exe2iconset 0.3.2

Extract icons from Windows EXE/DLL files and create macOS ICNS files

Exe2Iconset

Cross-platform tool to extract icons from Windows EXE/DLL files, image files, or directories and create macOS ICNS files.

Installation

From PyPI (recommended)

pip install exe2iconset

From source

pip install .

Or install in development mode:

pip install -e .

Requirements

• Python >= 3.10
• Pillow >= 10.0.0
• pefile >= 2023.2.7

Usage

GUI

Run the GUI application:

# After pip install
exe2iconset-gui

# Or with python -m
python -m exe2iconset

Or import and run:

from exe2iconset import run_icon_picker
run_icon_picker()

GUI Workflow

1. Select Input File: Click "Browse..." or enter path and press Enter
2. Extract Icons: Extraction starts automatically after file selection. A progress bar shows extraction progress.
3. Select Series: Choose an icon series from the Treeview list
4. Create ICNS: Enter output name and click "Create ICNS"
5. Save Location: ICNS file will be saved in the selected output directory

The icon list shows compact details like ID:101, LANG:1033, all:64²×32bit where:

• ID: Resource ID (e.g., 101)
• LANG: Language code (e.g., 1033 = English)
• all: All sizes in the group (e.g., 64²×32bit means 64x64 at 32-bit color)

Click the status bar to view the full activity log in a popup window.

CLI

# Using the installed command
exe2iconset <file.exe> --list

# Or with python -m
python -m exe2iconset <file.exe> --list

# Create ICNS from specific group (PE files)
exe2iconset <file.exe> -g icongroup_47_1033 -o output.icns

# Create ICNS from image file
exe2iconset <image.png> -o output.icns

# Create ICNS with iconset directory for inspection
exe2iconset <file.exe> -o output.icns --iconset

# Verbose output for debugging
exe2iconset <file.exe> -v

CLI Options

Option	Description
-l, --list	List available icon groups and exit
-g, --group GROUP	Icon group to use (e.g., icongroup_3_1033)
-o, --output FILE	Output ICNS file (default: appicon.icns)
--iconset	Also create iconset directory
-v, --verbose	Enable verbose output

Python API

from exe2iconset import extract_images, create_icns_from_images, convert_icons_to_icns_sizes, ICON_TYPE_MAP

# Extract icons/images from PE file, image file, or directory
# Returns dict mapping group name to list of icon dicts
icon_groups = extract_images("app.exe")        # PE file
icon_groups = extract_images("image.png")      # Single image
icon_groups = extract_images("images/")        # Directory

# Get the first group (or specific group by name)
first_group_key = list(icon_groups.keys())[0]
icon_data_list = icon_groups[first_group_key]

# Convert extracted icons to PIL images with resolutions, suitable for ICNS
mac_icon_sizes = list(ICON_TYPE_MAP.keys())
icon_images = convert_icons_to_icns_sizes(icon_data_list, mac_icon_sizes)

# Create ICNS from images
create_icns_from_images(icon_images, "app.icns")

# Also you can save images as iconset directory
save_iconset(icon_images, "app.iconset")

ICNS Format

The application creates ICNS files with these standard macOS icon types:

Type	Size	Format	Notes
ic04	16×16	ARGB	PackBits compressed
ic05	32×32	ARGB	PackBits compressed
icp6	48×48	PNG
ic12	64×64	PNG	Can serve as 32@2x retina
ic07	128×128	PNG
ic08	256×256	PNG
ic09	512×512	PNG
ic10	1024×1024	PNG	Can serve as 512@2x retina

Notes on ICNS

• ARGB format (ic04/ic05) preserves alpha channel correctly
• PNG format is used for larger icons
• Retina versions are handled automatically by macOS - no need to create explicit @2x variants
• The ICNS format is flexible - only the sizes available from the source are included

For details on ICNS format, see:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Icon_Image_format
• https://github.com/anakham/Exe2Iconset/issues

Testing

Run tests with pytest:

# Install test dependencies
pip install exe2iconset[dev]

# Or install from source with dev dependencies
pip install -e ".[dev]"

# Run tests
pytest tests/

Known Issues

Drag and Drop on macOS with Tcl/Tk 9.x

If the GUI fails to start with an error like "RuntimeError: Unable to load tkdnd library" or "this extension is compiled for Tcl 8.x", this indicates a Tcl/Tk version incompatibility.

Problem: tkinterdnd2's tkdnd extension is compiled for Tcl 8.x, but macOS with Homebrew may have Tcl/Tk 9.x linked by default.

Solution: Download and replace tkdnd binaries with Tcl 9.x compatible ones:

1. Download from https://github.com/petasis/tkdnd/releases:

   • For Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3): tkdnd-2.9.5-macOS-tcl9.0-arm64-x64-14.2.1.tgz
   • For Intel Macs: tkdnd-2.9.5-macOS-tcl9.0-x86_64-x64-14.2.1.tgz

2. Extract the archive and copy contents to your tkinterdnd2 installation:

   # Find your tkinterdnd2 location
   python -c "import tkinterdnd2; print(tkinterdnd2.__file__)"
   
   # Navigate to tkdnd folder and replace files from the archive
   # The archive contains osx-arm64/ or osx-x64/ folder with:
   # - libtkdnd2.X.X.dylib (the binary)
   # - pkgIndex.tcl
   # - *.tcl files
   

Alternatively, try linking Tcl/Tk 8.x via Homebrew (may require rebuilding your virtual environment):

brew install tcl-tk@8
brew unlink tcl-tk
brew link tcl-tk@8

Drag and Drop on Linux/Wayland

On some Linux distributions running Wayland, drag-and-drop from file managers may work inconsistently (sometimes fires, sometimes doesn't). This is a known tkinterdnd2 limitation with Wayland's inter-app DnD protocol.

Workaround: Use the "Browse..." button to select files, or try running with X11 session instead of Wayland.