ICO to ICNS Converter - Convert Windows Icons to Mac Icons, Free

How to convert ICO to ICNS

Add your ICO files. Drop up to 30 ICO files into the box, or browse for them. They are read on your device and never uploaded.
Pick the sizes and shape. Full Retina makes every macOS size from 16 to 1024 px. Pick macOS style for rounded corners and a shadow like Apple's icons.
Check the preview. See your icon in the Dock and in a Finder list, in light and dark mode, before you download.
Make the ICNS and download. Press Make my ICNS. One or two icons download directly, more come as a ZIP.

Want to see what is inside your ICO first? Open it in the Icons Analyzer.

The ICO's small sizes are kept

Good Windows icons come with hand-tuned 16 and 32 px versions. When the ICO has a size the ICNS needs, that artwork is copied as it is.

The largest layer is used for everything else. ICO files stop at 256 px, so the 512 and 1024 px Retina sizes are enlarged - pick Up to 512 for a smaller file, or upscale the icon first with the Image Upscaler.

Every size inside the ICO shows under the preview. Tick another one to start from it instead.

Which sizes are inside the ICNS?

Size	Retina slot	Where macOS shows it
16 x 16	-	Finder list view, menu bar, Spotlight rows
32 x 32	16 @2x	Finder lists on Retina screens, small sidebar icons
64 x 64	32 @2x	Retina Finder lists and Get Info
128 x 128	-	Finder icon view, Launchpad on older Macs
256 x 256	128 @2x	Dock and Finder on Retina screens
512 x 512	256 @2x	Large Finder icons, Quick Look
1024 x 1024	512 @2x	App Store, Quick Look full size on Retina

Full Retina packs all of them. Up to 512 skips the 1024 px image and makes the file about half the size.

The 16 and 32 px sizes are also written in the classic format older Macs read. Want to check the result? Open it in the ICNS File Viewer.

The macOS style shape

Since Big Sur, Mac app icons sit on a rounded plate with a small margin and a soft shadow. Unlike iPhone, macOS does not round the corners for you.

Pick macOS style and your image is placed on Apple's grid: an 824 px plate on a 1024 px canvas, smooth "squircle" corners and the shadow. The plate is white, or any colour you choose.

Your logo should fill the plate? Use Crop to square. Want breathing room around it? Add a little Padding.

Using the icon on a Mac

Folder or file icon: open the .icns in Preview, press Cmd + A and Cmd + C, then select the folder, press Cmd + I, click the small icon at the top left and press Cmd + V.
Your own app: put the .icns in Contents/Resources and name it in Info.plist under CFBundleIconFile.
Xcode: pick + Xcode set and drag AppIcon.appiconset into Assets.xcassets.
iconutil: pick + .iconset to get the PNG folder Apple's command-line tool expects.

Frequently Asked Questions

Drop your .ico into the box and press Make my ICNS. The largest layer is used, and the small sizes the ICO already has are copied as they are.

The 512 and 1024 px Retina sizes are enlarged from 256 px, so they are softer. Most of the time macOS shows the 128 and 256 px sizes, which stay sharp. For the best result, upscale the icon first.

No. The ICO is read and turned into an ICNS in your browser, on your device. Nothing is uploaded, so it also works with private artwork.

macOS shows the icon exactly as drawn - it does not round the corners like iPhone does. Pick the macOS style shape to get the rounded plate, margin and shadow of Apple's own icons.

Yes. Choose + Xcode set under Extra files. You get AppIcon.appiconset with every PNG and a Contents.json - drag it into Assets.xcassets.

No. It works in any modern browser on Windows, Linux, ChromeOS or a Mac.