How to open a .sass file
Quick, free ways to open Sass on any system.
A .sass file is a Syntactically Awesome Style Sheets. If double-clicking does nothing, your computer simply does not have an app that reads Sass yet. Here is how to fix that on each operating system, using free software wherever possible.
Open a .sass file step by step
- Confirm the file really is a .sass. Drop it into the WhatFileType file identifier, which reads its signature without uploading anything.
- On Windows, open it with VS Code or WebStorm.
- On Mac, use VS Code or WebStorm.
- On Linux, try VS Code or vim.
- Still stuck? Convert the .sass to css, which opens more widely.
Best apps to open .sass files
Windows
- VS Code
- WebStorm
- any text editor
macOS
- VS Code
- WebStorm
- any text editor
Linux
- VS Code
- vim
- any text editor
!
Before you open it: Safe. Sass is stylesheet source, not executable code. It compiles to CSS, which only styles a page.
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I open my .sass file?
Almost always because no installed app understands Sass. Install one of the apps above, or convert the file to a format your existing software already reads.
Should I use .sass or .scss?
Most projects now use .scss because its CSS-like braces are familiar. The indented .sass syntax is equivalent but less common.
How do I open a .sass file?
Any text editor shows it. Watch the indentation, since in the .sass syntax it defines structure.