PBM to SIXEL Converter

Reliable online PBM to SIXEL format transformation

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Instant Results

Your PBM to SIXEL conversion is done within moments. The pipeline is optimized for speed and minimal wait times.

Nothing to Install

The PBM to SIXEL converter runs in your web browser. No plugins, extensions, or desktop applications needed — just open and use.

Multi-File Upload

Handle multiple PBM files in one go. Each is converted to SIXEL independently, and all downloads are available together.

How to convert PBM to SIXEL

1

Select files from Computer, Google Drive, Dropbox, URL or by dragging it on the page.

2

Choose sixel or any other format you need as a result (more than 200 formats supported)

3

Let the file convert and you can download your sixel file right afterwards

About formats

PBM (Portable Bitmap) is the monochrome (black and white, 1-bit) member of the Netpbm family of image formats, created by Jef Poskanzer in 1988 as part of the Pbmplus toolkit for Unix systems. The format exists in two variants: ASCII (magic number P1), where each pixel is represented as a text character '0' (white) or '1' (black) separated by whitespace, and binary (magic number P4), where pixels are packed eight per byte for compact storage. Both variants begin with a plain-text header specifying the magic number, image width and height, and optional comments. PBM was designed as the simplest possible image format — a bridge format for converting between the many incompatible raster formats that proliferated across different Unix systems and applications during the 1980s. The Netpbm philosophy was to convert any source format to PBM/PGM/PPM as an intermediate step, then convert to the target format, using the portable formats as a universal exchange layer. One advantage is extreme simplicity — the ASCII variant can be literally typed by hand in a text editor, and both variants are trivial to parse and generate in any programming language without external libraries. The format's role as a universal image processing intermediate is another strength: hundreds of Netpbm command-line tools accept PBM input, enabling complex image manipulation pipelines through Unix pipes. PBM remains used in computer science education, OCR preprocessing, and any context where a dead-simple monochrome image representation is needed.
Developer: Jef Poskanzer
Initial release: 1988
SIXEL (Six Pixel) is a bitmap graphics encoding format created by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in 1983 for rendering images on character-cell printers and video terminals. The name derives from the encoding's fundamental unit: a column of six pixels represented by a single ASCII character. Each printable character in the sixel data stream (ASCII 63-126) encodes a 6-pixel vertical column, with the character's binary value determining which pixels are on or off. Color is specified through register-based palette control: a Select Color Sequence assigns an HLS or RGB color value to a numbered register, and subsequent sixel characters use that color until another register is selected. The encoding supports raster attributes for specifying pixel aspect ratio and image dimensions, repeat sequences (! followed by a count and character) for run-length compression of identical columns, and $ (carriage return) and - (new line) for navigating the sixel grid. DEC implemented SIXEL support in their VT240, VT241, VT330, and VT340 terminals, as well as multiple printer models. One advantage of the SIXEL encoding is its ASCII-clean nature: the data stream consists entirely of printable characters and standard control sequences, meaning SIXEL graphics can be transmitted through any text-based communication channel — serial terminals, SSH sessions, telnet connections — without requiring binary-safe transport or protocol modifications. The format's modern renaissance provides another remarkable dimension: after decades of obscurity, SIXEL support has been implemented in numerous contemporary terminal emulators, enabling inline image display in command-line workflows. SIXEL output can be generated by ImageMagick, libsixel, chafa, and various plotting libraries.
Initial release: 1983

Frequently Asked Questions

Why convert PBM to SIXEL?

SIXEL is widely supported and offers terminal-based graphics — ideal when PBM is too specialized for your needs.

What programs open SIXEL files?

Open SIXEL with xterm, mlterm, DEC-compatible terminals. On mobile devices, built-in gallery apps or third-party viewers also handle this format.

Can I convert multiple PBM files to SIXEL at once?

Yes — upload several PBM files simultaneously and convert them all to SIXEL in a single batch operation.

Is the PBM to SIXEL conversion instant?

Conversion typically finishes in seconds. PBM files are lightweight, so the transformation to SIXEL is quick.

Do I need to create an account to convert?

Registration is not required. You can convert PBM to SIXEL immediately — just visit the page and start uploading.

Does the converter work on mobile devices?

Yes — the PBM to SIXEL converter is fully browser-based and works on phones, tablets, and desktop computers equally well.