texture-converter

name	texture-converter
description	Guide for using the texconv command-line texture conversion tool. Use this skill when asked about converting textures, compressing images to DDS/BC formats, generating mipmaps, resizing textures, creating normal maps, or performing HDR tone mapping from the command line.
license	MIT
metadata	{"author":"chuckw","version":"1.0"}

Texconv Texture Converter

This skill provides guidance for using the texconv command-line tool to convert, compress, resize, and process texture images.

When to Use

Invoke this skill when:

• Converting image files (PNG, BMP, JPG, TGA, HDR, etc.) to DDS or other formats.
• Applying block compression (BC1–BC7) to textures for runtime use.
• Generating mipmaps for texture files.
• Resizing textures or fitting them to power-of-2 dimensions.
• Creating normal maps from height maps.
• Performing HDR tone mapping or colorspace conversions.
• Batch-processing texture files using wildcards or file lists.

Installation

winget (Recommended)

winget install Microsoft.DirectXTex.Texconv

vcpkg

vcpkg install directxtex[tools]

Syntax

texconv [options] [--file-list <filename>] <file-name(s)>

Input files can be dds, tga, hdr, phm, ppm, pfm, or any WIC-supported format (bmp, jpg, png, jxr, heif, webp, etc.).

The command-line uses Windows-style - or / for options. It also supports --version, --help, and GNU long-option style parameters with --.

Common Workflows

Convert to BC7 compressed DDS with mipmaps

texconv -f BC7_UNORM -m 0 -y diffuse.png

Convert to BC1 (DXT1) with power-of-2 resize

texconv -pow2 -f BC1_UNORM cat.jpg

Batch convert all PNG files recursively

texconv -r C:\Textures\*.png

Convert HDR to BMP with tone mapping

texconv myimage.hdr -tonemap -ft BMP

Generate normal map from height map

texconv -nmap lo -nmapamp 2 -f R8G8B8A8_UNORM heightmap.png

Convert for legacy Direct3D 9 with feature level cap

texconv -pow2 -fl 9.3 -f BC3_UNORM -m 1 *.bmp

Output to a specific directory with prefix/suffix

texconv -o output_dir -px hd_ -sx _bc7 -f BC7_UNORM *.png

Convert to PNG from DDS

texconv -ft png -y texture.dds

Premultiplied alpha conversion

texconv -pmalpha -f BC3_UNORM ui_element.png

HDR10 colorspace conversion

texconv --rotate-color 709toHDR10 -nits 200 -f R10G10B10A2_UNORM scene.hdr

Swizzle channels

texconv --swizzle rrrg -f BC5_UNORM normal.png

Options Reference

See reference/options.md for the complete options reference.

Quick Reference (most common options)

Option	Description
-f <format>	Output DXGI format (e.g., BC7_UNORM, R8G8B8A8_UNORM)
-ft <type>	Output file type (dds, png, bmp, jpg, tga, hdr, etc.)
-o <dir>	Output directory
-y	Overwrite existing files
-m <n>	Mipmap levels (0 = full chain, 1 = none)
-w <n> / -h <n>	Output width / height in pixels
-pow2	Fit to power-of-2 dimensions
-if <filter>	Image filter (POINT, LINEAR, CUBIC, FANT, BOX, TRIANGLE)
-srgb	Input and output are sRGB
-pmalpha	Convert to premultiplied alpha
-bc <flags>	BC compression flags (u, d, q, x)
-nmap <flags>	Generate normal map from height map
-r	Recursive wildcard search
-nologo	Suppress copyright message

Output Format

By default, texconv writes DDS files. The output filename matches the input filename with the appropriate extension. Use -ft to change the output format, -o for output directory, and -px/-sx for filename prefix/suffix.

Notes

• When no size is specified (-w / -h), the output size matches the input.
• DDS output defaults to generating all mipmap levels (-m 0). Use -m 1 to suppress mipmaps.
• BC6H and BC7 compression uses GPU acceleration by default when available. Use -nogpu to force CPU.
• For cubemaps, volume maps, or texture arrays from individual files, use texassemble instead.
• Support for OpenEXR (exr) format requires building from source with USE_OPENEXR defined.
• Additional WIC codecs (HEIF, WEBP) work automatically if installed on the system.

Further Reading

• Texconv Wiki
• DirectXTex Documentation
• Image Formats
• Filter Flags