List of file formats


This is a list of file formats used by computers, organized by type. Filename extensions are usually noted in parentheses if they differ from the file format 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 file system. Examples of operating systems that do not impose this limit include Unix-like systems, and Microsoft Windows NT, 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 see the final period in a filename as an extension, in UNIX-like systems, the final period doesn't necessarily mean the text afterward is the extension.
Some file formats, such as .txt or .text, may be listed multiple times.

Archive and compressed

File formats for software, databases, and websites used by potters and ceramic artists to manage glaze recipes, glaze chemistry, etc.
is a prefix for several categories of tools which assist professionals in their respective fields.

Computer-aided design (CAD)

software assists engineers, architects and other design professionals in project design.
, or electronic computer-aided design, is specific to the field of electrical engineering.
Files output from Automatic Test Equipment or post-processed from such.
These files store formatted text and plain text.

Color palettes

files store images as a group of pixels.
use geometric primitives such as points, lines, curves, and polygons to represent images.
are 3D models that allow building models in real-time or non-real-time 3D rendering.
Authentication and general encryption formats are listed here.
This section shows file formats for encrypted general data, rather than a specific program's data.
files contain lists of other passwords, usually encrypted.

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Uncompressed

List of common file formats of data for video games on systems that support filesystems, most commonly PC games.
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 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.

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General data formats

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.

Text-based

These are filename extensions and broad types reused frequently with differing formats or no specific format by different programs.

Binary files

Differences and patches