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pdfconversionapi

PSD to TGA API

POST a .psd to /v2/convert/psd/to/tga and get an uncompressed 32-bit TGA back as base64. The 400 × 300 sticker comes back as 480,018 bytes, raw pixels after an 18-byte header, with its alpha channel.

Endpoint
POST /v2/convert/psd/to/tga
Accepts
psd
Sample timing
88 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/psd/to/tga \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PDFCONVERSIONAPI_KEY" \
  -F File=@night-market-sticker.psd \
  -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 OK88 ms median1 file, 469 KB
{
  "ConversionCost": 1,
  "ConversionTime": 0.088,
  "Files": [
    {
      "FileName": "night-market-sticker.tga",
      "FileExt": "tga",
      "FileSize": 480018,
      "FileData": "AAACAAAAAAAAAAAAkAEsASAo…"
    }
  ]
}

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 night-market-sticker.tga, rendered by the API
Input
night-market-sticker.psd (173 KB)
Output
night-market-sticker.tga (469 KB)
Source
A layered event sticker we drew for this site: 400 x 300 pixels, 8 bits per channel, transparent around the sticker, with seven layers including a soft shadow, a Screen-blended moon, a two-layer text group and a hidden draft stamp. Written as a PSD by our own script from the published file format specification. (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 texture after the layers are merged; the height keeps the 4:3 proportion. For an exact texture size, send both values with ScaleProportions=false: 256 × 256 worked.Values: 1–20000
ImageHeightintegerHeight of the texture; alone or as part of a box with ImageWidth.Values: 1–20000
ScaleProportionsboolean, default truefalse stretches the art to the exact width and height.
ScaleIfLargerboolean, default falsetrue turns off enlarging, so a small PSD is not scaled up.
ScaleImageboolean, default truefalse crops a top-left region of the given size instead.
TransparentColorstringPixels of exactly this color get alpha 0. #1E2A4A cleared the navy body, 81,034 clear pixels in all; the file stays 480,018 bytes because nothing is compressed.Values: #RRGGBB, R,G,B or a color name
ColorSpaceenum, default defaultgray writes gray values into the same 32-bit layout; alpha is kept and the size does not change.Values: default, rgb, gray, monochrome; cmyk returns 400
FileNamestringBase name; night-market-sticker.tga unless set.
StoreFileboolean, default falsetrue returns a 3-hour link instead of the data.

What carries over, and what doesn't

Kept

  • An 8-bit alpha channel: the 10,195 clear and 18,056 partly clear pixels match the PNG route exactly
  • Every color of the merged layers: all three readers we tried decoded the TGA identical to the PNG, alpha included
  • Upright orientation, marked in the header (descriptor 0x28: top-left first, 8 alpha bits)

Lost or not yet supported

  • Compression. With no run-length option the file is 480,018 bytes, against 35,428 for the PNG of the same sticker.
  • The TGA 2.0 extension and footer: the file ends with the last pixel, with no image ID, author fields or thumbnail.
  • 16-bit depth, layers and the PSD's color profile.

Limits

  • One PSD per request.
  • Requests up to 10 MB on the Free plan or 100 MB on paid plans, all files and fields together.
  • Up to 100,000,000 pixels after flattening, or 413.
  • Resize targets from 1 to 20,000 px per side.
  • 120 seconds per conversion, then 504.
  • Pixel layers, masks, groups and blend modes are tested; type layers, smart objects and layer effects are not yet.

Where teams use it

Game textures and sprites from PSD art

Artists can keep painting in PSD while the asset pipeline imports TGA. Converting inside the pipeline leaves the PSD as the editable source and yields a texture with a real alpha channel.

Video and compositing overlays

Graphics with transparency, such as a lower third or a sticker, can go to tools that take TGA sequences or stills, with soft edges intact.

Questions

Is the TGA compressed?

No. It is uncompressed true color (image type 2): 18 bytes of header and 400 × 300 × 4 bytes of pixels, 480,018 in all. There is no option for run-length encoding, so size follows area: 256 × 256 with ScaleProportions=false gave 262,162 bytes.

Which tools can open the TGA?

All three readers we tried (an image library, a command-line media tool and the operating system's image tool) decoded it to exactly the PNG route's colors and alpha. If yours does not, the PNG route gives the same pixels.

Does the TGA keep transparency from the PSD?

Yes. It has 32 bits per pixel with 8 for alpha, and the soft shadow keeps its partial transparency.

Convert your first PSD file in a minute.