Texture Packer

master	development

The Texture Packer tool efficiently combines multiple images into a single optimized texture atlas, minimizing memory usage and boosting rendering performance. By leveraging advanced packing algorithms, it maximizes space utilization and streamlines asset management for game development and UI design, enabling faster load times and simplified workflow.

Key features

• Automatically discovers images from folders or accepts them via the command line.
• Supports input formats: JPEG, PNG, TGA, BMP, PSD, GIF, HDR, PIC, PNM.
• Exports to PNG (default), TGA, and BMP with accompanying XML metadata.
• Provides two packing algorithms: KD-Tree (default) and Classic.
• Supports multi-atlas output when images exceed the maximum atlas size.
• Trims transparent borders from input images to save space.
• Adds configurable border and padding around sprites.
• Supports power-of-two atlas dimensions.

Usage

texpacker INPUT_IMAGE [INPUT_IMAGE] <OPTIONS> --atlas=PATH
  INPUT_IMAGE        Input image file or directory (space-separated)
  --algorithm=NAME   Packing algorithm (kdtree or classic, default: kdtree)
  --allow-dupes      Allow duplicate sprites (default: false)
  --atlas-size=SIZE  Maximum atlas size (default: 2048 px)
  --atlas=PATH       Output atlas file name (default: PNG)
  --border=SIZE      Add border around sprites (default: 0 px)
  --drop-ext         Remove file extension from sprite ID (default: false)
  --keep-float       Preserve float hotspot coordinates (default: false)
  --multi-atlas      Enable multi-atlas output (default: false)
  --no-recurse       Do not search subdirectories
  --overlay          Overlay sprites (default: false)
  --padding=SIZE     Add padding between sprites (default: 1 px)
  --pot              Make atlas dimensions power of two (default: false)
  --prefix=PREFIX    Add prefix to texture path
  --trim-id=COUNT    Remove COUNT characters from the start of sprite IDs (default: 0)
  --trim-sprite      Trim transparent borders from sprites (default: false)
  --xml=PATH         The output file path for the atlas description in XML format

Download and build

Requires CMake 3.22+ and a C++17 compiler.

git clone https://github.com/reybits/texture-packer.git
cd texture-packer
make release

Install with homebrew

brew tap reybits/homebrew-tap
brew install reybits/texture-packer

Input format notes

• JPEG baseline & progressive (12 bpc/arithmetic not supported, same as stock IJG lib).
• PNG 1/2/4/8-bit-per-channel (16 bpc not supported).
• TGA (not sure what subset, if a subset).
• BMP non-1bpp, non-RLE.
• PSD (composited view only, no extra channels, 8/16 bit-per-channel).
• GIF (*comp always reports as 4-channel).
• HDR (radiance rgbE format).
• PIC (Softimage PIC).
• PNM (PPM and PGM binary only).

TODO

• Refactor the test infrastructure and create a dedicated test image dataset that covers all possible cases (single-atlas, multi-atlas, POT/non-POT, trim, border, padding, different algorithms, edge cases with large/thin sprites).

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https://github.com/reybits
and@reybits.dev