diff --git a/SConstruct b/SConstruct
index f43033a..ac7f8f1 100644
--- a/SConstruct
+++ b/SConstruct
@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@ config = {
 env = SConscript('external/scons-plus-plus/SConscript', exports = ['config'])
 env.Append(CPPPATH = [Dir('private'), Dir('public')])
 
+# texture packer
+env = env.Module('private/texture_packer/SModule')
+
 # app
 env = env.Module('private/sdl_gpu_test/SModule')
 
diff --git a/assets/bitmaps/.gitignore b/assets/bitmaps/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5c15db0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/assets/bitmaps/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+# these are auto-generated
+ui.png
+ui.txt
diff --git a/assets/bitmaps/ui.png b/assets/fonts/symtex.png
similarity index 100%
rename from assets/bitmaps/ui.png
rename to assets/fonts/symtex.png
diff --git a/external/scons-plus-plus b/external/scons-plus-plus
index b45fec7..a7c736d 160000
--- a/external/scons-plus-plus
+++ b/external/scons-plus-plus
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Subproject commit b45fec75610a05ecf1e01b6b27807e20be5cd94b
+Subproject commit a7c736de56b438d2e47b074fc1b06d05cd7a0c35
diff --git a/private/sdl_gpu_test/SModule b/private/sdl_gpu_test/SModule
index 4ac2e07..e20374b 100644
--- a/private/sdl_gpu_test/SModule
+++ b/private/sdl_gpu_test/SModule
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ src_files = Split("""
     util/bitmap.cpp
     util/font_map.cpp
     util/mesh.cpp
+    util/texture_atlas.cpp
     
     0_clear_swapchain/app.cpp
     1_green_triangle/app.cpp
@@ -48,4 +49,16 @@ for shader_file in shader_files:
     spv = env.SpirV(source = shader_file, target=f'{shader_file}.spv')
     env.Default(spv)
 
+ui_textures = Split("""
+    #assets/fonts/symtex.png
+    #assets/bitmaps/cube.png
+    #assets/bitmaps/sdl.png
+""")
+
+pack = env.PackTextures(
+    target = '#assets/bitmaps/ui.png',
+    source = ui_textures
+)
+env.Default(pack)
+
 Return('env')
diff --git a/private/sdl_gpu_test/gui/ui_renderer.cpp b/private/sdl_gpu_test/gui/ui_renderer.cpp
index 3df81fe..1a4ec93 100644
--- a/private/sdl_gpu_test/gui/ui_renderer.cpp
+++ b/private/sdl_gpu_test/gui/ui_renderer.cpp
@@ -84,14 +84,6 @@ void UIRenderer::init(Application& application)
         }
     });
 
-    // load the font map for rendering text
-    const FontMap fontMap = loadFontMap(application.getFileSystem().getPath("fonts/symtext.fnt"));
-    mFontMap = makeUVFontMap({
-        .original = &fontMap,
-        .textureWidth = 256,
-        .textureHeight = 256
-    });
-
     // create texture and sampler
     sdlpp::GPUTextureCreateArgs textureArgs = {
         .format = sdlpp::GPUTextureFormat::R8G8B8A8_UNORM_SRGB,
@@ -99,6 +91,30 @@ void UIRenderer::init(Application& application)
     };
     mTexture = application.loadTexture("bitmaps/ui.png", textureArgs);
 
+    // load the texture atlas
+    const TextureAtlas textureAtlas = loadTextureAtlas(application.getFileSystem().getPath("bitmaps/ui.txt"));
+    mTextureAtlas = makeUVTextureAtlas({
+        .original = &textureAtlas,
+        .textureWidth = textureArgs.width,
+        .textureHeight = textureArgs.height
+    });
+
+    auto itEntry = mTextureAtlas.entries.find("assets/fonts/symtex.png");
+    if (itEntry == mTextureAtlas.entries.end())
+    {
+        throw std::runtime_error("Texture atlas is missing entry for the font.");
+    }
+
+    // load the font map for rendering text
+    const FontMap fontMap = loadFontMap(application.getFileSystem().getPath("fonts/symtext.fnt"));
+    mFontMap = makeUVFontMap({
+        .original = &fontMap,
+        .textureWidth = textureArgs.width,
+        .textureHeight = textureArgs.height,
+        .textureOffsetX = itEntry->second.uvX,
+        .textureOffsetY = itEntry->second.uvY
+    });
+
     mSampler.create(device, {});
 }
 
