Command line usage

IconGenerator includes a command line interface (CLI) designed for batch generation and automation. It is especially useful for developers who want to rebuild icon assets as part of a build script or CI pipeline.

You can use the CLI to generate all icon files defined in a collection document (.AXICP) without using the UI.

Open the command line help

From the UI

A built-in help page is available from the main menu:

Help ‣ Command Line Usage…

From a terminal

Run the executable with /h or --help to print the usage:

icongenerator --help

Note

Depending on your installation, the executable may be named IconGenerator or IconGenerator.exe. The examples in this page use icongenerator for readability. If the command is not in your PATH, call it using a full path to the executable.

Basic syntax

The CLI uses a single command with multiple options.

Usage: IconGenerator [/h] [--verbose] [/g <AXICP-file>] [/d <destination-folder>] [/hp] [/svg]
[/xaml] [/resdir] [/wpf] [/ps] [/eps] [/pdf] [/font] [/css] [/fn <font-name>] [/fi <first-char-index>]
[/png] [/bmp] [/bmp24] [/jpg] [/ico] [/icns] [/s1x] [/s125x] [/s15x] [/s2x] [/s3x] [/s4x] [/s5x]
[/s10x] [/s16p] [/s20p] [/s24p] [/s32p] [/s40p] [/s48p] [/s60p] [/s64p] [/s80p] [/s96p] [/s128p]
[/s256p] [/s512p] [/s768p] [/s1024p] [/s2048p] [/sf] [/ghd] [/gis] [/dm] [/ic <#color>]
[/oc <#color>] [document-files...]

Conceptually, a CLI generation run is:

Choose a source collection (.AXICP).
Choose a destination folder.
Choose one or more output formats.
(If exporting raster formats) choose one or more sizes.
Choose optional behaviors (subfolders, strips, hot/disabled, dark mode, colorization).

Tip

A single run can generate multiple formats at once (for example /svg /xaml /png).

Arguments, quoting, and paths

Paths and spaces

If a file or folder path contains spaces, wrap it in quotes:

icongenerator -g "C:\My Project\icons.axicp" -d "D:\Build Output\icons" /svg

Windows vs macOS/Linux path separators

Windows paths commonly use backslashes: C:\icons\output.
macOS/Linux paths use forward slashes: /Users/name/icons/output.

Note

The CLI accepts quoted paths on all platforms.

Colors and shell quoting

Color arguments use HTML hex syntax (#RRGGBB). In some shells, the # character starts a comment.

PowerShell: quote the value (for example "#33FF99")
bash/zsh (macOS/Linux): quote the value (for example '#33FF99')

Example:

icongenerator -g c:\coll.axicp -d d:\icons /svg /ic "#33FF99" /oc "#33FF99"

Command reference

General options

/h, --help: Show the help message.
--verbose: Generate verbose log messages (useful for debugging scripts).

Input and destination

/g <file>, --generate-collection=<file>: Collection file (.AXICP) to generate.
/d <folder>, --destination-folder=<folder>: Destination folder where icon files are written.
/hp, --hide-progress: Hide the progress window (recommended for unattended runs).

Vector output formats

/svg, --format-svg: Output format: Scalable Vector Graphics (*.SVG).
/xaml, --format-xaml: Output format: Microsoft XAML (*.XAML).
/resdir, --resource-directory: Generate XAML in a resource directory. Use with /xaml.
/wpf, --wpf-geometry: Generate XAML in a resource directory using WPF geometry. Use with /xaml and /resdir.
/ps, --format-ps: Output format: PostScript vector (*.PS). Requires Inkscape (see Export formats and options).
/eps, --format-eps: Output format: Encapsulated PostScript vector (*.EPS). Requires Inkscape.
/pdf, --format-pdf: Output format: Adobe PDF vector (*.PDF). Requires Inkscape.

Font output

/font, --format-font: Output format: Font vector (*.EOT, *.TTF, *.WOFF, *.OTF…). Requires FontForge (see Export formats and options).
/css, --format-font-css: Create CSS with font icons (use with /font).
/fn <name>, --font-name=<name>: Specify the font name.
/fi <index>, --font-index=<index>: Specify the font first icon index. The index can usually be specified in decimal, or in hexadecimal (for example xE000).

Bitmap output formats

/png, --format-png: Output format: PNG raster (*.PNG), 32bpp with alpha transparency.
/bmp, --format-bmp: Output format: Windows BMP raster (*.BMP), 32bpp with alpha transparency.
/bmp24, --format-bmp24: Output format: Windows BMP raster (*.BMP), 24bpp no transparency.
/jpg, --format-jpeg: Output format: JPEG raster (*.JPG), 24bpp no transparency.

Platform icon containers

/ico, --format-ico: Output format: Windows icon (*.ICO).
/icns, --format-icns: Output format: macOS icon (*.ICNS).

Raster sizes (scales)

Use these options to generate raster sizes based on the icon set’s native size.

