###### (This is the documentation for SDL3, which is under heavy development and the API is changing! [SDL2](https://wiki.libsdl.org/SDL2/) is the current stable version!)
# SDL_GetPixelFormatName

Get the human readable name of a pixel format.

## Header File

Defined in [SDL_pixels.h](https://github.com/libsdl-org/SDL/blob/main/include/SDL3/SDL_pixels.h), but apps should use `#include <SDL3/SDL.h>`

## Syntax

```c
const char* SDL_GetPixelFormatName(SDL_PixelFormatEnum format);

```

## Function Parameters

|                |                           |
| -------------- | ------------------------- |
| **format**     | the pixel format to query |

## Return Value

Returns the human readable name of the specified pixel format or
[`SDL_PIXELFORMAT_UNKNOWN`](SDL_PIXELFORMAT_UNKNOWN) if the format isn't
recognized.

## Version

This function is available since SDL 3.0.0.

## Code Examples

```c
SDL_Surface* surface; // a valid surface from wherever.
SDL_PixelFormat* pixelFormat = surface->format;
Uint32 pixelFormatEnum = pixelFormat->format;
const char* surfacePixelFormatName = SDL_GetPixelFormatName(pixelFormatEnum);
SDL_Log("The surface's pixelformat is %s", surfacePixelFormatName);
// prints something like "The surface's pixelformat is SDL_PIXELFORMAT_ABGR8888"
```

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[CategoryAPI](CategoryAPI), [CategoryAPIFunction](CategoryAPIFunction), [CategoryPixels](CategoryPixels)