diff --git a/private/sdl_gpu_test/gui/ui_renderer.hpp b/private/sdl_gpu_test/gui/ui_renderer.hpp
index 1a456f0..2f56f3c 100644
--- a/private/sdl_gpu_test/gui/ui_renderer.hpp
+++ b/private/sdl_gpu_test/gui/ui_renderer.hpp
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 #include "../application.hpp"
 #include "../sdlpp/gpu.hpp"
 #include "../util/font_map.hpp"
+#include "../util/texture_atlas.hpp"
 
 namespace sdl_gpu_test::inline app6
 {
@@ -58,6 +59,7 @@ private:
     std::vector<UIVertex> mVertices;
     std::vector<primitive_id_t> mTriangleOwners;
     primitive_id_t mNextOwner = 1;
+    UVTextureAtlas mTextureAtlas;
     UVFontMap mFontMap;
     bool mVerticesDirty = true;
     std::size_t mVertexBufferSize = 0;
diff --git a/private/sdl_gpu_test/main.cpp b/private/sdl_gpu_test/main.cpp
index fca063a..dedd622 100644
--- a/private/sdl_gpu_test/main.cpp
+++ b/private/sdl_gpu_test/main.cpp
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[])
     }
     catch (std::runtime_error& error)
     {
-        spdlog::error("{}.", error.what());
+        spdlog::error("{}", error.what());
         return USER_ERROR;
     }
 
diff --git a/private/sdl_gpu_test/util/font_map.cpp b/private/sdl_gpu_test/util/font_map.cpp
index b9fa919..01ccda0 100644
--- a/private/sdl_gpu_test/util/font_map.cpp
+++ b/private/sdl_gpu_test/util/font_map.cpp
@@ -75,8 +75,8 @@ UVFontMap makeUVFontMap(const MakeUVFontMapArgs& args)
     {
         const FontMapEntry& origEntry = args.original->entries[chr];
         result.entries[chr] = {
-            .uvX = static_cast<float>(origEntry.x + args.textureOffsetX) / static_cast<float>(args.textureWidth),
-            .uvY = static_cast<float>(origEntry.y + args.textureOffsetX) / static_cast<float>(args.textureHeight),
+            .uvX = static_cast<float>(origEntry.x) / static_cast<float>(args.textureWidth) + args.textureOffsetX,
+            .uvY = static_cast<float>(origEntry.y) / static_cast<float>(args.textureHeight) + args.textureOffsetY,
             .uvWidth = static_cast<float>(origEntry.width) / static_cast<float>(args.textureWidth),
             .uvHeight = static_cast<float>(origEntry.height) / static_cast<float>(args.textureHeight),
             .width = origEntry.width,
diff --git a/private/sdl_gpu_test/util/font_map.hpp b/private/sdl_gpu_test/util/font_map.hpp
index aa95120..8f5dc1d 100644
--- a/private/sdl_gpu_test/util/font_map.hpp
+++ b/private/sdl_gpu_test/util/font_map.hpp
@@ -53,8 +53,8 @@ struct MakeUVFontMapArgs
     const FontMap* original;
     unsigned textureWidth;
     unsigned textureHeight;
-    unsigned textureOffsetX = 0;
-    unsigned textureOffsetY = 0;
+    float textureOffsetX = 0.f;
+    float textureOffsetY = 0.f;
 };
 
