.XCF file signature
A GIMP image file begins with the bytes 67 69 6D 70 20 78 63 66 20 (gimp xcf 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 XCF file is still recognisable.
Signature
| Offset | Hex | ASCII |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 67 69 6D 70 20 78 63 66 20Followed by the version string, e.g. v011. | gimp xcf |
MIME type: image/x-xcf · usual extensions: .xcf
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.xcf
file file.xcfWindows (PowerShell):
Format-Hex -Path file.xcf -Count 32If the bytes do not match
A file named .xcf whose first bytes are something else is not a XCF 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 XCF guide explains what a genuine file should contain.