---
name: "import"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "imagemagick"
version: "7.1.2.35-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/import"
---

# import(1)

saves any visible window on an X server and outputs it as an image file. You can capture a single window, the entire screen, or any rectangular portion of the screen. The window to capture is selected by clicking the desired window or a program option.

## NAME

import - saves any visible window on an X server and outputs it as an image file. You can capture a single window, the entire screen, or any rectangular portion of the screen. The window to capture is selected by clicking the desired window or a program option.

## SYNOPSIS

- **magick import** \[*options*\] *output-file*

  ## OVERVIEW

The **import** program is a member of the [ImageMagick(1)](/ImageMagick/1.md) suite of tools.  Use it to capture some or all of an X server screen and save the image to a file.

For more information about the import command, point your browser to file:///usr/share/doc/ImageMagick-7/www/import.html or https://imagemagick.org/script/import.php.

## DESCRIPTION

Image Settings:\
   \-adjoin              join images into a single multi-image file\
   \-border              include window border in the output image\
   \-colorspace type     alternate image colorspace\
   \-comment string      annotate image with comment\
   \-compress type       type of pixel compression when writing the image\
   \-define format:option\
                        define one or more image format options\
   \-density geometry    horizontal and vertical density of the image\
   \-depth value         image depth\
   \-descend             obtain image by descending window hierarchy\
   \-display server      X server to contact\
   \-dispose method      layer disposal method\
   \-dither method       apply error diffusion to image\
   \-delay centiseconds  display the next image after pausing\
   \-encipher filename   convert plain pixels to cipher pixels\
   \-endian type         endianness (MSB or LSB) of the image\
   \-encoding type       text encoding type\
   \-filter type         use this filter when resizing an image\
   \-format "string"     output formatted image characteristics\
   \-frame               include window manager frame\
   \-gravity direction   which direction to gravitate towards\
   \-identify            identify the format and characteristics of the image\
   \-interlace type      None, Line, Plane, or Partition\
   \-interpolate method  pixel color interpolation method\
   \-label string        assign a label to an image\
   \-limit type value    Area, Disk, Map, or Memory resource limit\
   \-monitor             monitor progress\
   \-page geometry       size and location of an image canvas\
   \-pause seconds       seconds delay between snapshots\
   \-pointsize value     font point size\
   \-quality value       JPEG/MIFF/PNG compression level\
   \-quiet               suppress all warning messages\
   \-regard-warnings     pay attention to warning messages\
   \-repage geometry     size and location of an image canvas\
   \-respect-parentheses settings remain in effect until parenthesis boundary\
   \-sampling-factor geometry\
                        horizontal and vertical sampling factor\
   \-scene value         image scene number\
   \-screen              select image from root window\
   \-seed value          seed a new sequence of pseudo-random numbers\
   \-set property value  set an image property\
   \-silent              operate silently, i.e. don't ring any bells \
   \-snaps value         number of screen snapshots\
   \-support factor      resize support: \> 1.0 is blurry, \< 1.0 is sharp\
   \-synchronize         synchronize image to storage device\
   \-taint               declare the image as modified\
   \-transparent-color color\
                        transparent color\
   \-treedepth value     color tree depth\
   \-verbose             print detailed information about the image\
   \-virtual-pixel method\
                        Constant, Edge, Mirror, or Tile\
   \-window id           select window with this id or name\
                         root selects the whole screen

Image Operators:\
   \-annotate geometry text\
                        annotate the image with text\
   \-channel mask        set the image channel mask\
   \-colors value        preferred number of colors in the image\
   \-crop geometry       preferred size and location of the cropped image\
   \-extent geometry     set the image size\
   \-geometry geometry   preferred size or location of the image\
   \-help                print program options\
   \-monochrome          transform image to black and white\
   \-negate              replace each pixel with its complementary color \
   \-quantize colorspace reduce colors in this colorspace\
   \-resize geometry     resize the image\
   \-rotate degrees      apply Paeth rotation to the image\
   \-strip               strip image of all profiles and comments\
   \-thumbnail geometry  create a thumbnail of the image\
   \-transparent color   make this color transparent within the image\
   \-trim                trim image edges\
   \-type type           image type

Miscellaneous Options:\
   \-debug events        display copious debugging information\
   \-help                print program options\
   \-log format          format of debugging information\
   \-list type           print a list of supported option arguments\
   \-version             print version information

By default, 'file' is written in the Postscript image format.  To specify a particular image format, precede the filename with an image format name and a colon (i.e. ps:image) or specify the image type as the filename suffix (i.e. image.ps).  Specify 'file' as '-' for standard input or output.

## SEE ALSO

[ImageMagick(1)](/ImageMagick/1.md)

## COPYRIGHT

**Copyright (C) 1999 ImageMagick Studio LLC. Additional copyrights and licenses apply to this software, see file:///usr/share/doc/ImageMagick-7/www/license.html or https://imagemagick.org/license/**