This alphabetical list of filename extensions contains extensions of notable file formats used by multiple notable applications or services.

A

Ext.DescriptionUsed by
AArchive filear (Unix)
Advanced Audio fileYouTube Music
Advanced Audio Coding fileiOS, Nintendo DSi, Nintendo 3DS, YouTube Music
[1]Microsoft Access DatabaseMicrosoft Access Database (Open XML)
[2]Microsoft Access Data Type TemplateMicrosoft Access
Adobe color palette format (.aco)[3]Adobe Photoshop[4]
Abrechnungsdatentransfer, an xDT applicationHealthcare providers in Germany
DocumentArchetype Designer
Amiga Disk Zipped (See Amiga Disk File)GZip
Agda (programming language) source fileAgda typechecker/compiler
ArcView ASCII grid
AutoHotkey script fileAutoHotkey
[5]Adobe Illustrator ArtworkAdobe Illustrator
[6]Audio Interchange File Formatprofessional audio processing applications and on Macintosh[7]
[6]Compressed Audio Interchange File Format
APL programming language file transfer format file
[8][9]Additive Manufacturing File FormatComputer Aided Design Software
System image fileACTOR
[10]AutomationMLAutomationML Group
[10]Compressed and packed AutomationML fileAutomationML Group
AMPL source code fileAMPL
Adaptive Multi-Rate audio
Actions Media Video
[11]Animation cursors for WinWin95 - WinNT
Annotations of old Windows Help fileWindows 3.0 - XP
Monkey's Audio (Lossless)audio media players
Android application packageAndroid
Alpine Linux Package Alpine Linux and derivatives
[12]ARC (file format)
[13]Gerber formatCadence Allegro, EAGLE
Sony Alpha RAW image formatSony
[14]ASP.NET global application file
[14]ASP.NET User Control
[15]Advanced Streaming Format (Compressed Windows audio/video)Microsoft Corporation
[14]ASP.NET handler file
Assembler language sourceTASM, MASM, NASM, FASM
Active server page extended fileMicrosoft Corporation
[16]Advanced Stream Redirector file, redirects to an ASF file (see ASF)Microsoft Corporation
[17]Coco/R LL(1) formal grammarCoco/R
[18]Atrac 3 Sound/music fileAll Sony devices and programs with the Atrac 3+ specification
audio file[19]
[20][21]Audio Video InterleaveVideo for Windows
AV1 Image File Format
AWK script/programawk, GNU Awk, mawk, nawk, MKS AWK, Awka (compiler)
DirectShow FilterMicrosoft Corporation (Video Players)
[22]lightweight geodatabaseESRI ArcPad

B

Ext.DescriptionUsed by
BBASIC language sourceBASIC
Bbc arbitrary precision calculator language fileUnix bc tool
base64 binary-to-text encoding[23]
backupvarious
[24]FMOD asset fileFMOD
Broker Archive. Compressed file containing number of other files for deployment.[25]IBM App Connect
BASIC language sourceQuickBASIC - GW-BASIC - FreeBASIC - others
Batch fileMS-DOS, RT-11, DOS-based command processors
Glyph Bitmap Distribution Format, a format used to store bitmap fonts.Adobe
Behandlungsdatentransfer, an xDT applicationHealthcare providers in Germany
Executable bytecode file in fat binary formatBEAM (Erlang virtual machine)[26]
Bibliography databaseBibTex
binary fileEvery OS
Blender project fileBlender
UIQ3 Phone backup
[27]OS/2 or Win graphics format (BitMap Picture)QPeg - CorelDraw - PC Paintbrush - many
WPS backup file[28]Microsoft Word, Microsoft Works
Bryce 7 project fileBryce 7
Bryce 7 sky presets fileBryce 7
JSON-like binary serialization[29]MongoDB
Binary space partitioning tree fileQuake-based game engines
3D geometry format[30]CAD systems
[31]Archivebzip2

