eqn2graph(1)

💅 eqn2graph — from the eqn2graph(1) page in your General Commands Manual, bestie

okay so picture this: you've got one (1) single line of eqn code and you need it to become a whole actual image. that's the entire plot of eqn2graph. she's a little icon, she's a specialist, and she's about to make your equation look cute. ✨

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✨ NAME ✨

eqn2graph — literally converts an eqn equation into a cropped image. that's it, that's the job, and she does it flawlessly. 🎀

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

eqn2graph [-format output-format] [convert-argument ...]

eqn2graph --help

eqn2graph -v

eqn2graph --version

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

okay so here's the vibe: eqn2graph reads a one-line eqn(1) equation from the standard input and writes an image file to the standard output. default output format? Portable Network Graphics (PNG). iconic behavior, no notes. 💅

now, important detail bestie, listen up 👇 the input EQN code should not be preceded by the .EQ macro that normally precedes it inside groff(1) macros. and no, you do not need dollar-sign delimiters or any other delimiters wrapped around the equation either. just the raw equation, raw and unfiltered, and she'll handle it. 🫶

here's the fun part: any arguments that eqn2graph doesn't recognize get passed straight to the ImageMagick or GraphicsMagick program convert(1). so by specifying those, you can give your image a border, set the image's pixel density, or do other useful transformations. lowkey a whole customization era. 🔥

and the output image gets clipped using convert's -trim option, down to the smallest possible bounding box that contains all the black pixels. so no awkward empty margins, she crops herself. ✨

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💖 OPTIONS 💖

• --help — displays a usage message. exits right after, no lingering. 👋
• -v, --version — show version information. also exits right after. 👋
• -format output-format — write the image in output-format, which has to be something convert understands. the default is PNG. ⭐

and yes, all of --help, -v and --version exit afterward — they do not stick around to see the rest. 💀

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🌈 ENVIRONMENT 🌈

• GROFF_TMPDIR
• TMPDIR
• TMP
• TEMP

these environment variables are searched in exactly the order shown above to determine the directory where temporary files will be created. if none of them are set, /tmp is used. the fallback queen herself. 👑 (iykyk)

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🧚 AUTHORS 🧚

eqn2graph was written by Eric S. Raymond, based on a recipe for pic2graph(1) by W. Richard Stevens. giving credit where credit is due, we love to see it. 🫶

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🍓 SEE ALSO 🍓

pic2graph(1), grap2graph(1), eqn(1), groff(1), convert(1)

go read the whole friend group, they're all serving. 💜

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k bye bestie, go make some gorgeous equations 💅✨ — this was the eqn2graph(1) page from groff 1.24.2, dated 2026-10-01. mwah. 🎀