.SNAP file signature
A Snap archive file begins with the bytes 68 73 71 73 (hsqs in ASCII) at the start of the file. The signature is the same whatever the file is named, which is why a renamed or extensionless SNAP file is still recognisable.
Signature
| Offset | Hex | ASCII |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 68 73 71 73A SquashFS image. | hsqs |
MIME type: application/vnd.snap · usual extensions: .snap
How to check a file's signature
Without installing anything: drop the file on our detector. It reads the bytes in your browser and shows the hex dump alongside the verdict; nothing is uploaded.
macOS and Linux (Terminal):
xxd -l 32 file.snap
file file.snapWindows (PowerShell):
Format-Hex -Path file.snap -Count 32If the bytes do not match
A file named .snap whose first bytes are something else is not a SNAP file. The common explanations are a wrong or deliberately misleading extension, a download that saved an HTML error page instead of the file, or a container such as ZIP wrapping the real content. The detector reports what the bytes say; the SNAP guide explains what a genuine file should contain.