INLINE File Format (.inline)

An INLINE reference is not a file at all but ImageMagick's own syntax, inline:, for handing it an image that already exists as base64 text, such as a data: URI copied out of an HTML page or an API response.

.inlineImage Files

INLINE at a glance#

Full name	Base64-encoded inline images
File extension	.inline
Category	Image Files
Compression	Varies from file to file
FileFlip support	FileFlip reads this format but does not write it

Strengths and limitations of INLINE#

What INLINE does well

Reads an image straight out of base64 text with no separate file to save first
Accepts the same base64 payload a browser would show for a data: URI, whitespace and all
Works with whatever image format the base64 actually encodes, since the bytes are just that image once decoded

Where INLINE falls short

Read only: there is no matching write mode that turns an image back into inline: output
A base64 string passed directly on the command line is capped at 5000 characters, so anything past a small icon has to come from a file instead
Nothing opens an .inline file on disk, because inline: is a way of feeding data to ImageMagick, not a file extension anyone saves

Use the inline: syntax when an image already exists as base64 text, such as a data: URI pulled from HTML or JSON, and it needs to be read without writing a temporary file first.

There is nothing to convert away from: inline: is a way of pointing ImageMagick at an image, not a format a finished file is ever saved in.

How to open a .inline file#

A .inline file opens in the programs below, grouped by the platform you are on. If you would rather not install anything, FileFlip converts INLINE into a format your machine already opens, and it does it in the browser tab rather than on a server.

Platform	Programs that open it
Windows	ImageMagick
macOS	ImageMagick
Linux	ImageMagick
Web	FileFlip

INLINE questions people ask#

What is an INLINE file?

INLINE isn't a file format, it's ImageMagick's inline: syntax for reading an image supplied as base64 text, most often a data: URI. The base64 data can come from a text file or be typed directly after inline: on the command line.

Can I save or write a file as INLINE?

No. The inline: mechanism in ImageMagick only reads base64-encoded images; there is no corresponding way to write one back out, so a converter that reads INLINE decodes the base64 into whichever image format was actually encoded inside it.

Why does my base64 image fail when pasted as inline:?

Typing a base64 string directly after inline: on a command line is limited to 5000 characters in ImageMagick, so a photo-sized data URI will fail there even though it works from a text file. The comma after the MIME type is also required to mark where the base64 data starts, even though ImageMagick otherwise ignores the MIME type itself.

Converting INLINE files#

FileFlip does not write .inline files, so nothing on the site converts into this format. It works as a source only.

Every conversion runs inside your browser. The file is read from your disk, the work happens on your own machine, and nothing is uploaded. How FileFlip works names the engine behind each family and how to verify that for yourself.