This is a list of file formats used by computers, organized by type. Filename extension is usually noted in parentheses if they differ from the file format's name or abbreviation. Many operating systems do not limit filenames to one extension shorter than 4 characters, as was common with some operating systems that supported the File Allocation Table (FAT) file system. Examples of operating systems that do not impose this limit include Unix-like systems, and Microsoft WindowsNT, 95-98, and ME which have no three character limit on extensions for 32-bit or 64-bit applications on file systems other than pre-Windows 95 and Windows NT 3.5 versions of the FAT file system. Some filenames are given extensions longer than three characters. While MS-DOS and NT always treat the suffix after the last period in a file's name as its extension, in UNIX-like systems, the final period does not necessarily mean that the text after the last period is the file's extension.[1]
Some file formats, such as .txt or .text, may be listed multiple times.
APK – Android package: Applications installable on Android (also installable in derivatives and e.g. Windows 11); also a package format of the Alpine Linux distribution, see below under APK.
APK – For Android see ABB/APK above (APK/Android apps also usable in Windows 11); The Alpine Linux distribution also use .apk files as a package format but then with un unrelated definition as in Android. They are often called "a-packs".
BMP – Bitmap Image – You can create one on Windows by right-clicking the home screen, next, click new, then, click Bitmap Image
CAB – A cabinet file is a library of compressed files stored as one file. Cabinet files are used to organize installation files that are copied to the user's system.[2]
DDZ – a file which can only be used by the "daydreamer engine" created by "fever-dreamer", a program similar to RAGS, it's mainly used to make somewhat short games.
FUN – A FUN file is a file that has been encrypted by Jigsaw ransomware, which is malware distributed by cybercriminals. It contains a file, such as a .JPG, .DOCX, .XLSX, .MP4, or .CSV file, that has been renamed and encrypted by the virus.
FLM – FL Studio Mobile, can also be used as a project file.
PK4 – PK4 Doom³ archive (opens similarly to a zip archive.)
PNJ – a sub-format of the MNG file format, used for encapsulating JPEG files[3]
PXZ – a compressed layered image file used for the image editing website, pixlr.com
PY, PYW – Python code file
PMP – PenguinMod Project
PMS – PenguinMod Sprite
RAR – RAR Rar Archive, for multiple file archive (rar to .r01-.r99 to s01 and so on)
RAG, RAGS – Game file, a game playable in the RAGS game-engine, a free program which both allows people to create games, and play games, games created have the format "RAG game file"
RaX – Archive file created by RaX
RBXL – Roblox Studio place file (XML, binary)
RBXLX – Roblox Studio place file (exclusively XML)
RBXM – Roblox Studio model file (XML, binary)
RBXMX – Roblox Studio model file (exclusively XML)
RPM – Red Hat package/installer for Fedora, RHEL, and similar systems.
SRT – SubRip Subtitle – file format for closed captioning or subtitles.
SWM – Splitted WIM File, usually found on OEMRecovery Partition to store preinstalled Windows image, and to make Recovery backup (to USB Drive) easier (due to FAT32 limitations)
WAX – Wavexpress – A ZIP alternative optimized for packages containing video, allowing multiple packaged files to be all-or-none delivered with near-instantaneous unpacking via NTFS file system manipulation.
WAV, WAVE – a format for storing uncompressed audio files.
SDI – used for archiving and providing "virtual disk" functionality.
MDS – Daemon Tools native disc image format used for making images from optical CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, HD DVD or Blu-ray. It comes together with MDF file and can be mounted with DAEMON Tools.
MDX – Daemon Tools format that allows getting one MDX disc image file instead of two (MDF and MDS).
Computer-aided is a prefix for several categories of tools (e.g., design, manufacture, engineering) which assist professionals in their respective fields (e.g., machining, architecture, schematics).
Computer-aided design (CAD)
Computer-aided design (CAD) software assists engineers, architects and other design professionals in project design.
