File formats, honestly explained
Every format we work with — what it is for, where it shines, where it breaks, and the free tools that read and write it. All processing happens in your browser; nothing is ever uploaded.
- formats covered
- 28
- tool links
- 126
- read integrations
- 48
- write integrations
- 78
48 read-only, 36 write-only, 42 round-trip — each badge below says exactly what the tool can do with the format.
Image
Lossless images with transparency for graphics and screenshots.
What it’s for + free tools →
Tiny photographic files for photos and sharing everywhere.
What it’s for + free tools →
Modern web images: smaller than JPG with transparency included.
What it’s for + free tools →
Next-gen compression: the smallest high-quality web images.
What it’s for + free tools →
Short looping animations and simple graphics, everywhere.
What it’s for + free tools →
Infinitely scalable vector graphics for logos and icons.
What it’s for + free tools →
iPhone photos at half the size — convert them for sharing.
What it’s for + free tools →
Print and scan archival quality — lossless and heavy.
What it’s for + free tools →
Windows' uncompressed bitmap — pixels with no diet.
What it’s for + free tools →
Favicons and app icons — tiny images, big job.
What it’s for + free tools →
Video
Universal video that plays on every device and platform.
What it’s for + free tools →
Open, royalty-free web video with transparency support.
What it’s for + free tools →
Apple's camera format — pristine quality, heavy files.
What it’s for + free tools →
The archival container — every subtitle, track, and chapter.
What it’s for + free tools →
Legacy Windows video — bulky files from an older era.
What it’s for + free tools →
Audio
Universal compressed audio for music and podcasts.
What it’s for + free tools →
Lossless studio audio for editing masters and samples.
What it’s for + free tools →
CD-perfect audio at half the size of WAV.
What it’s for + free tools →
Apple's audio default — voice memos and music alike.
What it’s for + free tools →
The open audio workhorse — games, Linux, and the web.
What it’s for + free tools →
Document
Fixed-layout documents for contracts, ebooks, and forms.
What it’s for + free tools →
Structured data for APIs, configs, and apps.
What it’s for + free tools →
Tabular data for spreadsheets and data exchange.
What it’s for + free tools →
Bundle and compress files for sharing and storage.
What it’s for + free tools →
The enterprise data format — verbose, strict, everywhere.
What it’s for + free tools →
Database dumps and queries — data with a language.
What it’s for + free tools →
Config files that humans can actually read.
What it’s for + free tools →
Spreadsheets without the comma chaos.
What it’s for + free tools →
Directions are verified against the actual tool components — a tool is only listed as writing a format when the browser can genuinely encode it. That is why, for example, HEIC lists reads only: browsers cannot encode HEIC. These 28 pages cover the everyday formats across images, video, audio, documents, and data — missing one you need? Suggest a format.