C

Ext.DescriptionUsed by
C-- language sourceSphinx C--
CC language source
Note that on case-sensitive platforms like Unix and with the gcc compiler the uppercase .C extension indicates a C++ source file.[32]
Watcom C/C++, Borland C/C++, gcc and other C compilers
CUnix file archiveCOMPACT
C++ language source
C++ language source
COMBOOT Executable (32-bit)SYSLINUX
[33]Cabinet archiveWindows 95 and later, many file archivers
[34]COBOL language source
COMBOOT Executable (incompatible with DOS COM files)SYSLINUX
C++ language source
ASP.NET class diagram file[14]
[35]Common Data Format
[36]Computable Document FormatMathematica
[37]Trainz Railroad Simulator Content Dispatcher PackTrainz Railroad Simulator
[38]Vector graphics format (drawinFCorelDraw
MIME type: chemical/x-cdxmlXML version of the ChemDraw Exchange format, CDX.[39]
[40]Security certificateMicrosoft Windows
[41][42]Computer Graphics Metafile vector graphicsA&L - HG - many
[43]Compiled Help FileMicrosoft Windows, Help Explorer Viewer
[44]ChordPro lead sheet (lyrics and chords)ChordPro and similar tools
Decrypted Nintendo 3DS ROM cartridgeNintendo 3DS
[45][46]Crystallographic Information FileRasMol, Jmol
[47]Java class fileJava
ooRexx class fileooRexx
Command Prompt batch fileMicrosoft Windows NT based operating systems
[48]executable programsCP/M-86 operating system
Chemical Markup Language, for interchange of chemical information.[49]
[50]Celestia ModelCelestia
[51]CNR IDLMITRE
3D object file format with normals (.noff, .cnoff)[52] NOFF is an acronym derived from Object File Format. Occasionally called CNOFF if color information is present.[53]
[54]COBOL language sourceGnuCOBOL
[55]Coefficient fileXilinx ISE
3D object file format (.off, .coff)[56] OFF is an acronym for Object File Format. Used for storing and exchanging 3D models. Occasionally called COFF if color information is present.[57]
DIMACS graph data format.[58]
DOS programDOS-
[14]ASP.NET precompiled stub file
Configuration file
[59]Compressed imageCartesian Perceptual Compression
cpio archive filecpio
[60]Control panel fileWindows 3.x
[54]COBOL source copybook file
[61]Raw image formatCanon digital cameras
Raw image formatCanon R series cameras
[62]CRAM index
Holds Spacecraft Assembly informationKerbal Space Program
[40]Security certificateMicrosoft Windows
[63]C# language source
[64][65]C# project fileMicrosoft Visual Studio
[66]Cascading style sheet
[67]Compiled Shader Object, extension of compiled HLSLHigh-Level Shading Language
[68]Comma Separated Values text file format (ASCII)
Used by electronic structure programs to store orbital or density values on a three-dimensional grid.[69]
same as .cub
Non-animated cursor (extended from ICO)Windows
C++ language source

D

Ext.DescriptionUsed by
DD Programming Language source fileDMD
DDirectory containing configuration files (informal standard)Unix
Direct Access Archive
COLLADA file
Data fileDigital Anchor
Extended from HTMLDarkPurpleOF's Website Extension
JSON Sticker Pack FileDarkPurpleOF's Website Importable
Dart source fileDart
AMPL data fileAMPL
LDraw (Sub)Part File, 3D ModelLDraw
DataRSNetWorx Project
Data file in special format or ASCII
Database fileClarion (programming language)
Norton Utilities disc image data. It saves Boot sector, part of FAT and root directory in image.DAT on same drive.Norton Utilities
Optical disc image (can be ISO9660, but not restricted to)cdrdao, burnatonce
Video CD MPEG stream
Windows registry hive (REG.DAT Windows 3.11; USER.DAT and SYSTEM.DAT Windows 95, 98, and ME; NTUSER.DAT Windows NT/2000/XP/7)Microsoft Windows
Dynamic sourceATS
Database fileDB Browser for SQLite
DarkBasic source code
Database Connection configuration fileAbInitio
Native format of the dBASE database management application.[70]
Debugger scriptDOS debug - Watcom debugger
Symbolic debugging informationMicrosoft C/C++
deb software packageDebian Linux and derivatives
digital elevation model (DEM) including GTOPO30 and USGSDEM. GTOPO30 is a distribution format for a global digital elevation model (DEM) with 30-arc-second grid spacing.[71] USGSDEM is the standard format for the distribution of terrain elevation data for the United States.[72]
CAD DrawingBentley Systems, MicroStation and Intergraph's Interactive Graphics Design System (IGDS) CAD programs
Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) bitmapDICOM Software (XnView)
Data Interchange FormatVisicalc
Output from [diff] command - script for Patch command
Directory listing (ls format)Dired
DivX media format
Dynamic-link library is a shared library.Microsoft Windows or OS/2 operating system.
Apple Disk ImagemacOS (Disk Utility)
memory dump file (e.g. screen or memory)
Dimension model formatAdobe Dimension[73]
[74]Digital Negative, a-publicly available archival format for the raw files generated by digital camerasAt least 30 camera models from at least 10 manufacturers, and at least 200 software products
Redo recipes; usually written in sh, but may be written in a different language with a shebang.Redo[75]
[76][77][78]A Document, or an ASCII text file with text formatting codes in with the text; used by many word processorsMicrosoft Word and others
Microsoft Word Macro-Enabled DocumentMicrosoft Word
[79]Microsoft Word DocumentMicrosoft Word
[79]Microsoft Word document templateMicrosoft Word
[79]Office Open XML Text document templateMicrosoft Word
[80][81]Digital Picture Exchange
Dirac format video
[82]Celestia Deep Space Catalog fileCelestia
Stata database transport format.[83]Stata
[84]Document Type Definition
[85]Data version control yaml pointer into blob storage
Autodesk Design Web FormatDesign Review
[86]DrawingAutoCAD, IntelliCAD, PowerCAD, Drafix, DraftSight etc.
same as JDX and JCM.
[87]Drawing Interchange File Format vector graphicsAutoCAD, IntelliCAD, PowerCAD, etc.