DWF – Autodesk's Web Design Format; AutoCAD & Revit can publish to this format; similar in concept to PDF files; Autodesk Design Review is the reader
DWG – Popular file format for Computer Aided Drafting applications, notably AutoCAD, Open Design Alliance applications, and Autodesk Inventor Drawing files
EASM – SolidWorks eDrawings assembly file
EDRW – eDrawings drawing file
EMB – Wilcom ES Designer Embroidery CAD file
EPRT – eDrawings part file
EscPcb – "esCAD pcb" data file by Electro-System (Japan)
EscSch – "esCAD sch" data file by Electro-System (Japan)
GRI – AppliCad GRIM-In file in readable text form for importing roof and wall cladding job data generated by business management and accounting systems into the modelling/estimating program
GRO – AppliCad GRIM-Out file in readable text form for exporting roof and wall cladding data job material and labour costing data, material lists generated by the modelling/estimating program to business management and accounting systems
RXF – AppliCad annotated 3D roof and wall geometry data in readable text form used to exchange 3D model geometry with other systems such as truss design software
WRL – Similar to STL, but includes color. Used by various CAD systems and 3D printing rapid prototyping machines. Also used for VRML models on the web.
WMDB – Windows Media Database file – The CurrentDatabase_360.wmdb file can contain file name, file properties, music, video, photo and playlist information.
Big Data (Distributed)
Avro – Data format appropriate for ingestion of record based attributes. Distinguishing characteristic is schema is stored on each row enabling schema evolution.
Parquet – Columnar data storage. It is typically used within the Hadoop ecosystem.
ORC – Similar to Parquet, but has better data compression and schema evolution handling.
3DT – 3D Topicscape, the database in which the meta-data of a 3D Topicscape is held, it is a form of 3D concept map (like a 3D mind-map) used to organize ideas, information, and computer files
ATY – 3D Topicscape file, produced when an association type is exported; used to permit round-trip (export Topicscape, change files and folders as desired, re-import to 3D Topicscape)
FES (file format) – 3D Topicscape file, produced when a fileless occurrence in 3D Topicscape is exported to Windows. Used to permit round-trip (export Topicscape, change files and folders as desired, re-import them to 3D Topicscape)
MGMF – MindGenius Mind Mapping Software file format
TPC (file format) – 3D Topicscape file, produced when an inter-Topicscape topic link file is exported to Windows; used to permit round-trip (export Topicscape, change files and folders as desired, re-import to 3D Topicscape)
ICNS – format for icons in macOS. Contains bitmap images at multiple resolutions and bitdepths with alpha channel.
ICO – a format used for icons in Microsoft Windows. Contains small bitmap images at multiple resolutions and bitdepths with 1-bit transparency or alpha channel.
JXL – JPEG XL, an image format designed for professional photography and web images; supports wide color gamut, high dynamic range, animations, and a max resolution of 1,073,741,823 x 1,073,741,824
TIFF, .tif, .tiff – Tag(ged) Image File Format; usually lossless, but many variants exist, including lossy ones.
TIFF/EP, .tif, .tiff – Tag Image File Format / Electronic Photography, ISO 12234-2; tends to be used as a basis for other formats rather than in its own right.
VTF – Valve Texture Format
WEBP – WebP, an image format designed for the web that can provide both lossless and lossy compression.
ELF – (no suffix for executable image, .o for object files, .so for shared object files) used in many modern Unix and Unix-like systems, including Solaris, other System V Release 4 derivatives, Linux, and BSD)
Mach-O – (no suffix for executable image, .o for object files, .dylib and .bundle for shared object files) Mach-based systems, notably native format of macOS, iOS, watchOS, and tvOS
.NLM – NetWare Loadable Module the native 32-bit binaries compiled for Novell's NetWare Operating System (versions 3 and newer)
.o – un-linked object files directly from the compiler
HITRAN – spectroscopic data with one optical/infrared transition per line in the ASCII file (.hit)
.root – hierarchical platform-independent compressed binary format used by ROOT
SDF – Simple Data Format (SDF), a platform-independent, precision-preserving binary data I/O format capable of handling large, multi-dimensional arrays.
MYD – Everfine LEDSpec software file for LED measurements
CSDM – (Core Scientific Dataset Model) model for multi-dimensional and correlated datasets from various spectroscopies, diffraction, microscopy, and imaging techniques (.csdf, .csdfe).[17]
ASN.1 – Abstract Syntax Notation One, is an International Standards Organization (ISO) data representation format used to achieve interoperability between platforms. NCBI uses ASN.1 for the storage and retrieval of data such as nucleotide and protein sequences, structures, genomes, and PubMed records.
NWK – The Newick tree format is a way of representing graph-theoretical trees with edge lengths using parentheses and commas and useful to hold phylogenetic trees.