/s1x, --size-1x: Scale 1:1 (100%)
/s125x, --size-125x: Scale 1.25:1 (125%)
/s15x, --size-15x: Scale 1.5:1 (150%)
/s2x, --size-2x: Scale 2:1 (200%)
/s3x, --size-3x: Scale 3:1 (300%)
/s4x, --size-4x: Scale 4:1 (400%)
/s5x, --size-5x: Scale 5:1 (500%)
/s10x, --size-10x: Scale 10:1 (1000%)

Raster sizes (fixed pixels)

Use these options to generate exact raster sizes in pixels.

/s16p, --size-16p: 16×16
/s20p, --size-20p: 20×20
/s24p, --size-24p: 24×24
/s32p, --size-32p: 32×32
/s40p, --size-40p: 40×40
/s48p, --size-48p: 48×48
/s60p, --size-60p: 60×60
/s64p, --size-64p: 64×64
/s80p, --size-80p: 80×80
/s96p, --size-96p: 96×96
/s128p, --size-128p: 128×128
/s256p, --size-256p: 256×256
/s512p, --size-512p: 512×512
/s768p, --size-768p: 768×768
/s1024p, --size-1024p: 1024×1024
/s2048p, --size-2048p: 2048×2048

Raster generation options

/sf, --raster-subfolders: Create a subfolder for each raster image size.
/ghd, --raster-hot-disabled: Generate hot and disabled raster images.
/gis, --raster-image-strip: Generate raster image strips (PNG, JPG, BMP).

Dark mode and colorization

/dm, --dark-mode: Force dark mode generation of icons (vector and raster). (See also Make Icons for Dark Mode for the UI workflow.)
/ic <#color>, --icon-colorization=<#color>: Icon colorization value for vector and raster outputs. Use HTML hex color syntax (#RRGGBB).
/oc <#color>, --overlay-colorization=<#color>: Overlay colorization value for vector and raster outputs. Use HTML hex color syntax (#RRGGBB).

Optional document files

[document-files...]: You can optionally pass one or more document files at the end of the command line. IconGenerator opens them when it starts (useful if you want to launch the UI on a specific document). For batch generation, prefer using /g with a collection file.

Usage examples

Generate SVG from a collection

Generate collection file c:\coll.axicp to folder d:\icons (Windows backslashes). SVG vector files will be generated:

icongenerator -g c:\coll.axicp -d d:\icons /svg

Generate SVG, XAML and PS

icongenerator -g c:\coll.axicp -d d:\icons /svg /xaml /ps

Generate XAML in resource directory using WPF geometry

icongenerator -g c:\coll.axicp -d d:\icons /xaml --resource-directory --wpf-geometry

Generate a font with CSS

Generate FONT files with CSS. Font name is myfont. First character index is xE000 (can be specified as decimal too):

icongenerator -g c:\coll.axicp -d d:\icons /font /css /fn myfont /fi xE000

Generate PNG and BMP at multiple scales

Generate PNG and BMP files at scale 100%, 125%, 150%, 200% and 400%:

icongenerator -g c:\coll.axicp -d d:\icons /png /bmp /s1x /s125x /s15x /s2x /s4x

Generate PNG at fixed sizes (with subfolders)

Generate PNG files at fixed sizes 32×32, 48×48, 64×64, 128×128, 256×256. Create subfolders for each size:

icongenerator -g c:\coll.axicp -d d:\icons /png /s32p /s48p /s64p /s128p /s256p /sf

Generate SVG in dark mode

icongenerator -g c:\coll.axicp -d d:\icons /svg --dark-mode

Generate SVG colorized (icon and overlay)

Colorize with color #33FF99 (icon and overlay):

icongenerator -g c:\coll.axicp -d d:\icons /svg /ic "#33FF99" /oc "#33FF99"

Important

In PowerShell and macOS/Linux shells, always quote #RRGGBB values.

Scripting notes (Windows)

Wait for completion in a BAT script

Under Windows, if you launch the process using start, use /wait to wait until the generation ends before continuing your script:

@echo off
start /wait icongenerator -g "C:\icons\coll.axicp" -d "D:\build\icons" /svg /png /s32p /s64p /sf

if errorlevel 1 (
  echo Icon generation failed.
  exit /b 1
)

PowerShell example

In PowerShell, you can call the executable and check $LASTEXITCODE:

& icongenerator -g "C:\icons\coll.axicp" -d "D:\build\icons" /svg /png /s32p /s64p /sf --verbose --hide-progress
if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
  throw "IconGenerator failed with exit code $LASTEXITCODE"
}

macOS/Linux shell example

icongenerator -g "/Users/me/icons/coll.axicp" -d "/Users/me/build/icons" /svg /png /s32p /s64p /sf --hide-progress
status=$?
if [ $status -ne 0 ]; then
  echo "IconGenerator failed with exit code $status"
  exit $status
fi