

What language is heroku-buildpack-imagemagick written in?

Mainly Shell. The stack also includes Shell, Heroku, ImageMagick.

Is heroku-buildpack-imagemagick actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2015-01-31).

How hard is heroku-buildpack-imagemagick to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is heroku-buildpack-imagemagick for?

Mainly ops devops.

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