 [[nodiscard]]
diff --git a/private/sdl_gpu_test/util/texture_atlas.cpp b/private/sdl_gpu_test/util/texture_atlas.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5f58973
--- /dev/null
+++ b/private/sdl_gpu_test/util/texture_atlas.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+
+#include "./texture_atlas.hpp"
+
+#include <mijin/util/string.hpp>
+
+namespace sdl_gpu_test
+{
+TextureAtlas loadTextureAtlas(const mijin::PathReference& path)
+{
+    std::unique_ptr<mijin::Stream> stream;
+    mijin::throwOnError(path.open(mijin::FileOpenMode::READ, stream));
+
+    auto parseNumber = [](std::string_view value, auto& outNumber)
+    {
+        if (!mijin::toNumber(value, outNumber))
+        {
+            throw std::runtime_error("Invalid number.");
+        }
+    };
+
+    TextureAtlas result;
+    std::string line;
+    while (!stream->isAtEnd())
+    {
+        mijin::throwOnError(stream->readLine(line));
+        const auto [name, x, y, width, height] = mijin::splitFixed<5>(line, " ");
+        TextureAtlasEntry entry;
+        parseNumber(x, entry.x);
+        parseNumber(y, entry.y);
+        parseNumber(width, entry.width);
+        parseNumber(height, entry.height);
+        result.entries.emplace(name, entry);
+    }
+    return result;
+}
+
+UVTextureAtlas makeUVTextureAtlas(const MakeUVTextureAtlasArgs& args)
+{
+    UVTextureAtlas result;
+    for (const auto& [name, origEntry] : args.original->entries)
+    {
+        result.entries.emplace(name, UVTextureAtlasEntry{
+            .uvX = static_cast<float>(origEntry.x) / static_cast<float>(args.textureWidth),
+            .uvY = static_cast<float>(origEntry.y) / static_cast<float>(args.textureHeight),
+            .uvWidth = static_cast<float>(origEntry.width) / static_cast<float>(args.textureWidth),
+            .uvHeight = static_cast<float>(origEntry.height) / static_cast<float>(args.textureHeight),
+            .width = origEntry.width,
+            .height = origEntry.height
+        });
+    }
+    return result;
+}
+}
diff --git a/private/sdl_gpu_test/util/texture_atlas.hpp b/private/sdl_gpu_test/util/texture_atlas.hpp
index eaa963b..dc8719d 100644
--- a/private/sdl_gpu_test/util/texture_atlas.hpp
+++ b/private/sdl_gpu_test/util/texture_atlas.hpp
@@ -4,11 +4,53 @@
 #if !defined(SDL_GPU_TEST_PRIVATE_SDL_GPU_TEST_UTIL_TEXTURE_ATLAS_HPP_INCLUDED)
 #define SDL_GPU_TEST_PRIVATE_SDL_GPU_TEST_UTIL_TEXTURE_ATLAS_HPP_INCLUDED 1
 
-#include <vector>
+#include <string>
+#include <unordered_map>
+
+#include <mijin/virtual_filesystem/filesystem.hpp>
 
 namespace sdl_gpu_test
 {
+struct TextureAtlasEntry
+{
+    unsigned x = 0;
+    unsigned y = 0;
+    unsigned width = 0;
+    unsigned height = 0;
+};
 
+struct TextureAtlas
+{
+    std::unordered_map<std::string, TextureAtlasEntry> entries;
+};
+
+struct UVTextureAtlasEntry
+{
+    float uvX = 0.f;
+    float uvY = 0.f;
+    float uvWidth = 0.f;
+    float uvHeight = 0.f;
+    unsigned width = 0;
+    unsigned height = 0;
+};
+
+struct UVTextureAtlas
+{
+    std::unordered_map<std::string, UVTextureAtlasEntry> entries;
+};
+
+struct MakeUVTextureAtlasArgs
+{
+    const TextureAtlas* original;
+    unsigned textureWidth;
+    unsigned textureHeight;
+};
+
+[[nodiscard]]
+TextureAtlas loadTextureAtlas(const mijin::PathReference& path);
+
+[[nodiscard]]
+UVTextureAtlas makeUVTextureAtlas(const MakeUVTextureAtlasArgs& args);
 } // namespace sdl_gpu_test
 
