Free online converter for converting files to SUN.
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| Data type | Image |
| MIME type | image/x-sun-raster |
| Developer | Sun Microsystems |
| Primary use cases | Legacy SunOS/Solaris raster graphics; interchange/compatibility with older UNIX tooling; archived bitmap assets from Sun workstations |
SUN (Sun Raster) is a legacy bitmap format from Sun Microsystems (SunOS/Solaris) with a simple header, optional palette, and pixel data stored uncompressed or with basic RLE.
| Data type | Image |
| MIME type | image/x-sun-raster |
| Compression | Optional lossless RLE |
| Color depth | Historically common depths are 1-bit (bitmap) and 8-bit (grayscale or paletted); many decoders also support 24-bit (color) and 32-bit (color with an extra byte used as padding/attributes rather than alpha) |
| Color space | Grayscale, indexed/paletted (with colormap), and RGB; some toolchains support 24/32-bit variants; transparency is not defined by the format |
| Transparency support | No |
| Animation support | No |
| EXIF / Metadata support | No |
| Metadata | Very limited. The header and optional colormap carry technical info; there is no standardized Exif/XMP container. Some software may store extra data via nonstandard conventions, but interoperability is not guaranteed. |
| Structure type | Header + optional colormap + pixel data (rows padded to 16-bit) with optional byte-RLE |
| Standard / Specification | SunOS rasterfile.h / rasterfile(5) (commonly referenced as rasterfile.h 1.11 dated 1989-08-21) |
| Typical file size | Often large because data is commonly uncompressed; RLE may reduce size for flat areas but not for photographic/noisy images |
| Year introduced | 1989 |
The SUN file format offers several advantages that make it suitable for common use cases.
The SUN file format has certain limitations that may affect its use in specific scenarios.
SUN images are widely supported and can be viewed on most devices and platforms.
Treat as untrusted input: validate dimensions, row padding expectations, and RLE streams to avoid overflows/overreads in decoders
Legacy vendor format; specification is publicly documented (SunOS rasterfile.h / rasterfile(5)); not a formal modern standard