# SDL_LoadPNG Load a PNG image from a file. ## Header File Defined in [](https://github.com/libsdl-org/SDL/blob/main/include/SDL3/SDL_surface.h) ## Syntax ```c SDL_Surface * SDL_LoadPNG(const char *file); ``` ## Function Parameters | | | | | ------------ | -------- | --------------------- | | const char * | **file** | the PNG file to load. | ## Return Value ([SDL_Surface](SDL_Surface) *) Returns a pointer to a new [SDL_Surface](SDL_Surface) structure or NULL on failure; call [SDL_GetError](SDL_GetError)() for more information. ## Remarks The new surface should be freed with [SDL_DestroySurface](SDL_DestroySurface)(). Not doing so will result in a memory leak. ## Thread Safety It is safe to call this function from any thread. ## Version This function is available since SDL 3.4.0. ## See Also - [SDL_DestroySurface](SDL_DestroySurface) - [SDL_LoadPNG_IO](SDL_LoadPNG_IO) - [SDL_SavePNG](SDL_SavePNG) ---- [CategoryAPI](CategoryAPI), [CategoryAPIFunction](CategoryAPIFunction), [CategorySurface](CategorySurface)