ICON Converter
FileFlip converts ICON files into 61 other formats entirely inside your browser, using ImageMagick, MuPDF and Pandoc compiled to WebAssembly. The ICON file is never uploaded to a server: it is read off your disk, converted on your own machine, and saved back by the browser. There is no file-size limit and no account to create.
How do I convert an ICON file?#
- Drop your ICON file onto the converter at the top of this page, or click it to pick one from your computer.
- Choose the format you want out of it. FileFlip downloads the engine that conversion needs, once, and your browser caches it.
- Conversion starts the moment you pick the format, and the result is yours to download. The work happens in this tab, so nothing is uploaded and nothing is queued.
Is it safe to convert ICON files online?#
Yes, because nothing is uploaded. FileFlip converts ICON files inside the browser tab you already have open, using WebAssembly builds of the same engines a desktop converter would install. Your file is read from your own disk into the page's memory, and no request carrying it is ever made.
You do not have to take that on trust. Open your browser's network panel, run a conversion, and you will see the engine come down and your file go nowhere. There is no upload, no server-side copy, no retention window, and no account tied to what you converted.
How FileFlip works lists every engine, its version and its download size, and shows how to check for yourself that nothing leaves your machine.
What happens to a ICON file#
FileFlip converts ICON into 61 formats with ImageMagick, MuPDF and Pandoc, all of it inside the browser tab. Each conversion below names the engine it uses, what it downloads, and exactly what that conversion keeps or drops.
| Category | Image Files |
|---|---|
| File extension | .icon |
| FileFlip support | Read and written |
| Conversions available | 61 |
| Engines | ImageMagick, MuPDF and Pandoc |
| Downloaded to your browser | 14.1 MB on the first conversion, then cached |
What is an ICON file?#
ICON is ImageMagick's alternate name for the ICO format, the container Windows uses for small multi-resolution images shown as application, file and shortcut icons, so a file written as ICON is the same Windows icon container as one written as ICO.
Use ICON, or the equivalent ICO, for Windows application icons, favicons and shortcut images, where the file needs to offer several sizes in one container.
Convert to PNG when a single-resolution image is needed for general use, since most software outside Windows icon contexts doesn't expect an ICO/ICON container.
The ICON file format reference covers the specification, the programs that open one, and what each conversion keeps or drops.
ICON questions people ask#
What is the difference between ICON and ICO?
There isn't one. ICON is ImageMagick's alternate name for its ICO coder, so a file written as ICON is the same Windows icon container as one written as ICO.
Why does ImageMagick have both ICO and ICON as format names?
ImageMagick registers ICON alongside ICO purely as a naming convenience, since some tools and scripts refer to Windows icon files by either name. Both write the same icon container.
What can an ICON/ICO file store?
An ICO/ICON file can store several versions of the same image at different sizes and color depths in one container, which is how Windows shows the right icon size for a desktop shortcut, a taskbar button, or a file listing.