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Image MIME Reference
Compressed-XCF

Compressed GIMP XCF Image

image/x-compressed-xcf
VS

PiCture eXchange

image/x-pcx
PCX

A complete technical comparison of Compressed GIMP XCF Image and PiCture eXchange — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.

Equal browser support

Feature Support

Feature Compressed-XCF PCX
Transparency (Alpha) Yes ✕ No
Animation Support Yes ✕ No
Progressive Loading ✕ No ✕ No
HDR Support Yes ✕ No
EXIF Metadata Yes ✕ No
ICC Color Profile Yes ✕ No
Compressed GIMP XCF Image
image/x-compressed-xcf
Extension
.xcf.gz.xcf.bz2.xcfgz.xcfbz2
Container Gzip or Bzip2 Archive
Compression Gzip (Deflate) / Bzip2
Algorithm
DeflateBWT (Burrows-Wheeler)
Color Depth 8-bit (Per Channel), 16-bit (Integer/Floating Point), 32-bit (Integer/Floating Point)
Developed by The GIMP Team
Released 1995
Magic Bytes
1F 8B 08 (gzip) or 42 5A 68 (bzip2)
Full Compressed-XCF reference →
PiCture eXchange
image/x-pcx
Extension
.pcx
Container ZSoft Proprietary Header (128 bytes)
Compression Run-Length Encoding (RLE)
Algorithm
ZSoft RLE
Color Depth 1-bit (Monochrome), 4-bit (16 colors), 8-bit (256 colors), 24-bit (True Color)
Developed by ZSoft Corporation
Released 1985
Magic Bytes
0A (followed by version, e.g., 0A 05 01 08)
Full PCX reference →

Browser Support Comparison

Browser Compressed-XCF PCX
Chrome Chrome
✕ ✕
Firefox Firefox
✕ ✕
Safari Safari
✕ ✕
Edge Edge
✕ ✕
IE IE (Legacy)
✕ ✕
Compressed-XCF

Compressed-XCF Strengths

  • Drastically reduces the massive file sizes of standard XCF project files, saving significant disk space
  • Preserves 100% of the non-destructive editing data (layers, masks, paths, guides) from the GIMP workspace
  • Uses standard, universally supported compression algorithms (gzip/bzip2) meaning the archive can be rescued or extracted by standard OS tools if GIMP is unavailable
Limitations
  • Increases file load and save times due to the CPU overhead required to compress and decompress the massive pixel arrays
  • Impossible for automated tools to parse metadata or dimensions without first unarchiving the payload into memory
  • File extension combinations (.xcf.gz) can confuse basic MIME sniffers which stop reading at the .gz extension
PCX

PCX Strengths

  • Incredibly simple RLE algorithm makes it very fast to decode, which was historically vital for early 3D video game engines
  • Retains crisp, lossless pixel data suitable for pixel art and interface assets
  • Well-documented and highly supported by older desktop publishing and image editing software
Limitations
  • Extremely inefficient compression by modern standards, producing large file sizes compared to PNG
  • Lacks modern imaging features such as alpha channel transparency, EXIF metadata, and color profiles
  • Zero support in web browsers; must be converted to PNG for web use

When to choose which format

Compressed-XCF
Use Compressed-XCF when…
  • GIMP Multi-layer Project Archival
  • Saving disk space for complex raster edits
  • Open-source graphic design workflows
PCX
Use PCX when…
  • MS-DOS and Early Windows Graphics
  • 1990s Video Game Assets (Textures, UI)
  • Retro Computing Archival

More comparisons

Compressed-XCF vs ACES → PCX vs ACES → Compressed-XCF vs APNG → PCX vs APNG → Compressed-XCF vs AVCI → PCX vs AVCI → Compressed-XCF vs AVCS → PCX vs AVCS → Compressed-XCF vs AVIF → PCX vs AVIF → All comparisons →
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