 #endif // !defined(SDL_GPU_TEST_PRIVATE_SDL_GPU_TEST_UTIL_TEXTURE_ATLAS_HPP_INCLUDED)
diff --git a/private/texture_packer/SModule b/private/texture_packer/SModule
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a8e1a59
--- /dev/null
+++ b/private/texture_packer/SModule
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+
+import os
+
+Import('env')
+
+def _exe_name() -> str:
+    if os.name == 'nt':
+        return env['BIN_DIR'] + '/texture_packer.exe'
+    return env['BIN_DIR'] + '/texture_packer'
+
+src_files = Split("""
+    main.cpp
+    
+    packer.cpp
+""")
+
+prog_packer = env.UnityProgram(
+    target = env['BIN_DIR'] + '/texture_packer',
+    source = src_files,
+    dependencies = {
+        'argparse': {},
+        'mijin': {},
+        'rectpack2D': {},
+        'spdlog': {},
+        'stb': {}
+    }
+)
+env.Default(prog_packer)
+
+def _pack_textures(env, target: str, source: 'list[str]'):
+    cmd = env.Command(
+        target = target,
+        source = source,
+        action = f'{_exe_name()} $TARGET $SOURCES'
+    )
+    # env.Depends(cmd, prog_packer)
+    return cmd
+env.AddMethod(_pack_textures, 'PackTextures')
+
+Return('env')
diff --git a/private/texture_packer/main.cpp b/private/texture_packer/main.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..360b486
--- /dev/null
+++ b/private/texture_packer/main.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+
+#include <string>
+#include <vector>
+
+#include <argparse/argparse.hpp>
+#include <spdlog/spdlog.h>
+#include <mijin/util/winundef.hpp>
+
+#include "./packer.hpp"
+
+namespace
+{
+inline constexpr int APP_ERROR = 1;
+inline constexpr int USER_ERROR = 2;
+}
+
+int main(int argc, char* argv[])
+{
+    std::string outputFile;
+    std::vector<std::string> inputFiles;
+    argparse::ArgumentParser parser("texture_packer");
+    parser.add_argument("output_file")
+        .store_into(outputFile);
+    parser.add_argument("input_file")
+        .store_into(inputFiles)
+        .nargs(argparse::nargs_pattern::at_least_one);
+    // now parse
+    try
+    {
+        parser.parse_args(argc, argv);
+    }
+    catch (std::runtime_error& error)
+    {
+        spdlog::error("{}", error.what());
+        return USER_ERROR;
+    }
+
+    try
+    {
+        sdl_gpu_test::Packer packer;
+        for (const std::string& inputFile : inputFiles)
+        {
+            packer.addImage(inputFile);
+        }
+        packer.pack(outputFile);
+    }
+    catch(const std::runtime_error& error)
+    {
+        spdlog::error("{}", error.what());
+        return USER_ERROR;
+    }
+
+    return 0;
+}
diff --git a/private/texture_packer/packer.cpp b/private/texture_packer/packer.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8a3947a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/private/texture_packer/packer.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+
+#include "./packer.hpp"
+
+#include <finders_interface.h>
+#include <mijin/io/stream.hpp>
+#include <mijin/util/iterators.hpp>
+
+#define STBI_ASSERT(x) MIJIN_ASSERT(x, #x)
+#define STB_IMAGE_IMPLEMENTATION
+#include <stb_image.h>
+#undef STB_IMAGE_IMPLEMENTATION
+#undef STBI_ASSERT
+
+#define STBIW_ASSERT(x) MIJIN_ASSERT(x, #x)
+#define STB_IMAGE_WRITE_IMPLEMENTATION
+#include <stb_image_write.h>
+#undef STB_IMAGE_WRITE_IMPLEMENTATION
+#undef STBIW_ASSERT
+
+namespace sdl_gpu_test
+{
+void Packer::addImage(const fs::path& path)
+{
+    int width = 0;
+    int height = 0;
+    int numComponents = 0;
+    stbi_uc* pixels = stbi_load(
+        /* filename         = */ path.generic_string().c_str(),
+        /* x                = */ &width,
+        /* y                = */ &height,
+        /* channels_in_file = */ &numComponents,
+        /* desired_channels = */ 4
+    );
+    if (pixels == nullptr)
+    {
+        throw std::runtime_error("Error loading image.");
+    }
+
+    mImages.push_back({
+        .name = path.generic_string(),
+        .data = std::unique_ptr<Pixel[], FreeDeleter>(reinterpret_cast<Pixel*>(pixels)),