E

Ext.DescriptionUsed by
EE language source codeE
EnCase Evidence File chunkEnCase Forensic Analysis Suite entity
ArcInfo interchange fileGIS software
2-dimensional vector graphics fileEditor included in JFire
A file format developed by ASTM International for storing point clouds and imagesMost software that enables viewing and/or editing of 3D point clouds
versions of DOS system files (AUTOEXEC.BAT, COMMAND.COM, CONFIG.SYS, WINBOOT.SYS, etc.) for an emergency boot diskWindows 98, ME
Source codeeC
Error-checking filedvdisaster
Ensoniq EPS disk imageAWAVE
European data formatMedical timeseries storage files
Extensible Firmware Interface
EIS Spectrum Analyser ProjectEIS Spectrum Analyser Archived 2010-03-29 at the Wayback Machine
Emacs Lisp source code fileEmacs
Byte-compiled Emacs Lisp codeEmacs
Executable and Linkable File EurekaLog File (contains details of an exception)Unix EurekaLog (https://www.eurekalog.com/)
Outlook Express Email MessageWindows Live Mail, Outlook Express, Microsoft Notepad
E language source code (maker)E
Microsoft Enhanced Metafile
Email conforming to RFC 5322;[88] Stationery TemplateEmail clients;Outlook Express
Microsoft Enhanced Metafile compressed with ZIPMicrosoft Office suite
Embedded OpenType
GUI wireframe/prototype projectPrikhi Pencil, Evolus Pencil
Award BIOS splash screenAward BIOS, XnView
Encapsulated PostScriptCorelDraw - PhotoStyler - PMView - Adobe Illustrator - Ventua Publisher
Electronic Publication (e-Reader format)Okular (Linux) - Apple Books - Sony Reader - Adobe Digital Editions - Calibre (LMW)
Europa Universalis 4 save game fileEuropa Universalis 4
Erlang source code file
ECMAScript 6 file
Data file of "esCAD pcb", PCB Pattern Layout Design SoftwareesCAD pcb provided by Electro-System
Data file of "esCAD sch", Drawing Schematics Diagram SoftwareesCAD sch provided by Electro-System
Windows Imaging FormatImageX, DISM, 7-Zip, wimlib
Electronic Theater Controls, Inc. theatrical lighting show control fileETC Eos platform software and consoles
event trace log fileMicrosoft[89][90]
Windows Event log fileMicrosoft Windows NT 4.0 - XP; Microsoft Event Viewer
Windows Event log file XML structuredMicrosoft Windows Vista, 7, 8; Microsoft Event Viewer
Elixir source code fileElixir programming language running on BEAM (Erlang virtual machine)[91]
Directly executable programDOS, OpenVMS, Microsoft Windows, Symbian or OS/2
Drawing File formatDrawing Express
Melco Embroidery FormatEmbroidermodder
OpenEXR raster image format (.exr).[56] Used in digital image manipulation for theatrical film production. EXR is an acronym for Extended Dynamic Range. Stores 16 bit per pixel IEEE HALF-precision floating-point color channels. Can optionally store 32-bit IEEE floating-point "Z" channel depth-buffer components, surface normal directions, or motion vectors.[92]
Elixir script fileInteractive Elixir (IEx) shell[93]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Which Access file format should I use?". microsoft.com. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  2. ^ "Save and reuse database design elements". Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  3. ^ "Listing of All Formats"
  4. ^ "ACO (.aco)". Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center
  5. ^ "What is a vector file?". adobe.com. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  6. ^ Tom Erbe (1999). "AIFF-C Compression Types and Names". Archived 2006-06-20 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
  7. ^ "AIFF (.aif, .aiff, .aifc)"
  8. ^ Specification for Data Exchange Format for Additive Manufacturing
  9. ^ Specification of AMF on ISO web page
  10. ^ "AutomationML". AutomationML e. V. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  11. ^ "About animated cursors". gdgsoft.com. Retrieved 2020-09-14.
