What is a .tga file?
Truevision TGA (Targa) · Image · Truevision · 1984
TGA, also called Targa, is an older raster image format that supports transparency and simple lossless compression. It lingers in games, 3D texturing and some video work, though PNG has largely replaced it for new images.
What is a .tga file used for?
TGA stores pixels with an optional alpha channel and optional run-length compression, which made it a solid, simple choice in the early days of digital imaging and 3D.
It stayed popular in game development and 3D texturing, and you still find it alongside other texture formats in art pipelines.
Unusually, a TGA has no signature at the very start; version 2 files are identified by a 'TRUEVISION-XFILE' marker at the end. Open one in IrfanView, GIMP or Photoshop.
How to open a .tga file
The .tga format opens in the following apps, grouped by operating system. If one app does not work, try another from the same list.
Windows
- IrfanView
- GIMP
- Photoshop
macOS
- GIMP
- Photoshop
- Preview (some)
Linux
- GIMP
- ImageMagick
Web
- Not natively; convert to PNG first
How to convert a .tga file
You can convert a .tga file to PNG, JPG using a conversion tool or the export menu of an app that opens it.
Convert images free: ImageConvert
.tga file signature (magic bytes)
Programs recognise a .tga file by the bytes at the start of the file, not by its name. These are the signatures for TGA.
| Hex signature | Offset | Note |
|---|---|---|
| (no fixed signature) | 0 | no fixed header magic; TGA version 2 files end with 'TRUEVISION-XFILE' at the end of the file |
See the full magic-numbers reference for every format.
Frequently asked questions
What is a .tga file?
TGA, also called Targa, is an older raster image format that supports transparency and simple lossless compression. It lingers in games, 3D texturing and some video work, though PNG has largely replaced it for new images.
How do I open a TGA file?
Use IrfanView on Windows, or GIMP and Photoshop on any system. Browsers do not display TGA, so convert it to PNG for the web.
Should I use TGA or PNG?
For new images, PNG: it is smaller, lossless, supports transparency and opens everywhere. TGA is mainly worth keeping when a game or 3D tool specifically expects it.
Related formats
Sources
Details on this page were checked against authoritative references: