List of filetypes

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For the different sections for the file types, see: Archives, Disc/Disk Images, Tape Files, ROM Images, Saves, Shaders and Filters, Other, CHIP-8.

Archives[edit]

File ext File type Notes
.rar Compressed Archive Use WinRAR or 7-Zip to open and extract.
.7z/.7zip Compressed Archive Use WinRAR or 7-Zip to open and extract.
.zip Compressed Archive Use WinRAR or 7-Zip to open and extract.
.tar.gz
.gz
Compressed Archive Use WinRAR or 7-Zip to open and extract.
.tar Archive Use WinRAR or 7-Zip to open and extract.
.001/.part1/.r01 Split Archive Use WinRAR or 7-Zip to open and extract.
.gzip Compressed Archive Use 7-Zip to open and extract. Can be loaded by PCSX2 directly.
.tar.bz2
.bz2
Compressed Archive Use WinRAR or 7-Zip to open and extract. Could previously have been loaded by PCSX2 (Old CDVD plugin) until PCSX2 became plugin-free.

Disc/Disk Images[edit]

File ext Name System Notes
.iso/.img Disk Image Multiple
.ccd CloneCD Control File Multiple Usually comes with .img files.
.bin Binary File Multiple Usually accompanied with, and used by, a cue sheet.
.cue Cue Sheet Multiple Metadata file for .bin/.iso/.img tracks.
.chd Compressed Hunks of Data Multiple Originally made for MAME, now used by multiple emulators
.mdf Media Descriptor File Multiple Disc image made from Alcohol 120%
.mds Media Descriptor Sheet Multiple Similar to .cue or .ccd, but for .mdf files.
.ecm Error Code Modeler PlayStation Compressed PS1 disc image, use Unecm to decompress it.
.cso Compressed ISO PS2/PSP/GC/Wii Compressed disc image, see here to convert to and from .iso
.gcz Compressed Dolphin ISO GC/Wii Compressed Wii/GC disc image, see here to convert to and from .iso
.rvz Modern Dolphin Format GC/Wii A new compressed format developed by the Dolphin team able to efficiently compress junk/padding data, allowing both small file sizes and archival quality.
.cdi/.gdi CD Image Dreamcast Typically used with Dreamcast, CDI is a compressed GDI
.sbi CD Image Sub-channel data. Generally used in the case of PS1 for Digital Rights Management
.sub CloneCD Subchannel File PS1/others? Sub-channel data for CloneCD, may come with .img/.ccd. Don't confuse with MicroDVD subtitle files with the same extension.
.nrg Nero Image File PS1/PS2/others?
.isz ISO Zipped PS2/others?
.fds Famicom Disk System NES
.ndd Nintendo 64DD N64
.adf Amiga Disk File Amiga
.adz/adf.gz ADZ Amiga Name derived from Amiga Disk File and the compression format gzip
.dms Disk Masher System Amiga
.ipf Interchangeable Preservation Format Amiga A file format designed to replace the 'Amiga Disk File' format due to many files in the .adf format "cracked" variants of software. Has better support for copy protected disks.

Tape Files[edit]

File ext Name System Notes
.wav Waveform Audio File Format Tape Based Systems Raw data in audio format[N 1]
.tap Tape File Tape Based Systems Raw tape data usable by appropriate emulators
.tzx ZX Spectrum Tape File Compatible Tape Based Systems (ZXS, CPC, C64, etc.) Prefered file type for all emulators, perfect representation
.cdc CPC Digital Tape Amstrad CPC Identical to the .tzx file but useable only by Amstrad CPC emulators
.cas PC-6000 and PC-6601 Cassette NEC PC-6000 series

ROM Images[edit]

