# man > extractbb(1)

---
type: CommandReference
command: extractbb
mode: man
section: 1
source: man-pages
---

## Quick Reference

- `extractbb image.jpg` — Extract bounding box information from JPEG and write to `image.xbb`.
- `ebb image.png` — Same as above but output in **.bb** format (when called as **ebb**).
- `extractbb -v image.pdf` — Verbose output.
- `extractbb -q image.png` — Quiet output.

## Name

`extractbb`, `ebb` — extract bounding box information from graphics files

## Synopsis

`extractbb` [**-v** | **-q**] [**-O**] [**-m** | **-x**] _file_...

## Options

- `-v`, `-q`, `-O`, `-m`, `-x` — These options are used by pdfTeX.

## Output Formats

- **bb format** (used by `dvipdfm`): The original `ebb` ignores density information in bitmap images; bounding boxes use 100px = 72bp = 1in.
- **xbb format** (used by `dvipdfmx`): Density information is used if present. Otherwise, bounding box uses 100px = 100bp. This is what pdfTeX does.

## Examples

- `extractbb photo.jpg` — Extract bounding box and write to `photo.xbb`.
- `ebb photo.png` — Extract bounding box and write to `photo.bb`.
- `extractbb -v document.pdf` — Verbose extraction, also reports number of pages and PDF version.

## See Also

`dvipdfmx`, `dvipdfm`, `pdfTeX`