What is a .XCF file?
XCF is the native layered-image format of GIMP, the free image editor. Created and opened by GIMP.
- Did you know
- GIMP first appeared in 1996 and is the best-known free alternative to Photoshop.
- XCF stands for eXperimental Computing Facility, the student computing group at UC Berkeley where GIMP was first written.
- An XCF file preserves a project’s full editing state, including every layer, channel, path, selection and guide.
- What Analyser reads
- Identify design-app files: Figma (FIG), Sketch, Affinity Photo/Designer/Publisher, GIMP (XCF), CorelDRAW (CDR), MediBang Paint (MDP) and Substance. Krita (KRA), Procreate and Paint.NET (PDN) now show their embedded preview - see Raster art above.
- Depth of analysis
- .XCF is an identification-grade format: Analyser recognises it from its bytes and decodes the header metadata it carries, rather than opening it in a full viewer. Formats that do get a full viewer are marked "Full" on the formats page.
- Open a .XCF file
- Drag a .XCF file onto the Analyser home page (or tap to pick one). It is identified entirely in your browser - nothing is uploaded, there is no account, and it works offline once installed.