ghostscript

gs [-options] [files ... ]

-dBATCH
    Exit after last file, no user interaction

-dNOPAUSE
    Disable pause between pages

-dQUIET
    Suppress routine startup messages

-dSAFER
    Sandbox mode, restricts file access for security

-dNOPROMPT
    Disable interactive prompts

-sDEVICE=device
    Set output device, e.g., pdfwrite, png16m, x11

-sOutputFile=file
    Specify output filename (%%stdout for stdout)

-rres
    Set resolution in DPI, e.g., -r300

-dFirstPage=n
    Start processing from page n

-dLastPage=n
    Process up to page n

-dAutoRotatePages=/mode
    Control page rotation, e.g., /PageByPage

-sPAPERSIZE=size
    Set paper size, e.g., a4, letter

-Idirs
    Add directories to search path for fonts/resources

-c code
    Execute PostScript code snippet

-f
    Interpret following files as PostScript

Ghostscript (typically invoked as gs) is a powerful open-source interpreter for PostScript (PS) and PDF files, capable of rendering, converting, and manipulating these formats on Unix-like systems including Linux.

It processes PS and PDF documents to produce output in various formats such as PDF, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, or directly to printers. Ghostscript emulates the full Adobe PostScript language, supporting Level 1 through 3, and handles PDF 1.0 to 2.0.

Common uses include converting PS to PDF (ps2pdf wrapper), viewing files interactively, distilling PDFs for optimization, or generating raster images. It features a high-level device interface for output devices, color management, font embedding, and scripting via PostScript.

Developed for robustness, it runs complex graphics jobs but requires careful handling of memory and security options like -dSAFER for untrusted inputs to prevent exploits. Widely used in printing workflows, document processing, and tools like CUPS.

Ghostscript excels in batch processing with options for quiet operation, no pauses, and custom resolutions, making it essential for server-side PDF handling.

Resource-intensive for large files; use -dSAFER with untrusted inputs to mitigate vulnerabilities. Deprecated devices may be removed in future versions. Not all PDF features (e.g., PDF 2.0 subsets) fully supported.

pdfwrite (PDF output), pngalpha (PNG), jpeg, tiff24nc, x11 (screen display), lpr (printer). List via gs -h.

Convert PS to PDF: gs -dBATCH -dNOPAUSE -sDEVICE=pdfwrite -sOutputFile=out.pdf in.ps
View PDF: gs -dSAFER in.pdf

Tools like ps2pdf, pdf2ps are scripts calling gs with predefined options.

Ghostscript originated in 1988 by Thomas and L. Peter Deutsch as a PostScript interpreter for non-Adobe systems. Released publicly in 1989, it gained popularity for Unix printing. Version 9.0 (2012) added PDF 1.7 support; now at 10.x under Artifex Software (AGPL/commercial licenses). Widely used in GhostPDL suite.

ps2pdf(1), pdf2ps(1), ps2pdfwr(1), gv(1), evince(1), cups-pdf(8)