Die Metadaten bleiben in der Bilddatei gleich.

Because the subject is die Metadaten, which is grammatically plural.

• die Metadaten = the metadata
• plural subject → plural verb
• bleiben = remain / stay

Compare:

• Die Metadaten bleiben ... = The metadata remain ...
• Das Metadatum bleibt ... = The metadata item remains ...

So bleiben agrees with the plural noun Metadaten.

Die can mean more than one thing in German:

• die = the for a feminine singular noun in the nominative
• die = the for all plural nouns in the nominative and accusative

Here, Metadaten is plural, so die is the plural article, not a feminine singular one.

Yes, Metadaten is plural.

• singular: das Metadatum
• plural: die Metadaten

In real usage, German often uses Metadaten much more commonly than Metadatum, because people usually talk about metadata as a set of information rather than one single item.

Here bleiben means to remain or to stay.

So Die Metadaten bleiben ... gleich means that the metadata do not change.

This is slightly different from just using sein:

• Die Metadaten sind gleich = the metadata are the same
• Die Metadaten bleiben gleich = the metadata stay the same / remain unchanged

So bleiben emphasizes that they continue to be unchanged.

Here gleich means the same or unchanged.

In German, gleich bleiben is a very common expression meaning:

• to stay the same
• to remain unchanged

So in this sentence, gleich does not mean immediately or soon (which it can mean in other contexts). It specifically means the same / unchanged.

Because gleich is used as a predicate adjective after the verb bleiben.

After verbs like:

• sein = to be
• werden = to become
• bleiben = to remain

the adjective usually does not take an ending.

Examples:

• Die Datei ist groß.
• Die Datei bleibt groß.
• Die Metadaten bleiben gleich.

So gleich stays just gleich, not gleiche or gleichen.

Because in can take either the dative or the accusative, depending on the meaning.

• dative = location, no movement
• accusative = direction, movement into something

Here the sentence describes a location: the metadata remain in the image file. There is no movement.

So German uses the dative:

• in der Bilddatei = in the image file

If there were movement, you would use the accusative:

• Die Daten gehen in die Bilddatei. = The data go into the image file.

The basic noun is:

• die Bilddatei = the image file

That is the nominative form.

But after in with a location meaning, German uses the dative. Since Bilddatei is feminine, the feminine dative singular article is der.

So:

• nominative: die Bilddatei
• dative: der Bilddatei

That is why the sentence has in der Bilddatei.

Bilddatei is a compound noun:

• Bild = image / picture
• Datei = file

Together:

• Bilddatei = image file / picture file

This is very normal in German. German often combines nouns into one longer noun.

This follows a very normal German main-clause pattern:

• Die Metadaten = subject
• bleiben = finite verb in second position
• in der Bilddatei = prepositional phrase
• gleich = predicate adjective

So the sentence structure is:

Subject + Verb + Place/other information + Predicate adjective

German often places the adjective describing the final state or condition near the end:

• Die Dateien bleiben leer.
• Die Einstellungen bleiben gleich.
• Die Metadaten bleiben in der Bilddatei gleich.

That sounds natural and idiomatic.

It is grammatically possible, but it is less natural in many contexts.

Die Metadaten bleiben in der Bilddatei gleich sounds better because in der Bilddatei is closely tied to where this unchanged state applies.

Putting gleich earlier can sound as if you are emphasizing unchanged, and then adding the location almost as an extra detail. The original version is the more neutral and natural one.

Because they are nouns, and in German all nouns are capitalized.

So:

• die Metadaten
• die Bilddatei

But words like bleiben, in, der, and gleich are not nouns, so they are not capitalized here.

Yes, that is the idea. In der Bilddatei means in the image file.

It suggests that the metadata remain embedded or stored within the file itself, rather than being removed, changed, or stored somewhere else.

So the sentence is about the metadata staying in the file and staying unchanged.

Yes. A sentence like Die Metadaten bleiben in der Bilddatei unverändert is also possible.

The difference is mainly style:

• gleich = same, everyday and very common
• unverändert = unchanged, slightly more formal or technical

Both work, but gleich bleiben is a very common everyday phrasing.

Yes, definitely.

gleich bleiben is a very useful expression meaning:

• to stay the same
• to remain unchanged

You can use it in many situations:

• Die Preise bleiben gleich. = The prices stay the same.
• Der Name bleibt gleich. = The name stays the same.
• Die Metadaten bleiben gleich. = The metadata stay the same.

It is a high-frequency and very natural expression in German.