ppm
What is a .ppm file?
image/x-portable-pixmap
PPM (Portable Pixmap) is a deliberately simple truecolor image format from the Netpbm family, storing RGB pixels as either ASCII text or raw binary after a small text header. It uses no compression, making files large but trivial to parse. It is common in academic, scientific, and toolchain contexts.
How to use a .ppm file
Use an example PPM to test minimal image parsers, verify raw RGB pipeline output, or serve as an easily hand-inspectable intermediate in conversion tools.
Download example .ppm files
- PPM: Netpbm Test Image (P6)A 256×256 fruit still-life image as binary Netpbm P6 (24-bit colour): the minimal, header-plus-raw-pixels family used across Unix imaging tools. For testing Netpbm parsers and conversion.
- Head and shoulders portrait of a black (ppm binary)The same 512x512 photograph written as ppm binary. Netpbm binary: a tiny header then raw bytes, with no compression at all. Every member of this group is identical pixels, so a decoder returning different dimensions or a different pixel count has lost something rather than simply produced a different file; the 24-bit PNG in this group is lossless and is the reference the lossy members are measured against Source plate a-av-f3.
- A Black man in his seventies with grey (ppm binary)The same 512x350 photograph written as ppm binary. Netpbm binary: a tiny header then raw bytes, with no compression at all. Every member of this group is identical pixels, so a decoder returning different dimensions or a different pixel count has lost something rather than simply produced a different file; the 24-bit PNG in this group is lossless and is the reference the lossy members are measured against Source plate p-market-sen.
- Silver sedan parked on a suburban (ppm binary)The same 512x512 photograph written as ppm binary. Netpbm binary: a tiny header then raw bytes, with no compression at all. Every member of this group is identical pixels, so a decoder returning different dimensions or a different pixel count has lost something rather than simply produced a different file; the 24-bit PNG in this group is lossless and is the reference the lossy members are measured against Source plate v-car-sedan.
- Overhead plate of fresh pasta with (ppm binary)The same 512x512 photograph written as ppm binary. Netpbm binary: a tiny header then raw bytes, with no compression at all. Every member of this group is identical pixels, so a decoder returning different dimensions or a different pixel count has lost something rather than simply produced a different file; the 24-bit PNG in this group is lossless and is the reference the lossy members are measured against Source plate f-plate-pasta.
- Flat red brick wall (ppm binary)The same 512x341 photograph written as ppm binary. Netpbm binary: a tiny header then raw bytes, with no compression at all. Every member of this group is identical pixels, so a decoder returning different dimensions or a different pixel count has lost something rather than simply produced a different file; the 24-bit PNG in this group is lossless and is the reference the lossy members are measured against Source plate t-tex-brick.
- Smooth abstract gradient, deep teal to (ppm binary)The same 512x341 photograph written as ppm binary. Netpbm binary: a tiny header then raw bytes, with no compression at all. Every member of this group is identical pixels, so a decoder returning different dimensions or a different pixel count has lost something rather than simply produced a different file; the 24-bit PNG in this group is lossless and is the reference the lossy members are measured against Source plate t-grad-cool.
- Fantasy video game environment, stone (ppm binary)The same 512x512 photograph written as ppm binary. Netpbm binary: a tiny header then raw bytes, with no compression at all. Every member of this group is identical pixels, so a decoder returning different dimensions or a different pixel count has lost something rather than simply produced a different file; the 24-bit PNG in this group is lossless and is the reference the lossy members are measured against Source plate g-fantasy-keep.
and 1 more in the library.