Reference

XBM

XBM (X BitMap) is a monochrome image format from the X Window System that is written as C source code. The file is literally a small C array defining a 1-bit image, which made it easy to compile icons directly into programs.

Files & formatsGeneral

XBM

Also known as: X BitMap, .xbm file, X11 bitmap

Monochrome X11 image written as C code
1-bit pixels, no color or grayscale
Mostly legacy; replaced by PNG and SVG

How XBM works

An XBM file is plain text containing a C array of bytes plus width and height. Each bit is one black-or-white pixel, so it carries no color or grayscale.

Because it is source code, developers could embed XBM icons and cursors straight into X11 applications without a separate image loader.

XBM today

XBM is largely a relic of early Unix desktops. For modern icons, use PNG or SVG; convert any old XBM you need to keep into PNG.

Related terms

Keep reading the reference.

Files & formatsXPMXPM (X PixMap) is a color image format from the X Window System, also written as C source code. It maps each character in a text grid to a color, letting developers embed small color icons directly into programs.General Files & formatsPNGPNG (.png) is a lossless image format that keeps every pixel exact and supports transparency. That makes it ideal for screenshots, logos, and graphics, but files are much larger than JPEG or WebP — so a folder full of PNG screenshots can quietly fill storage.General Files & formatsSVGSVG (.svg) is a vector image format that stores shapes as math rather than pixels, so it scales to any size without losing sharpness. For logos and icons it is usually tiny, but it is unsuited to photographs, which it cannot represent efficiently.General