Make a GeoTIFF compatible with QGIS

If a readable TIFF is awkward to use in QGIS, a clean GeoTIFF rewrite may help. Recast changes the file encoding to lossless DEFLATE compression while keeping the raster’s original resolution.

How to convert

1. Drop the TIFF into Recast. If it relies on a world file, select the matching .tfw at the same time.
2. Review the dimensions, band count, compression, and available coordinate system.
3. Choose GeoTIFF and click Make compatible with QGIS.
4. Download the result and open it in QGIS. Keep the original until you have checked the result.

What the rewrite does

Recast uses GDAL WebAssembly to write a tiled GeoTIFF with DEFLATE compression. It does not intentionally resize, resample, or change the raster’s bands. Before offering the result, it reopens the output and checks dimensions, band type, nodata, and georeferencing.

What it cannot fix

A rewrite cannot recover unreadable pixels, restore detail already lost through JPEG compression, or determine missing coordinates. It is not a guarantee that every QGIS problem will disappear. Multiple raster subdatasets are rejected, and overview copying is outside the current workflow.

World files and large rasters

A .tfw supplies positioning but not CRS. Embedded TIFF georeferencing takes priority if both exist. Large TIFFs depend on the visitor’s CPU, available memory, and browser limits; desktop GDAL or QGIS is preferable for large orthophotos that exceed those limits.

Free, local, and subject to memory limits

No account or file upload is required. Batches run one dataset at a time. Check the file limits and supported outputs before starting, especially for large rasters or ZIP bundles.

Seeing a JPEG library error?

Read our QGIS “Wrong JPEG library version” troubleshooting guide for the specific error, a workaround, and what to try if conversion fails.

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