File extensions – definition and basic information


File extensions are the integral parts of the files that are on each computer. Often, when working on a computer, we encounter a wide range of files, such as docx, ppt, part, mp3 or rmvb. We realize that they are there – but we often do not know what they are for on our computer.

File extension, also known as the filename extension is a suffix added to the name of a computer file, usually consisting of a number of characters placed after the last dot in the filename, which gives us information about its coding. In other words a file extension is a file format. It allows the operating system (e.g. Windows) to recognize what program it should try to open the file.

In the table below you will find a random selection of popular file extensions.


File extension The full name of the file Category

BMP file extension

Bitmap Image File

Raster Image Files

TORRENT file extension

BitTorrent File

Misc Files

TIF file extension

Tagged Image File

Raster Image Files

7Z file extension

7-Zip Compressed File

Compressed Files

BAT file extension

DOS Batch File

Executable Files

CGI file extension

Common Gateway Interface Script

Executable Files

APK file extension

Android Package File

Executable Files

WSF file extension

Windows Script File

Executable Files

PS file extension

PostScript File

Vector Image Files

CBR file extension

Comic Book RAR Archive

Compressed Files

AZW file extension

Amazon Kindle eBook File

eBook Files

3G2 file extension

3GPP2 Multimedia File

Video Files

SH file extension

Bash Shell Script

Developer Files

MP3 file extension

MP3 Audio File

Audio Files

BIN file extension

Binary Disc Image

Disk Image Files