imagine

A C89 standard compliant, single header, nostdlib (no C Standard Library) Image Library (IMAGINE).

For more information please look at the "imagine.h" file or take a look at the "examples" or "tests" folder.

Warning

THIS PROJECT IS A WORK IN PROGRESS! ANYTHING CAN CHANGE AT ANY MOMENT WITHOUT ANY NOTICE! USE THIS PROJECT AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Features

• C89 compliant — portable and legacy-friendly
• Single-header API — just include imagine.h
• nostdlib — no dependency on the C Standard Library
• Minimal binary size — optimized for small executables
• Cross-platform — Windows, Linux, MacOs
• Strict compilation — built with aggressive warnings & safety checks

Supported Image Formats

Family	Format	Extension(s)	ASCII / Binary	Color Types Supported
Netpbm	P1	.pbm	ASCII	1-bit monochrome
Netpbm	P2	.pgm	ASCII	Grayscale (8-bit, scaled to 255)
Netpbm	P3	.ppm	ASCII	RGB (8-bit, scaled to 255)
Netpbm	P4	.pbm	Binary	1-bit monochrome
Netpbm	P5	.pgm	Binary	Grayscale (8-bit, scaled to 255)
Netpbm	P6	.ppm	Binary	RGB (8-bit, scaled to 255)
Netpbm	P7	.pam	Binary	RGB, Grayscale (limited support, no alpha yet)
BMP	v3	.bmp	Binary	Monochrome (1-bit), Indexed (4/8-bit palette), RGB (16/24-bit), RGBA (32-bit)
TGA	v1	.tga	Binary	Grayscale (8-bit), RGB (24-bit), RGBA (32-bit, alpha ignored)
PCX	ZSoft	.pcx	Binary	Grayscale (8-bit), RGB (24-bit)
ICO	Win32	.ico	Binary	BMP-based icons only (PNG-in-ICO unsupported)
DDS	DirectDraw	.dds	Binary	RGB (24-bit), RGBA (32-bit, alpha ignored), Grayscale (8-bit)

Quick Start

Download or clone imagine.h and include it in your project.

#include "imagine.h" /* Image Library */

int main() {

    #define BUF_SIZE 128 * 128
    unsigned char pixels[BUF_SIZE];

    /* Create a new imagine instance with a pixel buffer large enough to store the image data */
    imagine img = {0};
    img.pixels = pixels;
    img.pixels_capacity = BUF_SIZE;

    /* Load the image from the user provided image file binary and the size of the binary */
    if (!imagine_load(&img, binary_buffer, binary_buffer_size)) {
      return 1;
    }

    return 0;
}

Run Example: nostdlib, freestsanding

In this repo you will find the "examples/imagine_win32_nostdlib.c" with the corresponding "build.bat" file which creates an executable only linked to "kernel32" and is not using the C standard library and executes the program afterwards.

"nostdlib" Motivation & Purpose

nostdlib is a lightweight, minimalistic approach to C development that removes dependencies on the standard library. The motivation behind this project is to provide developers with greater control over their code by eliminating unnecessary overhead, reducing binary size, and enabling deployment in resource-constrained environments.

Many modern development environments rely heavily on the standard library, which, while convenient, introduces unnecessary bloat, security risks, and unpredictable dependencies. nostdlib aims to give developers fine-grained control over memory management, execution flow, and system calls by working directly with the underlying platform.

Benefits

Minimal overhead

By removing the standard library, nostdlib significantly reduces runtime overhead, allowing for faster execution and smaller binary sizes.

Increased security

Standard libraries often include unnecessary functions that increase the attack surface of an application. nostdlib mitigates security risks by removing unused and potentially vulnerable components.

Reduced binary size

Without linking to the standard library, binaries are smaller, making them ideal for embedded systems, bootloaders, and operating systems where storage is limited.

Enhanced performance

Direct control over system calls and memory management leads to performance gains by eliminating abstraction layers imposed by standard libraries.

Better portability

By relying only on fundamental system interfaces, nostdlib allows for easier porting across different platforms without worrying about standard library availability.