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

CPP file extension

C++ Source Code File

Developer Files

CRDOWNLOAD file extension

Chrome Partially Downloaded File

Misc Files

CRX file extension

Chrome Extension

Plugin Files

DB file extension

Database File

Database Files

GBR file extension

Gerber File

Data Files

ICS file extension

iCalendar File

Misc Files

MDB file extension

Microsoft Access Database

Database Files

PIF file extension

Program Information File

Executable Files

PY file extension

Python Script

Developer Files

SRT file extension

SubRip Subtitle File

Video Files

TARGZ file extension

Compressed Tarball File

Compressed Files

TMP file extension

Temporary File

Backup Files

XCODEPROJ file extension

Xcode Project

Developer Files

YUV file extension

YUV Encoded Image File

Raster Image Files

3G2 file extension

3GPP2 Multimedia File

Video Files