Convert png to svg using imagemagick and potrace

png2svg.sh

#!/bin/bash

if [ "$1" == "" ]; then
  echo Usage: $0 pngfile
  exit 0;
fi

FILE=`basename $1 .png`

if [ ! -e $FILE.png ]; then
  echo $FILE.png does not exist
  exit 1;
fi

convert $FILE.png $FILE.pnm
potrace -s -o $FILE.svg $FILE.pnm
rm $FILE.pnm

hello, noob question... Im running zsh in mac instead of bash... png2svg.sh with the !#/bin/bash shebang works; why?
and why does it not work if I change the shebang to zsh one and the ext to zsh? thnx

hello, noob question... Im running zsh in mac instead of bash... png2svg.sh with the !#/bin/bash shebang works; why?
and why does it not work if I change the shebang to zsh one and the ext to zsh? thnx

Hi @Wiruu! The !#/bin/bash means that the script will always be run in bash. The script syntax is bash, not zsh and that's why it would not work with !#/bin/zsh. The filename extension does not affect how it is run. I hope this helps!

does a lot thnx...

You may struggle if you do not apply high or low pass filters first. See http://potrace.sourceforge.net/mkbitmap.html

Alternate command: convert infile.png pnm:- | potrace -s -o outfile.svg

Alternate command: convert infile.png pnm:- | potrace -s -o outfile.svg

Nice one! Thanks!

convert -alpha remove FILENAME.png FILENAME.svg

For all files in directory:
for i in *.png ; do convert -alpha remove "$i" $(echo $i | sed s/png/svg/) ; done

Hi, I am trying to convert multiple full-colored PNG to SVG. I use PC. I have Potrace and Inkscape installed. What do I need to do to get this to work on my computer? What does "make it executable" mean? Thank you.

Hi, I am trying to convert multiple full-colored PNG to SVG. I use PC. I have Potrace and Inkscape installed. What do I need to do to get this to work on my computer? What does "make it executable" mean? Thank you.

This is a shell script for Unix/Linux/Posix systems. "make it executable" means doing the following:

$ chmod +x png2svg.sh

If you are on a Windows system, it doesn't mean anything as Windows filesystem doesn't support setting executable bit.

Windows doesn't have a Posix shell. So you won't be able to use this script unless you have an environment like MSYS2 or Cygwin installed.