Binary property list File Signature: 62 70 6C 69 73 74 30 30 (Magic Number)

Q: What is the Binary property list file signature?

Binary property list files start with the hex bytes 62 70 6C 69 73 74 30 30 (bplist00 in ASCII). This magic number identifies the format regardless of the file's name or extension.

Q: How do I check a file's magic number?

Open the file in a hex editor, or run a command such as xxd -l 16 example.plist on Linux or macOS, or Format-Hex -Path example.plist -Count 16 in Windows PowerShell, and read the first bytes.

Q: Can a file fake the Binary property list signature?

Renaming a file does not change its bytes, so the extension can lie but the signature usually cannot. A genuine Binary property list file has these exact bytes; a file with the wrong bytes is not really Binary property list, whatever its name says.

A binary Apple property list starts with the ASCII magic bplist00. Property lists in the XML form instead begin with the <?xml declaration.

What this magic number means

A magic number is a short, fixed run of bytes at a known position that tells a program what a file really is, no matter what the filename says. If a file starts with the bytes 62 70 6C 69 73 74 30 30 (the text bplist00), it is a Binary property list file.

What each byte of 62 70 6C 69 means

Here is the signature byte by byte, the way a hex editor shows it: the position in the file, the value in hex and in decimal, and the character that value stands for in ASCII. Bytes with no printable character show a dot.

Byte offset	Hex	Decimal	ASCII
0	62	98	b
1	70	112	p
2	6C	108	l
3	69	105	i
4	73	115	s
5	74	116	t
6	30	48	0
7	30	48	0

Formats that use the 62 70 6C 69 signature

These file types in our database carry this signature:

How to check a file's signature

You can read the bytes of any file yourself. They are shown in hex, the same way this page lists them.

Linux & macOS

xxd -l 16 example.plist
hexdump -C -n 16 example.plist
file example.plist

Windows (PowerShell)

Format-Hex -Path example.plist -Count 16

Python

open("example.plist","rb").read(8).hex()

In your browser

Drop the file into the WhatFileType identifier, which reads the signature without uploading it.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Binary property list file signature?

Binary property list files start with the hex bytes 62 70 6C 69 73 74 30 30 (bplist00 in ASCII). This magic number identifies the format regardless of the file's name or extension.

How do I check a file's magic number?

Open the file in a hex editor, or run a command such as xxd -l 16 example.plist on Linux or macOS, or Format-Hex -Path example.plist -Count 16 in Windows PowerShell, and read the first bytes.

Can a file fake the Binary property list signature?

Renaming a file does not change its bytes, so the extension can lie but the signature usually cannot. A genuine Binary property list file has these exact bytes; a file with the wrong bytes is not really Binary property list, whatever its name says.

Related signatures

Sources

Apple property list format

Reuse this signature

This entry is part of the WhatFileType file signature reference, published under a CC BY 4.0 licence with the full provenance for every entry, a copy-paste embed and a JSON export. Credit WhatFileType and the data is yours to republish.