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

AI file extension

Adobe Illustrator File

Vector Image Files

AIF file extension

Audio Interchange File Format

Audio Files

APK file extension

Android Package File

Executable Files

CPP file extension

C++ Source Code File

Developer Files

DEB file extension

Debian Software Package

Compressed Files

EPS file extension

Encapsulated PostScript File

Vector Image Files

GIF file extension

Graphical Interchange Format File

Raster Image Files

IFF file extension

Interchange File Format

Audio Files

JS file extension

JavaScript File

Web Files

PNG file extension

Portable Network Graphic

Raster Image Files

RSS file extension

Rich Site Summary

Web Files

SQL file extension

Structured Query Language Data File

Database Files

TXT file extension

Plain Text File

Text Files

VCF file extension

vCard File

Data Files

YUV file extension

YUV Encoded Image File

Raster Image Files