PCX to MIFF Converter
Processing entirely on your device — large files may take a moment.
Convert images to MIFF when a downstream ImageMagick pipeline expects it, or MIFF to PNG/JPG for viewing. If your files are still in PCX format, this page is the shortcut: PCX was THE DOS-era image format: ZSoft Paintbrush's RLE-compressed raster that every 1990s game, scanner and clipart CD shipped in. Simple enough that its spec fits on one page.
This converter runs entirely in your browser using WebAssembly — your files never leave your device, nothing is uploaded, and there are no watermarks, sign-ups or queues. Drop in several files at once to convert them as a batch.
How to convert PCX to MIFF
- 1
Select your files
Drag & drop your PCX files onto the area above, or click to browse. You can add multiple files at once for batch conversion.
- 2
Convert instantly
Click "Convert to MIFF". The conversion runs entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly — no upload, no queue, no waiting.
- 3
Download results
Download each converted MIFF file individually, or grab everything at once as a ZIP archive.
About the PCX format
PCX was the image format of the DOS decade: ZSoft Paintbrush's run-length-encoded raster that every scanner, game and clipart CD adopted because it was published, simple and fast on 286 hardware. The header is a fixed 128 bytes, the palette hides in the final 769, and the whole file can be decoded by one while-loop.
Retro gaming archives and 90s clipart collections are full of PCX files. Converting them to PNG or JPG finally makes them viewable — the pixels were always fine, the container was just ancient.
+Strengths
- ✓Decoded by a single RLE loop — no dependencies
- ✓Ubiquitous in DOS-era archives
- ✓Supports paletted and 24-bit variants
!Limitations
- −Effectively dead since Windows 95
- −Rows padded — some files have alignment quirks
- −256-color ceiling for most real-world files
About the MIFF format
MIFF is ImageMagick's own interchange format — a lossless raster container designed to carry exactly what the engine has in memory: every channel, an optional color profile, per-image properties and even multiple frames in one file. Command-line pipelines use it as the glue between successive ImageMagick operations.
Outside ImageMagick tooling almost nothing opens MIFF. Convert MIFF to PNG or JPG to hand pipeline intermediates to people, or into MIFF when feeding an ImageMagick chain that expects the format.
+Strengths
- ✓Lossless with full channel fidelity
- ✓Multi-frame and rich metadata support
- ✓Native to ImageMagick pipelines
!Limitations
- −Large files (little compression)
- −Unsupported outside ImageMagick
Why convert PCX to MIFF?
Converting makes sense where the strengths of MIFF meet what PCX cannot give you. Lossless with full channel fidelity Meanwhile Effectively dead since Windows 95 One pass through the converter above puts your file on the right side of that trade-off.
Frequently asked questions
Is this PCX to MIFF converter really free?
Yes — completely free, with no sign-up, no watermark and no daily conversion limits. The site is supported by advertising.
Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. The conversion runs entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly, so your files never leave your device — that is what makes it instant and private.
Does it work on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android?
Yes. Anything with a modern browser works: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. No software installation is required.
Will I lose quality converting PCX to MIFF?
No — MIFF is a lossless format, so every pixel of the converted image matches your original PCX file. You can also adjust the quality/size balance before converting when the target format supports compression.
Will transparent areas survive the conversion to MIFF?
Transparency is kept whenever MIFF actually supports an alpha channel. If the target format has none (like JPG), transparent areas are flattened onto a white background — that is a property of the format, not of this tool.
Can I convert several PCX files at once?
Yes — drop as many files as you like into the tool and they are converted in one batch. When more than one file comes out, everything is bundled into a ZIP for a single download.