XPM Converter

Convert X PixMap images (XPM) online for free


Drop or upload your .XPM file

How to convert your XPM file

  1. Click the "Select File" button above, and choose your XPM file.
  2. You'll see a preview.
  3. Click the "Convert file to..." button to save your file in the format you want.

Convert XPM to another file type

The converter easily converts your XPM images to various formats - free and online. No X Window System or or other Raster Image software needed.

  • XPM to PNG
  • XPM to JPG
  • XPM to SVG
  • XPM to PDF
  • XPM to GIF
  • XPM to BMP
  • XPM to TIFF
  • XPM to TIF
  • XPM to WEBP
  • XPM to ICO
  • XPM to NLM
  • XPM to IVB

Convert a file to XPM

The converter also works in reverse, so you can convert other "Text-Based Image Format" formats to XPM without using software like X Window System or a similar tool.

  • RAW to XPM
  • PNG to XPM
  • AI to XPM
  • NEF to XPM
  • PSB to XPM
  • DNG to XPM
  • SVG to XPM
  • GIF to XPM
  • EPS to XPM
  • JPG to XPM
  • ARW to XPM
  • PDF to XPM

About XPM files

The .XPM (X PixMap) format is an ASCII text-based raster image format originally created for the X Window System. It was designed to store icon images and supports transparent pixels. Uniquely, the image data is formatted as a C language character array, allowing developers to embed the image directly into C and C++ source code without needing external image loaders. Scientific programs, most notably the GROMACS molecular dynamics software suite, also generate .XPM files to display 2D matrices of computational data.

The biggest disadvantage of the .XPM format is its extreme inefficiency. Storing pixel data as plain ASCII text rather than binary data results in heavily bloated file sizes. Furthermore, modern web browsers, default mobile photo galleries, and standard OS image viewers (like Windows Photos or Apple Preview) do not support .XPM files natively, making them difficult to share or view outside of specialized Linux/Unix environments.

To use these images practically today, you must convert them. For web use, archiving, and sharing, convert .XPM to PNG or WEBP to drastically reduce file size while perfectly retaining transparency. For basic printing or embedding in documents, JPG is ideal. Just drag and drop your file here to analyze and convert it - free, online, and without installing software.

Note that a small percentage of .XPM files function as XML-based MPC Program Files used by Akai Professional music production software or spectroscopy parameter files for Bruker equipment. Drop your file here, and convert.guru will analyze its internal signature to accurately process it.

Use Convert.Guru to open and convert your XPM file.

Users also converted XMP, LUT, CUBE, PNG, JPG, XBM, CIT, JPF, DNG and SVG files.


FAQ

If you want to convert XPM file to DNG or CUBE, you can use X Window System or similar software from the "Raster Image Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….

To convert files to XPM, try X Window System or another comparable tool in the "Raster Image Storage" category.



The XPM Converter Story

The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our XPM converter.