A .PAT file is Photoshop's pattern preset format. It is not an image you open. It is a small library that holds one or more tiles, each one a raster square Photoshop repeats edge to edge. Download a .PAT from any card on this page, then double-click it. Photoshop loads the whole set into its preset database and appends the tiles to the bottom of the Patterns panel, grouped under the pack's original name. If double-clicking does nothing, open Window → Patterns, click the panel menu in the upper-right corner, and choose Import Patterns. The same menu lets you rename groups, reorder them, and delete sets you no longer need. On Photoshop CS6 and older the equivalent lives in Edit → Presets → Preset Manager, with Patterns selected in the dropdown.
Once a set is loaded, the fastest way to use it is a Pattern fill layer: Layer → New Fill Layer → Pattern. That keeps the tile live, so you can rescale it or swap it for another one later without touching the pixels underneath. Patterns also show up wherever Photoshop offers a texture: the Pattern Overlay in Layer Styles, the Bevel & Emboss texture slot, and the Pattern Stamp tool. Because a fill layer carries its own mask, you can paint the pattern in and out with a black brush instead of erasing.
One thing surprises people: a .PAT bundles the tiles inside itself, so the original PNGs are not shipped alongside it. Photoshop compresses each tile into the preset file and never writes it back out as an image. That is fine while you stay in Photoshop, but it means you cannot hand the tile to Figma, a CSS background, or Procreate by copying a file out of the download. If that is where you are stuck (you have a .PAT and you need the flat tile back as an image), there is a way out.
- Use third‑party converters or dedicated tools that extract embedded tiles from .PAT files when available.
- Open a .PAT in Photoshop via Import Patterns and then capture a tile by creating a new document and filling with the pattern, then exporting the result as PNG or other image formats.
- Alternatively, rasterize a single tile by creating a document, applying the pattern once, and exporting the visible result.
Practical tips for working with .PAT patterns:
- Organize patterns into groups by project or theme to keep your Patterns panel tidy.
- Use Pattern Fill layers when you expect to reuse the same tile at different scales.
- Leverage Layer Styles’ Pattern Overlay to experiment with blending modes and scale without modifying pixels.
- Remember that the four corners of a tile blend seamlessly due to Photoshop's tiling behavior.
If you often share design assets with non-Photoshop tools, consider maintaining a parallel library of PNG or SVG tiles extracted from your .PAT packs, so you can reuse textures in CSS, Procreate, or other editors.
In summary, .PAT files are compact packs of tiles that Photoshop loads into its Patterns panel, enabling quick pattern fills and texture overlays without altering underlying pixels. They are ideal for flexible textures in multiple projects, with the caveat that extracting individual tiles for outside use requires additional steps.