AutoTrace

AutoTrace is a program for converting bitmap images to vector graphics.

Features

Outline and centerline tracing - trace the edges or centerlines of shapes
Color reduction - reduce colors for cleaner output
Despeckling - remove noise from images
Multiple formats - supports numerous input formats (PNG, BMP, PNM, TGA, etc.) and output formats (SVG, EPS, PDF, DXF, etc.)

Installation

Package Managers

macOS:

brew install autotrace
# or
port install autotrace

Linux:

# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf install autotrace

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S autotrace

# Debian/Ubuntu - build from source (see below)

FreeBSD:

pkg install autotrace

Windows

Download the installer from the Releases page.

Available installers:

autotrace-VERSION-win32-setup.exe (32-bit)
autotrace-VERSION-win64-setup.exe (64-bit)

Building from Source

See INSTALL for detailed instructions.

Requirements:

C compiler (GCC, Clang, MSVC)
libpng (optional, for PNG support)
ImageMagick or GraphicsMagick (optional, for additional formats)
GLib 2.x

Quick start:

# System-wide installation (requires root)
./autogen.sh
./configure
make
sudo make install

# User-local installation (no root needed)
./autogen.sh
./configure --prefix=$HOME/.local
make
make install

Usage

Command Line

Convert a bitmap to SVG:

autotrace input.png -output-file output.svg

Trace centerlines:

autotrace input.png -centerline -output-file output.svg

Reduce colors before tracing:

autotrace input.png -color-count 4 -output-file output.svg

For complete options, see autotrace --help or man autotrace.

Library

AutoTrace can be used as a library (libautotrace). Here's a minimal example:

#include <autotrace/autotrace.h>

int main()
{
  at_fitting_opts_type * opts = at_fitting_opts_new();
  at_input_read_func rfunc = at_input_get_handler("image.png");
  at_bitmap_type * bitmap = at_bitmap_read(rfunc, "image.png", NULL, NULL, NULL);
  at_splines_type * splines = at_splines_new(bitmap, opts, NULL, NULL);
  at_output_write_func wfunc = at_output_get_handler_by_suffix("eps");

  at_splines_write(wfunc, stdout, "", NULL, splines, NULL, NULL);
  at_splines_free(splines);
  at_bitmap_free(bitmap);
  at_fitting_opts_free(opts);

  return 0;
}

Compile with:

gcc sample.c $(pkg-config --cflags --libs autotrace)

See autotrace.h for full API documentation.

Supported Formats

Input formats: PNG, BMP, TGA, PNM (PBM/PGM/PPM), GF

With ImageMagick/GraphicsMagick: JPEG, TIFF, GIF, and many more

Output formats: SVG, EPS, PDF, AI, DXF, CGM, EMF, MIF, ER, Fig, and many others

List all formats: autotrace --list-input-formats or autotrace --list-output-formats

Translation

AutoTrace uses GNU gettext for internationalization. Help translate AutoTrace into your language!

For translators: Visit our Weblate project to start translating. See TRANSLATING.md for detailed guidelines.

For developers: When adding translatable strings, wrap them with _() and run ./po/update-pot.sh to update the translation template. See TRANSLATING.md for details.

Contributing

Contributions welcome! See our issue tracker and TODO file.

Areas where help is needed:

Bug fixes and improvements
Documentation
Additional format support
Plugin development for image editors
Your ideas and suggestions!

License

Program: GPL v2 or later
Library (libautotrace): LGPL v2.1 or later
Input/output modules can be used under either license

History

AutoTrace was originally developed by Martin Weber. Some code was derived from the limn program in GNU fontutils, though most has been completely rewritten.

Author

Martin Weber (martweb@gmx.net)

Autotrace

Install / Use

README