Table of Contents

Migrating from System.Drawing

If you are coming from System.Drawing, the biggest adjustment is not learning a brand-new set of image concepts. It is mostly learning that ImageSharp makes a few things explicit that GDI+ used to hide: pixel type, processing pipelines, and encoder choices.

Once that shift lands, most everyday workflows map over cleanly.

Core Type Mapping

System.Drawing concept ImageSharp equivalent
Image / Bitmap Image or Image<TPixel>
Color Color or a specific pixel type such as Rgba32
PixelFormat generic TPixel plus PixelTypeInfo
GetPixel / SetPixel indexers or ProcessPixelRows(...)
LockBits / UnlockBits ProcessPixelRows(...), CopyPixelDataTo(...), LoadPixelData(...), WrapMemory(...), DangerousTryGetSinglePixelMemory(...)
Image.Save(...) with codec choices Save(...), SaveAsJpeg(...), SaveAsPng(...), or explicit encoder types
Graphics.DrawImage(...) Mutate(...) with DrawImage(...)

Loading, Processing, and Saving

A typical System.Drawing workflow translates to:

System.Drawing:

using System.Drawing;
using System.Drawing.Imaging;

using Bitmap source = new("input.jpg");
using Bitmap output = new(400, 300);
using Graphics graphics = Graphics.FromImage(output);

graphics.DrawImage(source, 0, 0, 400, 300);
output.Save("output.png", ImageFormat.Png);

ImageSharp:

using SixLabors.ImageSharp;
using SixLabors.ImageSharp.Processing;

using Image image = Image.Load("input.jpg");

image.Mutate(context => context.Resize(400, 300));

image.SaveAsPng("output.png");

Instead of mutating through a separate Graphics object, ImageSharp uses processing pipelines built with Mutate(...) or Clone(...).

Pixels: Prefer Row Access Over Per-Pixel APIs

If you used Bitmap.GetPixel() or Bitmap.SetPixel() heavily, the closest ImageSharp equivalent is the indexer:

System.Drawing:

using System.Drawing;

Color pixel = bitmap.GetPixel(10, 20);
bitmap.SetPixel(10, 20, Color.White);

ImageSharp:

using SixLabors.ImageSharp.PixelFormats;

Rgba32 pixel = image[10, 20];
image[10, 20] = Rgba32.White;

For real throughput, move to ProcessPixelRows(...) instead. That is the ImageSharp replacement for most LockBits-driven loops:

System.Drawing:

using System.Drawing;
using System.Drawing.Imaging;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;

BitmapData data = bitmap.LockBits(
    new Rectangle(0, 0, bitmap.Width, bitmap.Height),
    ImageLockMode.ReadWrite,
    PixelFormat.Format32bppArgb);

try
{
    int stride = Math.Abs(data.Stride);
    int byteCount = stride * data.Height;
    byte[] pixels = new byte[byteCount];

    Marshal.Copy(data.Scan0, pixels, 0, pixels.Length);

    for (int y = 0; y < data.Height; y++)
    {
        int rowStart = y * stride;

        // Format32bppArgb stores one pixel in four bytes, so reverse pixels rather than individual bytes.
        for (int x = 0; x < data.Width / 2; x++)
        {
            int left = rowStart + (x * 4);
            int right = rowStart + ((data.Width - x - 1) * 4);

            for (int b = 0; b < 4; b++)
            {
                (pixels[left + b], pixels[right + b]) = (pixels[right + b], pixels[left + b]);
            }
        }
    }

    Marshal.Copy(pixels, 0, data.Scan0, pixels.Length);
}
finally
{
    bitmap.UnlockBits(data);
}

ImageSharp:

using SixLabors.ImageSharp;
using SixLabors.ImageSharp.PixelFormats;

using Image<Rgba32> image = Image.Load<Rgba32>("input.png");

image.ProcessPixelRows(accessor =>
{
    for (int y = 0; y < accessor.Height; y++)
    {
        Span<Rgba32> row = accessor.GetRowSpan(y);
        row.Reverse();
    }
});

Color and TPixel Are Different

This is one of the biggest mental shifts.

Color in ImageSharp is a general color value that can convert to any IPixel<TSelf> type. It is not the same thing as the TPixel storage type used by Image<TPixel>.

That means:

  • use Color when you want a pixel-agnostic color value;
  • use Rgba32, Bgra32, L8, and similar types when you care about actual in-memory layout.

Replace PixelFormat with TPixel

Instead of storing a runtime PixelFormat enum and branching on it later, ImageSharp encourages you to choose a generic working type:

System.Drawing:

using System.Drawing;
using System.Drawing.Imaging;

using Bitmap bitmap = new("input.tiff");

bool isArgb = bitmap.PixelFormat == PixelFormat.Format32bppArgb;

ImageSharp:

using SixLabors.ImageSharp;
using SixLabors.ImageSharp.PixelFormats;

using Image<Rgba32> rgba = Image.Load<Rgba32>("input.tiff");
using Image<Bgra32> bgra = rgba.CloneAs<Bgra32>();

If you only need metadata about the decoded source layout, ImageInfo.PixelType exposes PixelTypeInfo.

Replace LockBits with the Right Raw-Pixel API

If your old code used LockBits, the best ImageSharp replacement depends on what the code was really trying to do:

  • use ProcessPixelRows(...) for most in-place managed algorithms;
  • use CopyPixelDataTo(...) when you need a copied export buffer;
  • use LoadPixelData(...) when you want to import raw bytes or pixels into a normal owned image;
  • use WrapMemory(...) when you need a zero-copy bridge to existing memory;
  • use DangerousTryGetSinglePixelMemory(...) only when you truly need one contiguous ImageSharp-owned buffer.

Compositing vs Drawing APIs

If your System.Drawing code mainly used Graphics.DrawImage(...), the closest ImageSharp equivalent is DrawImage(...) inside a processing pipeline.

If the old code also draws shapes, paths, or text, you will usually want the companion packages documented elsewhere in this repo:

  • SixLabors.ImageSharp.Drawing
  • SixLabors.Fonts

Practical Migration Strategy

For most migrations, the least painful path is:

  1. Keep the old high-level workflow the same.
  2. Replace Bitmap with Image<TPixel>.
  3. Replace Graphics operations with Mutate(...) or Clone(...).
  4. Replace LockBits loops with ProcessPixelRows(...).
  5. Standardize on a working pixel format such as Rgba32 unless you have a reason not to.

Practical Guidance

  • Replace Bitmap with the Image<TPixel> type that matches your working pixel model.
  • Replace LockBits loops with row-based processing.
  • Keep rendering concerns in ImageSharp.Drawing when the old code used Graphics.
  • Validate behavior on non-Windows systems when the migration goal is cross-platform support.
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