panelsconvert

panelsconvert is a lightweight, open‑source command‑line utility designed to translate panel definition files from one format to another. It was originally created in 2019 by a volunteer developer community to address the lack of interoperability between the panel specification formats used by a variety of digital signage and gaming engines. The project is hosted on GitHub under the Apache 2.0 license, and it is available for download from the Python Package Index (PyPI).

The tool supports a core set of panel file formats, including JSON, CSV, and XML. In addition, it can translate between proprietary panel schema variants produced by popular visual‑effects pipelines. The command syntax is intentionally simple: a source file, a target format flag, and an output destination. Panelsconvert automatically infers the source type when the file extension is ambiguous but also allows it to be overridden via a command‑line option. Advanced users can provide a schema file that describes custom attributes and relationships, enabling the utility to validate and preserve semantic information during conversion.

Installation is straightforward on any machine with Python 3.6 or newer: a single pip command installs the package and its dependencies. The project includes extensive documentation, a set of unit tests, and example input/output pairs. A built‑in help message outlines the available flags and arithmetic options. An optional graphical interface has been developed for Windows and macOS to make the tool accessible to users less comfortable with the terminal.

By simplifying the interchange of panel data across software ecosystems, panelsconvert has found use in pipeline automation scripts, continuous‑integration setups, and educational demonstrations of data‑format conversion. The community actively maintains the repository, and contributions are accepted through pull requests on GitHub.