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pdfconversionapi

PNM to TGA API

POST a netpbm image to /v2/convert/pnm/to/tga and get an uncompressed 32-bit Targa file. The 230,415-byte sample PPM came back as 307,218 bytes, an 18-byte header and 4 bytes per pixel: the same RGB values plus an alpha channel set to 255.

Endpoint
POST /v2/convert/pnm/to/tga
Accepts
pnm
Sample timing
under 1 ms median of 5 runsHow we measure
Request size
Up to 10 MB on the Free plan or 100 MB on paid plans, all files together

Request and response

Every sample below ran against the API before this page was published. Set PDFCONVERSIONAPI_KEY to your key and run it as is.

curl -sS -X POST \
  https://api.pdfconversionapi.com/v2/convert/pnm/to/tga \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PDFCONVERSIONAPI_KEY" \
  -F File=@three-spheres-render.ppm \
  -o response.json

# FileData is base64. Save the first file in converted/,
# or print the JSON error.
if jq -e '.Files' response.json > /dev/null; then
  mkdir -p converted
  name=$(jq -r '.Files[0].FileName' response.json)
  jq -r '.Files[0].FileData' response.json \
    | base64 --decode > "converted/$name"
else
  cat response.json
fi
200 OKunder 1 ms median1 file, 300 KB
{
  "ConversionCost": 1,
  "ConversionTime": 0,
  "Files": [
    {
      "FileName": "three-spheres-render.tga",
      "FileExt": "tga",
      "FileSize": 307218,
      "FileData": "AAACAAAAAAAAAAAAQAHwACAo…"
    }
  ]
}

Response from our test run on 2026-11-03. ConversionTime shows the median of 5 runs. FileData is shortened here; the real response carries the whole file as base64.

The sample, converted

The same file the code sends. Download the input and the output and compare them yourself.

First page of three-spheres-render.tga, rendered by the API
Input
three-spheres-render.ppm (225 KB)
Output
three-spheres-render.tga (300 KB)
Source
A 320 x 240 frame from a small ray tracer we wrote for this page (three spheres on a checkered floor), saved as a binary PPM (P6) with 8 bits per channel. (CC0-1.0). How it was made
Made by
2026-11-04, API build 9eeeb0640aba

Parameters

Send these as form fields next to the file. Names are case-insensitive. If you set one of the documented options below that we don't support yet, the request fails with a 400 that names it instead of returning a file made without it.

ParameterWhat it does
ImageWidthintegerWidth of the TGA; 128 px wide the render is 128 × 96 and 49,170 bytes.Values: 1–20000
ImageHeightintegerHeight of the TGA, or with a width the fitting box.Values: 1–20000
ScaleProportionsboolean, default truefalse stretches the frame to an exact width and height, for texture slots of a fixed shape.
ScaleIfLargerboolean, default falsetrue turns the resize into a downscale only.
ScaleImageboolean, default truefalse crops a top-left area instead of scaling.
ColorSpaceenum, default defaultgray and monochrome change the values only: red, green and blue become equal, and both files stay 32-bit at 307,218 bytes, like the default.Values: default, rgb, gray, monochrome
TransparentColorstringGives alpha 0 to one exact color: #92969D clears 19,013 pixels, the flat gray of the dark floor tiles where no shadow falls; shadowed and distant tile pixels keep alpha 255.Values: Color name, #RRGGBB or R,G,B
ImageResolutionintegerAccepted but not written to the TGA.Values: 10–800
ImageInterpolationboolean, default falseAccepted; scaling uses Lanczos.
FileNamestringName of the .tga; the upload's by default.
StoreFileboolean, default falseReturn a 3-hour link instead of base64.

What carries over, and what doesn't

Kept

  • Every pixel: decoding the sample TGA gives the PPM's RGB values exactly
  • Alpha from PAM input: a test file's alpha values of 0, 128 and 255 came through
  • Top-down row order, marked in the header
  • An uncompressed type 2 file, which the three readers we tested all opened as it is

Lost or not yet supported

  • Size. Without compression and with an added alpha byte, the TGA is a third larger than the PPM: 307,218 against 230,415 bytes.
  • Gray storage: a PGM becomes a 32-bit color TGA with equal red, green and blue.
  • 16-bit depth, reduced to 8 bits.

Limits

  • One file per request.
  • Requests up to 10 MB on the Free plan or 100 MB on paid plans, all files and fields together.
  • Images over 100,000,000 pixels return 413.
  • Each side can be at most 65,535 px: a 65,536 × 2 PPM returned 413 "TGA images can be at most 65,535 pixels on a side, and this one is 65,536×2", while the 65,535 × 2 one converted.
  • 120 seconds per conversion, then 504.

Where teams use it

Frame sequences for video and game tools

Render code that writes PPM frames can produce numbered TGA frames instead, one request per frame, for tools that import Targa sequences.

Textures with an alpha channel from PAM

A P7 RGB_ALPHA file keeps its alpha in the TGA, so masks and cut-outs generated by netpbm-based code arrive with their transparency.

Questions

Will older Targa readers open the file?

It uses the simplest true-color layout: image type 2, no color map, 32 bits per pixel and the top-left origin flag set in the header. The three readers we tested opened the sample without changes. There is no TGA 2.0 footer.

Is the TGA compressed?

No. There is no run-length encoding and no option to turn it on, so every result takes 4 bytes per pixel plus an 18-byte header. Flat images gain nothing: the monochrome render is the same 307,218 bytes as the full-color one.

What happens to a grayscale PGM?

It is written as a 32-bit color TGA in which red, green and blue are equal and alpha is 255.

Convert your first PNM file in a minute.