  1. When listened to, the file will play white noise. If this noise is perfectly recorded on to a tape, that tape should theoretically be able to be used on a system. In practice, however, this is more difficult to do, as any interference can potentially ruin the tape and some copy protection systems may render the re-recording unusable
File ext Name System Notes
.nes/.nez/.unf/.unif NES ROM NES .unf and .unif correspond to the now deprecated Universal NES Image Format.
.smc Super Magicom SNES Headered ROMs dumped from a Super Magicom copier.
.sfc Super Famicom ROM SNES Headerless SNES ROM
.md Multi Game Doctor Genesis ROMs dumped from a Multi Game Doctor
.smd Super Magic Drive Genesis Headered ROMs dumped from a Super Magic Drive
.gen Genesis ROM Genesis Headerless Genesis ROM
.gg Game Gear ROM Game Gear
.z64 Zip Diskette N64 ROM Nintendo 64 Headered N64 ROMS dumped with a Mr. Backup Z64
.v64 Doctor V64 Nintendo 64 Headered N64 ROMS dumped with a Doctor V64
.n64 N64 ROM Nintendo 64
.gb Game Boy ROM Game Boy
.gbc Game Boy Color ROM Game Boy Color
.gba/.srl Game Boy Advance ROM Game Boy Advance
.gcm GameCube Master Image GameCube GC disc dumped the way it's read
.gcz Compressed GameCube Disc Image GameCube Can be either a compressed .gcm or .iso
.xiso Xbox ISO Xbox
.nds/.srl Nintendo DS ROM Nintendo DS
.dsi/.nds/.app/.srl DSiWare ROM DSiWare Different from regular DS ROMs.
.ids iQue DS ROM iQue/Nintendo DS The same thing as regular Nintendo DS ROMs, but for the Chinese iQue DS.
.wbfs Wii Backup File System Wii Use WBFS Manager to convert to and from .iso
.wad Wii Application Data Wii Used for Wii channels
Where's All the Data? Doom Engine games Used for games derived from the Doom engine and a few 90's games.
.cia CTR Importable Archive 3DS
.3ds Nintendo 3DS ROM 3DS
.nsp Nintendo Switch ROM Nintendo Switch Dump of SD and NAND games, Updates
.xci Nintendo Switch ROM Nintendo Switch Dump of a game cartridge
.ngp/.ngc NGP/C ROM Neo Geo Pocket/Color
.pce PC Engine ROM PC Engine
.vpk PlayStation Vita ROM PlayStation Vita Compressed files forming a PlayStation Vita ROM
.vb Virtual Boy ROM Virtual Boy Also used for Visual Basic source files
.ws/.wsc WonderSwan (Color) ROM WonderSwan/Color
.bin/.dat/.lst NAOMI ROM Dreamcast NAOMI format supported by relevant Dreamcast emulators. MAME-deprecated and mostly irrelevant
.ipa Apple iPhone App Data iOS
.apk Android App Data Android
.obb Android App Data Resources Android

Saves[edit]

File ext Name System Notes
.dsv DeSmuME Save NDS
.ds1 to .ds9 DeSmuME Save State NDS
.sav Save file Multiple
.ps2 PCSX2 Memory Card PS2
.p2s PCSX2 Save State PS2
.mcr Memory Card Reader PS1 PS1 emulator memory card
.mpk Memory Pack Nintendo 64 N64 saves
.eep EEPROM Nintendo 64 N64 saves
.st0/.sta/ Savestate Multiple
.srm Save RAM SNES/Genesis Save RAM dump, used with emulators and flashcards

Shaders and Filters[edit]

File ext Name System Notes
.cg C for Graphics Nvidia's shader format based on C's syntax.
.glsl OpenGL Shading Language / GLslang OpenGL only shader format based on C's syntax.
.hlsl High-level shader language Windows, Xbox, 360 Microsoft's proprietary DirectX only shader language, based on C's syntax.
.slang Slang Shading language that extends HLSL.
.slangp Slang preset Lists Slang files and provides parameters for them.

Other[edit]

File ext Name System Notes
.elf Executable and Linkable Format PS2/PS3/GC/Wii Typically a homebrew/small application file
.pbp Perl Builder File PlayStation Portable Game and homebrew eboot file, also used for PS1 ISO storage (eboot.pbp)
.dol Dolphin File GameCube/Wii Executable
.xbe/.xex Xbox Executable Xbox/X360 Xbox Executable. Usually comes with a folder with game data. X360 ones can be loaded by Xenia.
.cfg/.ini Configuration File Multiple Use a text editor such as notepad/Notepad++ to edit
.dll Dynamic Link Library Multiple Typically used for plugins/emulation cores in emulators
.so Shared Library Multiple Typically used for plugins/emulation cores in emulators
.xml Extensible Markup Language MAME/MESS Contains various information about emulated systems and ROMs.
.hsi XML-like MESS Contains various information about ROMs.
.lay Layout MAME/MESS XML-like file used to describe the visual layout of artwork overlays and placement of emulation input/output.
.nv Non Volatile RAM MAME/MESS Created by default to store nvram of emulated systems or software in the NVRAM folder.
.m3u Playlist file Multiple Used to play multiple discs back to back, automates disc swapping.
.rp9 RP9 Amiga/Commodore 64 Packaging format for Commodore 64 and Amiga file formats. Designed by Cloanto. used by C64 Forever and Amiga Forever software.

CHIP-8 formats[edit]

File ext Extension Notes
.c8, .ch8 Original
.ch10 CHIP-10
.c8b ? proposed standard CHIP-8 binary file
.c8h CHIP-8 with two page display (64x64)
.c8e CHIP-8E
.c8x CHIP-8X
.sc8 S-CHIP
.mc8 MegaChip8
.xo8 XO-CHIP
.8o Octo Source file

See also[edit]