--- title: "TexturePacker command line client" description: "Install the TexturePacker command line client, pack sprite sheets, update .tps projects and use TexturePacker in your build process without the graphical user interface." canonical: "https://www.codeandweb.com/texturepacker/documentation/commandline" product: "texturepacker" date: "2023-07-27T00:00:00.000Z" source: "html" --- # TexturePacker command line client The command line client runs TexturePacker without the graphical user interface. Use it to pack sprite sheets in your build process, on a build server, or to update many projects at once. This page shows how to install it and how to use it. The [command line parameters reference](https://www.codeandweb.com/texturepacker/documentation/commandline/parameters.md) explains every parameter, with defaults and examples. `TexturePacker --help` prints the options of the version you have installed. ## Installation ### Windows Open the menu **File** / **Install Command Line Tool**. It does not change your system: it shows the folder to add to your `PATH`. For a standard installation, that folder is: ``` C:\Program Files\CodeAndWeb\TexturePacker\bin ``` You can do this in your scripts: ```batch SET "PATH=C:\Program Files\CodeAndWeb\TexturePacker\bin;%PATH%" ``` To add the folder permanently, open **Settings** → **System** → **About** → **Advanced system settings** → **Environment Variables**, select the **Path** variable and add the folder shown above. ### macOS Use the menu **TexturePacker** / **Install Command Line Tool** to open this dialog: ![Installing TexturePacker's command line tool on macOS](https://www.codeandweb.com/static/ef8832a720a39975821c0ab57431aca4/a6f55/install-command-line-macos%402x.png) Click **Install**. TexturePacker asks for admin permissions to create a link to TexturePacker in `/usr/local/bin`. You can also create the link yourself: ```bash sudo ln -s "/Applications/TexturePacker.app/Contents/MacOS/TexturePacker" \ "/usr/local/bin/TexturePacker" ``` If you don't want a link, add TexturePacker to the `PATH` in your build scripts, `.zshrc` or `.bashrc` instead: ```bash export PATH="/Applications/TexturePacker.app/Contents/MacOS/:$PATH" ``` Both ways work the same. ### Linux With the `.deb` package, there is nothing to do: installing it already puts TexturePacker on your `PATH`. If you installed the Flatpak, add an alias to your `.bashrc` or `.zshrc`: ```bash alias TexturePacker='flatpak run com.codeandweb.texturepacker' ``` ## Packing sprites ### Packing a folder To pack all sprites in a folder, e.g. for Phaser: ``` TexturePacker --format phaser --data out.json --sheet out.png spritefolder ``` * [`--format`](https://www.codeandweb.com/texturepacker/documentation/commandline/parameters.md#input-output) sets the game engine or framework you pack for * [`--data`](https://www.codeandweb.com/texturepacker/documentation/commandline/parameters.md#input-output) sets the file name of the data file * [`--sheet`](https://www.codeandweb.com/texturepacker/documentation/commandline/parameters.md#input-output) sets the file name of the sprite sheet image * `spritefolder` is the folder that contains your sprites TexturePacker adds all sprites in `spritefolder`, including its sub-folders. You can pass several folders, or single sprite files if you want more control over what goes into the sheet. ### Building .tps projects TexturePacker can also build the projects you create in the graphical user interface. Save the project as a `.tps` file and pass it to the command line client: ``` # one project TexturePacker sheet.tps # several projects TexturePacker sheet1.tps sheet2.tps sheet3.tps # all projects in the current folder (macOS and Linux only) TexturePacker *.tps ``` ### Using a .tps file as a template Options on the command line override the settings in a `.tps` file. So you can keep your packing settings in a `.tps` file, without sprites or output file names, and pass the sprites and file names on the command line: ``` TexturePacker config.tps --data sheet.json --sheet sheet.png sprites ``` ### Using TexturePacker in your build TexturePacker only rebuilds a sprite sheet when something changed. It compares time stamps and a smart update hash that it stores in the sprite sheet's data file, and rebuilds the sheet if * a sprite was changed, added or removed, * the settings changed, * you use a different version of TexturePacker, or * you pass `--force-publish`. This check is very fast, so you can run TexturePacker in every build without slowing it down. You also don't have to list your sprites as input dependencies, e.g. in _make_: TexturePacker keeps track of them itself. ## Updating .tps project files You can change the settings of `.tps` files from the command line, without opening the graphical user interface. This is useful to change the same setting in many projects at once. For example, to change the padding in `project.tps`: ``` TexturePacker project.tps --padding 10 --save project.tps ``` This loads `project.tps`, changes the padding and saves the project again, without packing. ## Converting images TexturePacker can also convert single images between texture formats with `--convert-texture`. See [Image Conversion](https://www.codeandweb.com/texturepacker/documentation/image-conversion.md) for details. ## Line endings TexturePacker writes files with the line endings of your operating system: LineFeed (LF) on macOS and Linux, CarriageReturn-LineFeed (CRLF) on Windows. If your team works on Windows as well as macOS or Linux, configure your version control system to convert between the two styles. Our tutorial [How to handle line endings in git](https://www.codeandweb.com/tutorials/how-to-handle-line-endings-in-git.md) shows how. ## In this section - [Quickstart](https://www.codeandweb.com/texturepacker/documentation.md) - [Installation & Licensing](https://www.codeandweb.com/texturepacker/documentation/installation-and-licensing.md) - [Docker & CI](https://www.codeandweb.com/texturepacker/documentation/docker-ci.md) - [Graphical User Interface](https://www.codeandweb.com/texturepacker/documentation/user-interface-overview.md) - [Command line parameters](https://www.codeandweb.com/texturepacker/documentation/commandline/parameters.md) - [Texture Settings](https://www.codeandweb.com/texturepacker/documentation/texture-settings.md) - [Texture Compression](https://www.codeandweb.com/texturepacker/documentation/texture-compression.md) - [Sprite Sheet Cutter](https://www.codeandweb.com/texturepacker/documentation/sprite-sheet-cutter.md) - [Image Conversion](https://www.codeandweb.com/texturepacker/documentation/image-conversion.md) - [Custom Exporters](https://www.codeandweb.com/texturepacker/documentation/custom-exporter.md) - [Hidden features](https://www.codeandweb.com/texturepacker/documentation/hidden-features.md)