  12. ^ Burner, Mike & Kale, Brewster (1996-09-15). "Arc File Format". Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  13. ^ "Gerber Format". ucamco.com. 2020-04-09. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  14. ^ ASP.NET Web Project File Types
  15. ^ "Overview of the ASF format". microsoft.com. 2018-05-31. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  16. ^ "ASX Element". microsoft.com. 2018-05-31. Retrieved 2020-09-14.
  17. ^ "Coco/R own DSL grammar". github.com
  18. ^ "ATRAC Developer's Interview". sony.net. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  19. ^ "AU (.au)"
  20. ^ "AVI File Format with OpenDML Extensions, Version 1.02". www.loc.gov. 2016-03-09. Retrieved 2019-09-01.
  21. ^ stevewhims. "AVI RIFF File Reference - Windows applications". docs.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2019-09-01.
  22. ^ "The ArcPad Team Blog: What is an ArcPad AXF?"
  23. ^ "Base64 (.b64)"
  24. ^ "FMOD - FMOD Studio Concepts". FMOD Studio User Manual 2.03. Firelight Technologies Pty Ltd. January 14, 2026. Archived February 15, 2026 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 28, 2026.
  25. ^ "Deploying integration solutions". ibm.com. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  26. ^ "The Erlang Runtime System". happi.github.io. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  27. ^ "Bitmap Storage". microsoft.com. 2018-05-31. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  28. ^ "BPS File Extension - What is a .bps file and how do I open it?". fileinfo.com. Retrieved 2018-10-12.
  29. ^ "BSON (.bson)"
  30. ^ "BYU (.byu)"
  31. ^ "BZIP2 Format Specification". GitHub. 27 February 2022.
  32. ^ "Overall Options - Using the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC)". gcc.gnu.org. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  33. ^ "Cabinet Files". microsoft.com. 2018-05-31. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  34. ^ Coughlan, Michael (16 March 2014). Beginning COBOL for Programmers. Apress. p. 400. ISBN 978-1430262534. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  35. ^ "What is Common Data Format (CDF)?". Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  36. ^ "Computable Document Format". wolfram.com. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  37. ^ "CDP File - What is it and how do I open it?". file.org. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  38. ^ "Trying to Open a .CDR File?". Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  39. ^ "CDXML (.cdxml)"
  40. ^ "Certificate extensions explained". digicert.com. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  41. ^ IANA Image Media Types
  42. ^ ISO/IEC 8632
  43. ^ "Create a Help Project". 2018-05-31. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  44. ^ "Welcome to ChordPro!". Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  45. ^ Hall SR, Allen FH, Brown ID (1991). "The Crystallographic Information File (CIF): a new standard archive file for crystallography". Acta Crystallographica Section A. 47 (6): 655–685. doi:10.1107/S010876739101067X
  46. ^ Brown ID, McMahon B (2002). "CIF: the computer language of crystallography". Acta Crystallographica Section B: Structural Science. 58 (Pt 3 Pt 1): 317–24. doi:10.1107/s0108768102003464. PMID 12037350
  47. ^ "The class File Format". oracle.com. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  48. ^ "CP/M-86 executables (.CMD)". Seasip.info. Archived 2016-11-14 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2016-08-29.
  49. ^ "CML (.cml)"
  50. ^ "Celestia's CMOD model format". Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  51. ^ "MITRE's Combat Net Radio Initialization File". Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  52. ^ "Listing of All Formats"
  53. ^ "NOFF (.noff, .cnoff)"
  54. ^ Cutler, Gary & Coen, Vincent (July 2020). "10.1. Compiling Programs". GnuCOBOL Programmer's Guide. 3.1 RC-1 ed.
  55. ^ "COE File Syntax". xilinx.com. 2009.
  56. ^ "Listing of All Formats"