+        .width = static_cast<unsigned>(width),
+        .height = static_cast<unsigned>(height)
+    });
+}
+
+void Packer::pack(const fs::path& outputPath)
+{
+    static constexpr bool allowFlip = false; // TODO: this could work?
+    static constexpr rectpack2D::flipping_option flippingOption = rectpack2D::flipping_option::DISABLED;
+    using spaces_type_t = rectpack2D::empty_spaces<allowFlip, rectpack2D::default_empty_spaces>;
+    using rect_type_t = rectpack2D::output_rect_t<spaces_type_t>;
+
+    auto reportSuccessful = [&](rect_type_t&)
+    {
+        return rectpack2D::callback_result::CONTINUE_PACKING;
+    };
+
+    auto reportUnsuccessful = [&](rect_type_t&)-> rectpack2D::callback_result
+    {
+        throw std::runtime_error("Could not fit images.");
+    };
+
+    static constexpr int maxSide = 4096;
+    static constexpr int discardStep = -4;
+
+    std::vector<rect_type_t> rectangles;
+    rectangles.reserve(mImages.size());
+
+    for (const ImageData& imageData : mImages)
+    {
+        rectangles.emplace_back(0, 0, imageData.width, imageData.height);
+    }
+
+    const rectpack2D::rect_wh resultSize = rectpack2D::find_best_packing<spaces_type_t>(
+        rectangles,
+        rectpack2D::make_finder_input(
+            maxSide, discardStep, reportSuccessful, reportUnsuccessful, flippingOption
+        )
+    );
+
+    std::vector<Pixel> resultPixels;
+    resultPixels.resize(resultSize.area());
+
+    for (const auto& [imageData, rect] : mijin::zip(mImages, rectangles))
+    {
+        for (unsigned row = 0; row < imageData.height; ++row)
+        {
+            const Pixel* src = &imageData.data[row * imageData.width];
+            Pixel* dst = &resultPixels[(rect.y + row) * resultSize.w + rect.x];
+            std::copy_n(src, imageData.width, dst);
+        }
+    }
+
+    const int writeResult = stbi_write_png(
+        /* filename     = */ outputPath.generic_string().c_str(),
+        /* x            = */ resultSize.w,
+        /* y            = */ resultSize.h,
+        /* comp         = */ 4,
+        /* data         = */ resultPixels.data(),
+        /* stride_bytes = */ resultSize.w * sizeof(Pixel)
+    );
+
+    if (!writeResult)
+    {
+        throw std::runtime_error("Error writing result image.");
+    }
+
+    fs::path atlasPath(outputPath);
+    atlasPath.replace_extension("txt");
+    mijin::FileStream fileStream;
+    mijin::throwOnError(fileStream.open(atlasPath.generic_string(), mijin::FileOpenMode::WRITE));
+    for (const auto& [imageData, rect] : mijin::zip(mImages, rectangles))
+    {
+        mijin::throwOnError(fileStream.writeText(std::format("{} {} {} {} {}\n",
+            imageData.name, rect.x, rect.y, rect.w, rect.h)));
+    }
+    fileStream.close();
+}
+}
diff --git a/private/texture_packer/packer.hpp b/private/texture_packer/packer.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..629f5ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/private/texture_packer/packer.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+
+#pragma once
+
+#if !defined(SDL_GPU_TEST_PRIVATE_TEXTURE_PACKER_PACKER_HPP_INCLUDED)
+#define SDL_GPU_TEST_PRIVATE_TEXTURE_PACKER_PACKER_HPP_INCLUDED 1
+
+#include <filesystem>
+#include <vector>
+
+namespace fs = std::filesystem;
+
+namespace sdl_gpu_test
+{
+struct FreeDeleter
+{
+    void operator()(void* ptr) noexcept
+    {
+        std::free(ptr);
+    }
+};
+
+class Packer
+{
+private:
+    struct Pixel
+    {
+        std::uint8_t r;
+        std::uint8_t g;
+        std::uint8_t b;
+        std::uint8_t a;
+    };
+    struct ImageData
+    {
+        std::string name;
+        std::unique_ptr<Pixel[], FreeDeleter> data;
+        unsigned width;
+        unsigned height;
+    };
+
+    std::vector<ImageData> mImages;
+public:
+    void addImage(const fs::path& path);
+    void pack(const fs::path& outputPath);
+};
+} // namespace sdl_gpu_test
+
+#endif // !defined(SDL_GPU_TEST_PRIVATE_TEXTURE_PACKER_PACKER_HPP_INCLUDED)