How do I open a .webp file?

On Windows use Photos (built in); on macOS use Preview (built in, macOS 11+); on Linux use Image Viewer / Loupe (built in). Google's web image format — smaller than JPEG or PNG, and now supported everywhere.

Can I convert a .webp file?

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

.webp files

.webp file

WebP Image

Google's web image format — smaller than JPEG or PNG, and now supported everywhere.

What opens a .webp file

Windows: Photos (built in), Any web browser, IrfanView, GIMP
macOS: Preview (built in, macOS 11+), Any web browser, GIMP
Linux: Image Viewer / Loupe (built in), GIMP, Any web browser
In a browser: Any web browser, Photopea, CloudConvert

What a .webp file is

Google released WebP in 2010 to cut page weight; it does both lossy and lossless compression plus transparency and animation in one format. Every current browser displays it, and Windows Photos and macOS Preview both open it without extra software. The usual complaint is that older photo editors and printing services still reject it, so people convert back to JPEG to hand a file to someone else.

Converting it

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

Details

Extension: .webp
Full name: WebP Image
Category: Images
MIME type: image/webp
Created by: Google
Format: Binary

Common questions

How do I open a .webp file?: On Windows use Photos (built in); on macOS use Preview (built in, macOS 11+); on Linux use Image Viewer / Loupe (built in). Google's web image format — smaller than JPEG or PNG, and now supported everywhere.
What is a .webp file?: WebP Image. Google released WebP in 2010 to cut page weight; it does both lossy and lossless compression plus transparency and animation in one format. Every current browser displays it, and Windows Photos and macOS Preview both open it without extra software.
Can I convert a .webp file?: Yes. It is usually converted to .jpg, .png, .gif, .pdf or .avif, 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
.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.
.avif — AV1 Image File Format A royalty-free image format built on the AV1 video codec, smaller than JPEG or W
.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