File Formats

Pixpop works with three file formats: .pix session files for saving your whole workspace, and .png / .ans for exporting finished artwork.

Saving vs. exporting

	Save (Ctrl+S)	Export (Ctrl+E)
Purpose	Preserve your working session	Produce shareable artwork
Format	.pix	.png or .ans
Keeps layers	Yes	No (composited)
Keeps undo history	Yes	No
Keeps tabs	Yes	No (active canvas only)

Both dialogs let you type a path directly or browse with the file picker. If you enter a directory, a timestamped filename is generated for you. Parent directories are created automatically, and files are written atomically so a crash never leaves a half-written file.

.pix — session files

.pix is Pixpop's native session format: a gzipped JSON document capturing everything needed to restore your workspace exactly as you left it:

• Tabs (canvas names and order)
• Canvas size per tab
• Layers — names, visibility, and pixel data
• Undo/redo stacks per tab
• Shared tool state and palette selection

Session, not artwork

The .pix format is meant for restoring a working session, not for sharing art. Export to PNG or ANSI for that.

.png — image export

Exports the active canvas as a PNG image with transparency, compositing all visible layers. The export dialog offers integer upscaling — 1x, 2x, 4x, or 8x — so tiny pixel art can be exported at a viewable size without blurring.

PNG files can also be loaded back onto a canvas (see below), which makes PNGs a reasonable interchange format for starting from existing art.

.ans — ANSI art export

Exports the active canvas as ANSI art (escape-coded colored half-blocks), the classic format for terminal art and BBS-style pieces. The export dialog offers a Trim option that crops the output to the painted region instead of exporting the full canvas rectangle.

Pixels matching the canvas background are written as transparent, so the artwork composites cleanly over whatever is behind it in the terminal.

Loading files (Ctrl+O)

The load dialog accepts all three formats:

Format	What happens
.pix	Restores the full session: tabs, layers, undo history, palette
.png	Imports the image onto a canvas
.ans	Parses the ANSI art onto a canvas

Loaded artwork can be edited with every tool — import a PNG sketch, then keep drawing on it in the terminal.