Truevision TGA Bitmap 1.0
Unknownimage · also known as TGA, Targa Bitmap
TGA (often referred to as TARGA) is a simple raster format for individual images first established by Truevision, Inc. in 1984. Designed for use on systems that used MS-DOS color applications, TGA is the native format of Truevision's TARGA (Truevision Advanced Raster Graphics Adapter) boards, which were some of the first graphic cards for IBM-compatible PCs to support truecolor display (most often defined as 24-bit RGB color encoding). Truevision defined the first version of its TGA file format in 1984 for use with its first videographics products, including video boards for PC displays. In 1989, Truevision introduced TGA version 2.0. TGA supports mapped/indexed color and RGB color, with additional support for transparency information (sometimes referred to as alpha channel, as in RGBA color space). Transparency information permits images to be superimposed over other data, e.g., additional images, text layouts, or video, and permits effects like cross-fading between graphic images and video, etc. TGA images may be encoded at 8, 16, 24, or 32 bits per pixel (as mapped/indexed color, RGB, or RGBA). TGA supported 24-bit color before such support was available in the TIFF format, and this helped establish the format's popularity during the 1980s. The file signature is a FourCC code: TPIC. Also a variety of extensions were permissable in TGA version 1 (including .VDA”, “.ICB”, “.TGA”, and “.VST) but these were deprecated in TGA version 2.0 specification and only TGA was permitted).
Identify it
| Extensions | .tga.icb.vda.vst.afi.bpx |
|---|---|
| MIME types | image/x-targaimage/x-tga |
| PRONOM | x-fmt/367 |
| Wikidata | Q123003172 |
| Library of Congress | fdd000179 |
| Apple UTI | com.truevision.tga-image |
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Open it
Listed for the family; check that the software handles this version.
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And 80 more in the JSON record.
Convert it
| To | With | Fidelity | Command and losses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portable Network Graphics | ImageMagick | Lossless | convert in.icb out.pngPixels kept; some metadata, colour profiles or layers may be dropped. |
| Tagged Image File Format | ImageMagick | Lossless | convert in.icb out.tifPixels kept; some metadata, colour profiles or layers may be dropped. |
| GIF 89a | ImageMagick | Lossy | convert in.icb out.gifReduced to 256 colours. |
| JPEG File Interchange Format 1.02 | ImageMagick | Lossy | convert in.icb out.jpgLossy compression. |
| WebP | ImageMagick | Lossy | convert in.icb out.webpLossy compression. |
Documentation
- kaitai grammar: https://github.com/kaitai-io/kaitai_struct_formats/blob/master/image/tga.ksy — from the family
Sources
From PRONOM, Wikidata. Updated 2026-10-20.