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PSD converter

A .psd file is Adobe Photoshop's native working document, preserving layers, masks, adjustment layers, text, and effects in an editable state. It is a project file rather than a delivery format: the layered source you keep, alongside flattened JPEG or PNG exports you actually publish.

Private for supported formats — processed in your browser

Convert supported files

Runs on your device

Drop PSD files here

Batch files can each use a different output. Nothing uploads for local conversions.

Working inputs include camera RAW, browser-local audio/video, PDF, CBZ/CBR comics, office documents, ebooks, markup, 3D models, structured text, images, and archives.

Where PSD comes from

The format arrived with Photoshop 1.0 in 1990, the application Thomas and John Knoll began writing in 1987 and licensed to Adobe. It has accreted capabilities with every Photoshop release for three decades, and the companion PSB (large document) variant was added in 2003 to escape the original 30,000-pixel dimension ceiling.

How PSD works

  • Stores an ordered layer stack with per-layer blending modes, opacity, masks, and effects
  • Supports 8-, 16-, and 32-bit channels in RGB, CMYK, Lab, grayscale, duotone, and indexed modes
  • Dimensions max out at 30,000 x 30,000 pixels; the PSB variant extends this to 300,000
  • Image data uses RLE (PackBits) or ZIP compression — lossless, hence the large files
  • A flattened composite can be embedded ('Maximize Compatibility'), which is what non-Photoshop apps like ag-psd read

When to use PSD

  • Ongoing photo retouching and compositing work that must stay editable
  • Design source files handed between designers with layers intact
  • Print production documents in CMYK with spot channels
  • Extracting a flattened preview when Photoshop itself is not available

Strengths and limitations

Strengths

  • Complete preservation of an edit session — nothing is flattened or discarded
  • De facto interchange standard for layered raster work
  • High bit depths and professional color modes

Limitations

  • Files balloon to hundreds of megabytes for complex documents
  • Full fidelity requires Photoshop; other apps approximate or read only the composite
  • Proprietary and sprawling — the spec's own maintainers have called its structure baroque

Compatibility

Photoshop on Windows and macOS is the reference implementation, with Affinity Photo, GIMP, and Krita offering good-but-imperfect layer support. Browsers cannot display .psd, and lightweight viewers depend on the embedded flattened composite, so files saved without 'Maximize Compatibility' may show nothing outside Adobe software.

EXIF, XMP, and IPTC persist in dedicated image-resource blocks, and Photoshop keeps color profiles, guides, and slice data alongside them.

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