Common File Types

The file types stores various raw information in a structured format for easy storage, processing, and utilization of data. File type is the standard way to store data in computer files. There are multiple types of file types available for effectively storing and retrieving data. We will discuss the unique features and usage cases of different types of file types and compare them.

Common File Types

File Suffix File Type Content-Type Associated Programs Description
.html HTML documents text/html web browsers for web pages
.css Cascading Style Sheet files text/css text editors, web browsers for style sheets
.js JavaScript files application/javascript text editors, web browsers for web page interaction
.jpg JPEG images image/jpeg image viewers, image editing software for storing and transferring images
.png PNG images image/png image viewer, image editing software for storing and transferring images, supports transparency
.gif GIF images image/gif image viewer, image editing software for storing dynamic images
.pdf PDF documents application/pdf PDF viewers, PDF editing software for document sharing, maintain format consistency
.doc Word documents application/msword Microsoft Word document processing
.docx Word documents application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document Microsoft Word Modern Word document formats
.xls Excel Spreadsheets application/vnd.ms-excel Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet processing
.xlsx Excel Spreadsheets application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet Microsoft Excel Modern Excel Spreadsheet Formats
.ppt PowerPoint Presentation application/vnd.ms-powerpoint Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation Maker
.pptx PowerPoint Presentation application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation Microsoft PowerPoint Modern PowerPoint Presentation Formats
.mp3 MP3 Audio Files audio/mpeg Music Players for storing and playing audio
.mp3 MP3 audio files audio/mpeg music players for storing and playing audio
.zip compressed files application/zip compression software for packing and compressing files
.rar RAR compressed files application/x-rar-compressed Compression software For packing and compressing files with higher compression rates than ZIP
.json JSON files application/json text editors, web browsers for data exchange and configuration
.xml XML files application/xml text editors, web browsers for data exchange and configuration, more readable
.sql SQL script files text/x-sql text editors, database management tools for storing database query statements
.csv CSV files text/csv text editor, spreadsheet software for spreadsheet data in simple text format
.webp WebP images image/webp image viewer, image editing software for efficient image storage with support for transparency and animation features
.webm WebM video files video/webm video players, web browsers for efficient video storage, Web video playback
.avif AVIF images image/avif image viewers, image editing software the next generation of efficient image formats
.m4a M4A audio files audio/mp4 Music Player For storing audio, AAC encoding
.wav WAV Audio files audio/wav Music Players Uncompressed audio format, high quality audio files
.raw RAW image files application/octet-stream image editing software unprocessed image data for professional image editing