Convert to XBM online

Free online converter for converting files to XBM.

Drag and drop images,
videos or any files

Drag files here. Maximum size — 5 GB

How to convert files to XBM?

Upload your file

Click the 'Choose File' button or drag and drop your file into the upload area. Supported formats include PNG, JPG, WEBP and more.

Select the output format

Make sure XBM is selected as the conversion format. Adjust additional settings if needed.

Start the conversion process

Click the 'Convert' button and wait a few seconds. All conversions are performed on our servers.

Download the result

Once the process is complete, click the 'Download' button and save the file in XBM format.

.XBM

XBM

X BitMap (X Window System Bitmap)

Data type	Image
MIME type	image/x-xbitmap
Developer	X Consortium / X Window System ecosystem
Primary use cases	X11 cursors and icon bitmaps; clip masks; tile/stipple patterns for drawing and UI assets

What is the XBM file format?

XBM is a very simple 1-bit (black-and-white) bitmap format from the X Window System, stored as C source with #define width/height and a byte array.

XBM file characteristics

Data type	Image
MIME type	image/x-xbitmap
Compression	None
Color depth	1 bit per pixel (1 bpp)
Color space	Monochrome (1-bit; foreground/background only)
Transparency support	No
Animation support	No
EXIF / Metadata support	No
Metadata	No standard metadata blocks (commonly only width/height and optional hotspot defines)
Structure type	#define constants → static byte array initializer (C syntax)
Standard / Specification	No single formal specification; format is defined by X11 bitmap utilities and Xlib functions (XReadBitmapFile / XWriteBitmapFile) and widely documented references
Typical file size	Usually small for tiny icons/cursors, but textual hex representation adds noticeable overhead vs raw bitmap bytes

Advantages

The XBM file format offers several advantages that make it suitable for common use cases.

Extremely simple;
Human-readable text;
Easy to embed directly into C/C++ source;
Tiny 1-bit assets are compact in memory;
Widely supported in classic X11 toolchains and many converters.

Limitations

The XBM file format has certain limitations that may affect its use in specific scenarios.

Monochrome only;
Intended for small images (icons/cursors/patterns). Feature set is minimal (no compression, no color management, no metadata). Because files look like C code, treat untrusted XBM carefully and prefer converting to PNG/SVG for the web.

Compatibility

XBM images are widely supported and can be viewed on most devices and platforms.

Supported platforms: Primarily X11/Unix-like systems; supported by many converters/editors (e.g., ImageMagick), but not by modern web browsers
Supported devices: X11 desktop environments (icons/cursors), lightweight/embedded systems using monochrome icons (via conversion)
Browser support: No
Mobile support: No
Backward compatibility: Yes

Security considerations

Avoid compiling or including untrusted XBM as C code. Even when parsing, treat as untrusted input: malformed content can trigger bugs in decoders; prefer converting to safer modern formats for distribution.

License

Open / publicly documented de facto format (no formal modern standard; defined by X11 tooling and common practice)

XBM (X BitMap) is a monochrome bitmap format historically used in the X Window System for cursors, icons, and stipple/clip patterns. An XBM file is plain text in C syntax: it defines _width and _height (and optionally _x_hot / _y_hot for cursor hotspots), followed by a static unsigned char _bits[] array with packed 1-bit pixels (typically least-significant-bit first within each byte). There is no real “image header”, no compression, and no standard metadata; modern web browsers generally do not support XBM.