PDB – structures of biomolecules deposited in Protein Data Bank, also used to exchange protein and nucleic acid structures
PHD – Phred output, from the base-calling software Phred
Swiss-Prot – The flatfile format used to represent database records for protein sequences from the Swiss-Prot database
VCF – Variant Call Format, a standard created by the 1000 Genomes Project that lists and annotates the entire collection of human variants (with the exception of approximately 1.6 million variants).
M4V – video container file format developed by Apple
.mkv – Matroska Matroska is a container format, which enables any video format such as MPEG-4 ASP or AVC to be used along with other content such as subtitles and detailed meta information
WRAP – MediaForge (*.wrap)
MNG – mainly simple animation containing PNG and JPEG objects, often somewhat more complex than animated GIF
.mov – QuickTime container which enables any form of compression to be used; Sorenson codec is the most common; QTCH is the filetype for cached video and audio streams
PK3, PK4 – PK3/PK4: used by the Quake II, Quake III Arena and Quake 4 game engines, respectively, to store game data, textures etc. They are actually .zip files.
.dat – not specific file type, often generic extension for "data" files for a variety of applications, sometimes used for general data contained within the .PK3/PK4 files
.fontdat – a .dat file used for formatting game fonts
LIP – Format that is created from WAV files to create in-game accurate lip-sync for character animations.
Roblox studio engine
RBXL – Roblox Studio place file (XML, binary)
RBXM – Roblox Studio model file (XML, binary)
RBXLX – Roblox Studio place file (exclusively XML)
RBXMX – Roblox Studio model file (exclusively XML)
.pss – Sony PlayStation 2 Game Video file and is used to store audio and video data by games for the PlayStation 2 console.
.xd – A format used in a mod (XDBot) for Geometry Dash to save macros, (a format to replay inputs.) This is saved within the Documents section in File Explorer for Windows 10.
Video game storage media
List of the most common filename extensions used when a game's ROM image or storage medium is copied from an original read-only memory (ROM) device to an external memory such as hard disk for back up purposes or for making the game playable with an emulator. In the case of cartridge-based software, if the platform specific extension is not used then filename extensions ".rom" or ".bin" are usually used to clarify that the file contains a copy of a content of a ROM. ROM, disk or tape images usually do not consist of one file or ROM, rather an entire file or ROM structure contained within one file on the backup medium.[34]
DMS – Disk Masher System, previously used as a disk-archiving system native to the Amiga, also supported by emulators.
.pss – A Sony PlayStation 2 Game Video file and is used to store audio and video data by games for the PlayStation 2 console.
.nsp – Nintendo Switch EShop Video Game file that stores audio data, video data, game data, and program code for the Nintendo Switch; Also supported by emulators.
.xci – Nintendo Switch Video Game cartridge dump file that stores audio data, video data, game data, and program code for the Nintendo Switch; Also supported by emulators.
LSM – LSMaker script file (program using layered .jpg to create special effects; specifically designed to render lightsabers from the Star Wars universe) (.lsm)
MCR – a macro recording file for Super Macro software (.mcr)
FX – Microsoft DirectX plain text effects and properties for the associated file and are used to specify the textures, shading, rendering, lighting and other 3D effects (.fx)
BCA – Short for Burst Cutting Area Holds the information of the circular area near the center of a DVD, HD DVD or Blu-ray Disc, it is usually 64 bytes in size. (.bca)
These file formats are fairly well defined by long-term use or a general standard, but the content of each file is often highly specific to particular software or has been extended by further standards for specific uses.
These are filename extensions and broad types reused frequently with differing formats or no specific format by different programs.
Binary files
.bak, .bk – Bak file various backup formats: some just copies of data files, some in application-specific data backup formats, some formats for general file backup programs
BIN – binary data, often memory dumps of executable code or data to be re-used by the same software that originated it
DAT – data file, usually binary data proprietary to the program that created it, or an MPEG-1 stream of Video CD
DSK – file representations of various disk storage images
RAW – raw (unprocessed) data
SZH – files that are associated with zero unique file types (the most prevalent being the Binary Data format)
^ abRSTS-11 System Users Guide(PDF) (DEC-11-ORSUA-D-D (RSTS/E V06A-02) ed.). Digital Equipment Corporation. 1975. pp. 2–16–2–17. Archived from the original(PDF) on 21 March 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
^"What is WIN system?" (in Japanese). Earthquake Observation Center, Earthquake Research Institute, U. Tokyo, Japan. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.