Usage

Command line

The package provides command line tools to handle a PSD document:

psd-tools export <input_file> <output_file> [options]
psd-tools show <input_file> [options]
psd-tools debug <input_file> [options]
psd-tools -h | --help
psd-tools --version

Example:

psd-tools show example.psd  # Show the file content
psd-tools export example.psd example.png  # Export as PNG
psd-tools export example.psd[0] example-0.png  # Export layer as PNG

Working with PSD document

psd_tools.api package provides the user-friendly API to work with PSD files. PSDImage represents a PSD file.

Open an image:

from psd_tools import PSDImage
psdimage = PSDImage.open('my_image.psd')

Most of the data structure in the psd-tools suppports pretty printing in IPython environment.

In [1]: PSDImage.open('example.psd')
Out[1]:
PSDImage(mode=RGB size=101x55 depth=8 channels=3)
  [0] PixelLayer('Background' size=101x55)
  [1] PixelLayer('Layer 1' size=85x46)

Internal layers are accessible by iterator or indexing:

for layer in psdimage:
    print(layer)
    if layer.is_group():
        for child in layer:
            print(child)

child = psdimage[0][0]

Note

The iteration order is from background to foreground, which is reversed from version prior to 1.7.x. Use reversed(psd) to iterate from foreground to background.

The opened PSD file can be saved:

psdimage.save('output.psd')

If the PSD File’s layer structure was updated, saving it will update the ImageData section. However, the rendered image is likely different from the Photoshop’s rendering due to the limited rendering support in psd_tools.

Working with Layers

There are various layer kinds in Photoshop.

The most basic layer type is PixelLayer:

print(layer.name)
layer.kind == 'pixel'

Some of the layer attributes are editable, such as a layer name:

layer.name = 'Updated layer 1'

psd_tools experimentally supports the creation of a new PixelLayer from a PIL object, the PIL image will be converted to the color mode of the PSD File given in parameter:

psdimage.create_pixel_layer(pil_image, name="Layer name")

To construct a layered PSD file from scratch:

psdimage = PSDImage.new(mode='RGB', size=(640, 480), depth=8)
layer = psdimage.create_pixel_layer(pil_image, name="Layer 1", top=0, left=0, opacity=255)
group = psdimage.create_group(name="Group 1")
group.append(layer)
psdimage.save('new_image.psd')

See the function documentation for further parameter explanations.

Group has internal layers:

for layer in group:
    print(layer)

first_layer = group[0]

Create a new group object.:

group = psdimage.create_group(name="Group name")
group.append(layer)

TypeLayer is a layer with texts:

print(layer.text)

Typographic details such as fonts, character styles, and paragraph styles are available via the typesetting property. See typesetting for full API reference:

for paragraph in layer.typesetting:
    print(paragraph.style.justification)
    for run in paragraph:
        print(run.text, run.style.font_name, run.style.font_size)

ShapeLayer draws a vector shape, and the shape information is stored in vector_mask and origination property. Other layers can also have shape information as a mask:

print(layer.vector_mask)
for shape in layer.origination:
    print(shape)

SmartObjectLayer embeds or links an external file for non-destructive editing. The file content is accessible via smart_object property:

import io
if layer.smart_object.filetype in ('jpg', 'png'):
    image = Image.open(io.BytesIO(layer.smart_object.data))

SolidColorFill, PatternFill, and GradientFill are fill layers that paint the entire region if there is no associated mask. Sub-classes of AdjustmentLayer represents layer adjustment applied to the composed image. See Adjustment layers.

Modifying the layer structure

The layer structure of a PSD object can be modified through methods emulating a python list.

The internal model of the psd layer structure will be automatically updated. Moving a layer from a PSD to another will also automatically convert the PixelLayer to the target psd’s color mode.

The follwing are valid for both PSDImage and Group objects.

Set an item:

group[0] = layer

Add a layer or layers to a group:

group.append(layer)
group.extend(layers)

Insert a layer to a specific index in the group:

group.insert(3, layer)

Remove a layer from the a group:

group.remove(layer)

Pop a layer from the group:

layer = group.pop()

Emptying a layer group:

group.clear()

Get the index of a layer in the group:

index = group.index(layer)

Count the occurrences of a layer in a group:

count = group.count(layer)

Move a given list of layers in a newly created Group. If no parent group is given in parameter, the new group will replace the first layer of the list in the PSD structure:

group = psdimage.create_group(layer_list=[layer1, layer2, ...], name="New Group")

Some operations are available for all Layer objects.

Delete a layer from its layer structure:

group.remove(layer)

Layers can be moved from a group to another:

target_group.append(layer)

Layers can be moved within the group to change their order:

layer.move_up() # Will send the layer upward in the group
layer.move_down() # Will send the layer downward in the group

Exporting data to PIL

Export the entire document as PIL.Image:

image = psd.composite()
image.save('exported.png')

Export a single layer including masks and clipping layers:

image = layer.composite()

Export layer and mask separately without composition:

image = layer.topil()
mask = layer.mask.topil()

To composite specific layers, such as layers except for texts, use layer_filter option:

image = psd.composite(
    layer_filter=lambda layer: layer.is_visible() and layer.kind != 'type')

Note

Advanced compositing features require optional dependencies. Install with:

pip install psd-tools[composite]

These dependencies (aggdraw, scipy, scikit-image) are needed for:

  • Vector shapes and strokes

  • Gradient and pattern fills

  • Layer effects

Basic compositing works without them by using cached previews or simple pixel-based operations. If a feature requires missing dependencies, an ImportError with installation instructions will be raised.

Note that most of the layer effects and adjustment layers are not supported. The compositing result may look different from Photoshop.

Exporting data to NumPy

PSDImage or layers can be exported to NumPy array by numpy() method:

image = psd.numpy()
layer_image = layer.numpy()