How do I open a .avif file?

On Windows use Any web browser; on macOS use Preview (built in, macOS 13+); on Linux use Image Viewer / Loupe (built in). A royalty-free image format built on the AV1 video codec, smaller than JPEG or WebP.

Can I convert a .avif file?

Yes. It is usually converted to .jpg, .png, .webp, .heic or .pdf, either by exporting from one of the programs listed above or with a format converter.

.avif files

.avif file

AV1 Image File Format

A royalty-free image format built on the AV1 video codec, smaller than JPEG or WebP.

What opens a .avif file

Windows: Any web browser, Photos (with AV1 Video Extension from the Microsoft Store), GIMP, IrfanView
macOS: Preview (built in, macOS 13+), Any web browser, GIMP
Linux: Image Viewer / Loupe (built in), GIMP, Any web browser
In a browser: Any web browser, Squoosh, CloudConvert

What a .avif file is

AVIF was published by the Alliance for Open Media in 2019 and packs AV1-compressed images into the HEIF container. It beats JPEG and WebP on size at the same quality and supports transparency and HDR, which is why sites increasingly serve it. All current browsers display AVIF; on Windows the Photos app needs the free AV1 Video Extension from the Microsoft Store first, and macOS has handled it in Preview since Ventura.

Converting it

A .avif file is commonly converted to .jpg, .png, .webp, .heic or .pdf. It is a binary format, so a text editor will show unreadable characters rather than its contents.

Details

Extension: .avif
Full name: AV1 Image File Format
Category: Images
MIME type: image/avif
Created by: Alliance for Open Media
Format: Binary

Common questions

How do I open a .avif file?: On Windows use Any web browser; on macOS use Preview (built in, macOS 13+); on Linux use Image Viewer / Loupe (built in). A royalty-free image format built on the AV1 video codec, smaller than JPEG or WebP.
What is a .avif file?: AV1 Image File Format. AVIF was published by the Alliance for Open Media in 2019 and packs AV1-compressed images into the HEIF container. It beats JPEG and WebP on size at the same quality and supports transparency and HDR, which is why sites increasingly serve it.
Can I convert a .avif file?: Yes. It is usually converted to .jpg, .png, .webp, .heic or .pdf, either by exporting from one of the programs listed above or with a format converter.

.jpg — JPEG Image The lossy photo format that every camera, phone and website has used since the 1
.png — Portable Network Graphics Lossless image format with transparency, made for screenshots, logos and web gra
.jpeg — JPEG Image (four-letter form) The same format as .jpg — the longer spelling, kept alive by Macs and Unix syste
.heic — High Efficiency Image Container The format an iPhone saves photos in — about half the size of a JPEG at the same
.webp — WebP Image Google's web image format — smaller than JPEG or PNG, and now supported everywhe
.gif — Graphics Interchange Format The 256-colour animation format from 1987 that refuses to die.
.psd — Adobe Photoshop Document Photoshop's working file, keeping layers, masks and text editable.
.svg — Scalable Vector Graphics An XML text format describing shapes rather than pixels, so it stays sharp at an
.ai — Adobe Illustrator Artwork Illustrator's vector working file, used for logos, icons and print artwork.
.tiff — Tagged Image File Format The lossless, multi-page image format used in printing, scanning and archiving.
.raw — Camera Raw Image Unprocessed sensor data from a camera — and, confusingly, a literal extension us
.ico — Windows Icon A container holding one icon at several sizes, used by Windows and by website fa

Sources

Media Types Registry — IANA
Official vendor product documentation — At One Place

How these figures are compiled and checked