TGA to PFM Converter
Processing entirely on your device — large files may take a moment.
Convert PFM to PNG or JPG to get a viewable tone-mapped preview of float data. If your files are still in TGA format, this page is the shortcut: TGA (Targa) is the texture format of classic 3D and game pipelines — simple raster data, often with an alpha channel.
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 TGA compares to PFM
| TGA | PFM | |
|---|---|---|
| Compression | None or RLE | None (raw floats) |
| Transparency | Supported (32-bit) | Not supported |
| Animation | Not supported | Not supported |
| Metadata | Minimal | Minimal header only |
| Best for | Game textures, 3D pipelines | HDR interchange, render passes |
How to convert TGA to PFM
- 1
Select your files
Drag & drop your TGA 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 PFM". The conversion runs entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly — no upload, no queue, no waiting.
- 3
Download results
Download each converted PFM file individually, or grab everything at once as a ZIP archive.
About the TGA format
TGA (Truevision Targa, 1984) was the file format of early video digitizer boards and became the texture standard of classic game and 3D pipelines. It is raster data with almost no ceremony: a small header, optional RLE compression, 8/24/32-bit pixels, alpha optional. Half the 3D engines of the 90s read nothing else.
Modern design and web tools have quietly dropped it, but art asset dumps, texture mods and game extracts still arrive as TGA. Converting to PNG (lossless, with alpha intact) or JPG brings these assets into anything current.
+Strengths
- ✓Trivially simple, lossless raster storage
- ✓Alpha channel support
- ✓The texture format of classic game pipelines
!Limitations
- −Dropped by modern design and web tools
- −No metadata ecosystem
- −Files can be large when uncompressed
About the PFM format
PFM (Portable Float Map) stores pixels as raw 32-bit floating-point values — no palette, no compression tricks, just the numbers. It belongs to the Netpbm family (PBM/PGM/PPM) and is the lingua franca for handing high-dynamic-range data between renderers, tone-mapping experiments and radiance research scripts.
Because the values are floats, a PFM can hold sunlight and candlelight in the same image without clipping. Viewers rarely open it directly: convert to PNG or JPG to get a tone-mapped preview of the same data.
+Strengths
- ✓Full floating-point precision
- ✓Dead-simple text/binary layout
- ✓Widely read by research tooling
!Limitations
- −Enormous files (16 bytes per pixel)
- −Almost no viewer support
Why convert TGA to PFM?
There is a concrete reason this conversion exists: Dropped by modern design and web tools PFM sidesteps that — Full floating-point precision If that is your situation, the tool above settles it in seconds, entirely on your device.
Frequently asked questions
Is this TGA to PFM 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 TGA to PFM?
No — PFM is a lossless format, so every pixel of the converted image matches your original TGA file. You can also adjust the quality/size balance before converting when the target format supports compression.
What happens to EXIF data and other metadata?
Conversions here re-encode the image, and re-encoding generally does not carry the original metadata over. If the EXIF data of your TGA files matters (camera model, GPS, timestamps), keep the original file as the master and treat the converted copy as the shareable version.
Can I convert several TGA 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.