Why convert QOI to TGA?
TGA is a long-standing texture format that game engines, texturing tools and 3D DCC apps read natively, while QOI is rarely supported there. Converting to .tga drops the image straight into those pipelines while keeping full RGBA, since both are lossless.
How to convert QOI to TGA
ImageMagick OPEN-SOURCE
Run magick input.qoi output.tga (ImageMagick 7.1.0-20+ reads QOI). Add -compress RLE if you want the run-length TGA variant instead of uncompressed.
XnView MP APP
Open the .qoi, then File > Export... and pick TGA. XnConvert can process an entire folder of QOI textures at once.
GIMP 3.0 OPEN-SOURCE
Open the .qoi in GIMP 3.0 (which added QOI support), then File > Export As... and give it a .tga extension to save a TrueVision TGA.
About these formats
A .qoi file is a Quite OK Image, a lossless raster image saved in an open format created by Dominic Szablewski in 2021 as a much faster alternative to PNG. It stores 24-bit RGB or 32-bit…
Open .QOI details →
.TGA
Truevision TGA (TARGA) Image
A TGA file is a Truevision Targa raster image, uncompressed or lightly RLE-compressed, widely used in game and video pipelines because it stores a clean alpha (transparency) channel. Open…
Open .TGA details →Quality & what to watch
- Both formats are lossless, so the pixels and alpha channel are preserved exactly.
- TGA files are much larger than QOI because TGA is either uncompressed or lightly RLE-compressed.
- Check whether your target tool expects top-left or bottom-left row order; some engines flip TGA textures vertically.
Frequently asked questions
Is the alpha channel kept?
Uncompressed or RLE TGA?
-compress RLE in ImageMagick for smaller files, or leave it uncompressed for maximum tool compatibility.
