About XBM Files
X BitMap
XBM (X BitMap) is a monochrome image format used in the X Window System for cursor and icon bitmaps. The format stores pixel data as C source code arrays, making it directly includable in X11 programs.
Family
Raster & Vector Images
Extension
.xbm
MIME Type
image/x-xbitmap
Can Use As
HOW XBM
CAME TO BE.
XBM — X Bitmap — is the 1-bit ancestor of XPM, shipped with X11 in 1989. An .xbm file is literally a valid C header declaring a character array that represents a black-and-white bitmap. X Window System used XBM for cursors, mouse pointers, and small icons during the era when displays were monochrome or 2-color. Mozilla briefly supported XBM in early browsers (Navigator 2.0, 1996) as a web image format.
Today XBM is a footnote. Every other format — PNG, SVG, even PBM — does what XBM does with color and better compression. .xbm files appear occasionally in legacy X11 distributions and in text-art archives where "image is literally C source code" has nostalgic appeal.
CURIOSITIES &
TRIVIA.
XBM files are valid C header code — `#include "cursor.xbm"` defines an array your program can blit to the screen.
Mozilla Navigator 2.0 (1996) briefly supported XBM as a web image format — the browser parsed C source to render pixels.
XBM predates XPM (1989 vs 1990) and is restricted to 1-bit monochrome.
X Window System's default mouse cursor in 1990 was distributed as an .xbm file.
A small .xbm can fit in a tweet — the format is text-editable and compact for simple bitmaps.
STRENGTHS &
LIMITATIONS.
Strengths
- Valid C source — embeddable.
- Text-editable.
- Tiny files.
- X11-native since 1989.
Limitations
- 1-bit monochrome only.
- Legacy — modern UIs use PNG/SVG.
- No compression.
Typical Sizes & Weights
Mouse cursor (16×16)
< 1 KB
Technical Specifications
- MIME type
- image/x-xbitmap
- Extension
- .xbm
- Bit depth
- 1-bit
- Format
- C source code
CONVERT FROM
XBM
Common Use Cases
X Window system cursors, icon design, embedded bitmap resources
Related Formats
Popular comparisons
XBM vs JPG
Differences, file size, and when to choose each format.
XBM vs PNG
Differences, file size, and when to choose each format.
XBM vs WEBP
Differences, file size, and when to choose each format.
XBM vs AVIF
Differences, file size, and when to choose each format.
XBM vs GIF
Differences, file size, and when to choose each format.
XBM vs BMP
Differences, file size, and when to choose each format.
Popular XBM conversions
The most-requested destinations when starting from XBM.
Frequently Asked Questions about XBM
Frequently Asked Questions
XBM (X BitMap) is an image format used to store raster graphics — a two-dimensional grid of pixels describing a picture. It is part of the raster & vector images family and designed around a specific trade-off between file size, visual fidelity, and feature support (transparency, colour depth, compression type). Photographers, web designers, and content creators choose XBM when its particular strengths match the publishing target.
Most desktop photo viewers (Windows Photos, macOS Preview, GIMP, Photoshop, Affinity Photo) open XBM natively. On mobile, iOS Photos and Google Photos display XBM in the gallery when supported by the OS. If the format is rare or new, convert to JPG or PNG first — both are universally readable — using our XBM to JPG or XBM to PNG converter.
Upload the XBM to KaijuConverter and pick a target format (JPG, PNG, WebP, HEIC, TIFF, BMP, SVG, PDF). The conversion runs in the browser via ImageMagick and returns a download in seconds. No account or installation required; both input and output delete automatically within two hours.
It depends on the task. JPG is the smallest file size for photographs; PNG is lossless with transparency; XBM has its own niche that may favour colour depth, animation, or encoding efficiency over one or both of those. For the final web publish, test all three and measure file size plus visible quality on real content.