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gs

Ghostscript PostScript and PDF interpreter

TLDR

View a PDF file
$ gs -dQUIET -dBATCH file.pdf
Reduce PDF file size for e-book
$ gs -dNOPAUSE -dQUIET -dBATCH -sDEVICE=pdfwrite -dPDFSETTINGS=/ebook -sOutputFile=output.pdf input.pdf
Convert PDF to JPEG images
$ gs -dQUIET -dBATCH -dNOPAUSE -sDEVICE=jpeg -r150 -sOutputFile=output_%d.jpg input.pdf
Convert specific pages to images
$ gs -dQUIET -dBATCH -dNOPAUSE -sDEVICE=jpeg -dFirstPage=1 -dLastPage=3 -sOutputFile=page%d.jpg input.pdf
Merge PDF files
$ gs -dQUIET -dBATCH -dNOPAUSE -sDEVICE=pdfwrite -sOutputFile=merged.pdf file1.pdf file2.pdf
Convert PostScript to PDF
$ gs -dQUIET -dBATCH -dNOPAUSE -sDEVICE=pdfwrite -sOutputFile=output.pdf input.ps
List available devices
$ gs -h

SYNOPSIS

gs [options] [files]...

DESCRIPTION

gs (Ghostscript) is an interpreter for Adobe PostScript and PDF languages. It can convert between formats, render to various output devices, and process PDF and PostScript files.Ghostscript is widely used for PDF manipulation including merging, splitting, compressing, and converting to image formats. The -dPDFSETTINGS preset controls quality and file size: /screen (lowest), /ebook, /printer, /prepress (highest).

PARAMETERS

-sDEVICE=DEVICE

Select output device (pdfwrite, jpeg, png16m, etc.)
-sOutputFile=FILE
Specify output filename (use %d for page numbers)
-o FILE
Shorthand for -sOutputFile=FILE that also implies -dNOPAUSE and -dBATCH
-r RES or -rXRESxYRES
Set output resolution in DPI
-dPDFSETTINGS=SETTING
PDF quality preset (/screen, /ebook, /printer, /prepress)
-dNOPAUSE
Do not pause between pages
-dBATCH
Exit after processing files
-dQUIET or -q
Suppress normal output messages
-dSAFER
Restrict file operations (default)
-dFirstPage=N
Start from page N
-dLastPage=N
Process through page N
-sPAPERSIZE=SIZE
Set paper size (a4, letter, legal, etc.)
-I DIRECTORIES
Add library search paths
-h or -?
Display help and available devices

INSTALL

sudo apt install ghostscript
sudo dnf install ghostscript
sudo pacman -S ghostscript
sudo apk add ghostscript
sudo zypper install ghostscript
brew install ghostscript
nix profile install nixpkgs#ghostscript

CAVEATS

The available devices depend on your Ghostscript installation. Use gs -h to see installed devices. PDFSETTINGS presets affect quality and file size significantly.

HISTORY

Ghostscript has been developed since 1986, providing free PostScript and PDF interpretation. It is widely used for PDF manipulation on Linux systems.

SEE ALSO

ps2pdf(1), pdf2ps(1), pdftops(1)

RESOURCES

Source code · Homepage · Documentation