  57. ^ "OFF (.off, .coff)"
  58. ^ "DIMACS (.col, .col.b)"
  59. ^ "Technical Overview of Cartesian Perceptual Compression". 1999. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  60. ^ "Description of Control Panel (.cpl) Files". microsoft.com. 2020-08-19. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  61. ^ "Understanding What is stored in a Canon RAW .CR2 file, How and Why". Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  62. ^ Hsi-Yang Fritz, Markus; Leinonen, Rasko; Cochrane, Guy; Birney, Ewan (May 2011). "Efficient storage of high throughput DNA sequencing data using reference-based compression". Genome Research. 21 (5): 734–740. doi:10.1101/gr.114819.110. ISSN 1549-5469. PMC 3083090. PMID 21245279
  63. ^ "Introduction to projects and solutions". docs.microsoft.com. 2020-11-17. Retrieved 2021-05-06.
  64. ^ "Additions to the csproj format for .NET Core". microsoft.com. 2019-04-28. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  65. ^ "Understanding the project file". microsoft.com. 2012-05-04.
  66. ^ "Cascading Style Sheets home page". w3.org. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  67. ^ "Compiling shaders home page". w3.org. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  68. ^ Shafranovich, Y. (October 2005). "Common Format and MIME Type for CSV Files". IETF. p. 1.
  69. ^ "Cube (.cub, .cube)"
  70. ^ "DBF (.dbf)"
  71. ^ "GTOPO30"
  72. ^ "USGSDEM (.dem)"
  73. ^ Adobe Dimension User Guide
  74. ^ "Digital Negative (DNG)". Adobe Systems Incorporated. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  75. ^ [1]
  76. ^ "Microsoft Office Binary (doc, xls, ppt) File Formats", 2008-02-15, archived 2008-02-18 at the Wayback Machine
  77. ^ "Microsoft Office Word 97 - 2007 Binary File Format Specification (*.doc)". Microsoft Corporation. 2008.
  78. ^ "MS-DOC: Word (.doc) Binary File Format", 2019-11-19, retrieved 2020-02-25
  79. ^ "Word Extensions to the Office Open XML (.docx) File Format". 2020-08-18. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  80. ^ ST 268-1:2014 - SMPTE Standard - File Format for Digital Moving-Picture Exchange (DPX). SMPTE. doi:10.5594/SMPTE.ST268-1.2014. ISBN 978-1-68303-083-6.
  81. ^ ST 268-2:2018 - SMPTE Standard - Digital Moving-Picture Exchange (DPX) – Format Extensions for High Dynamic Range and Wide Color Gamut. SMPTE. doi:10.5594/SMPTE.ST268-2.2018. ISBN 978-1-68303-161-1. S2CID 252588275
  82. ^ "DSC Parameters recognized by Celestia v1.4.1 (and later)". Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  83. ^ "DTA (.dta)"
  84. ^ "Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0". w3.org. 5 ed. 2008-11-26. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  85. ^ "Data Version Control"
  86. ^ "Open Design Specification for .dwg Files". opendesign.com. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  87. ^ "DXF Reference". autodesk.com. February 2011. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  88. ^ ".EML File Extension". Archived 2021-08-12 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  89. ^ "Windows Event Trace Log Sink". Microsoft TechNet. Microsoft. 2005-06-20. Retrieved 2017-02-08. The Event Trace Sink provided with the Microsoft Enterprise Instrumentation Framework (EIF) produces event trace log (.etl) files [...].
  90. ^ Compare: Rea, Sara Morgan (2005). Building Intelligent .NET Applications: Agents, Data Mining, Rule-based Systems, and Speech Processing. Addison-Wesley Microsoft Technology Series. Addison Wesley. p. 41. ISBN 9780321246264. Retrieved 2017-02-08. Each call is logged to the Windows Event Trace Log and stored in a log file with an .etl (event log tracing) extension.
  91. ^ "Modules and functions". elixir-lang.github.com. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  92. ^ "OpenEXR (.exr)"
  93. ^ "Erlang/Elixir Syntax: A Crash Course". elixir-lang.github.com. Retrieved 2018-05-07.