What is a .wav file?
Waveform Audio File Format · Audio · Microsoft / IBM · 1991
WAV stores audio uncompressed, so it is bit-perfect and lossless, which makes it the standard for recording, editing and production. The catch is size: a few minutes of WAV can be tens of megabytes.
What is a .wav file used for?
A WAV is essentially raw audio samples in a simple container. Nothing is thrown away, so it is the working format of choice in studios and audio editors.
That fidelity means large files, so WAV is rarely used for distribution. You mix and edit in WAV, then export MP3 or AAC for sharing.
It plays natively almost everywhere, but its size makes it impractical for streaming or phones full of music.
How to open a .wav file
The .wav format opens in the following apps, grouped by operating system. If one app does not work, try another from the same list. For a step-by-step walkthrough, see how to open a .wav file.
Windows
- Media Player
- Audacity
- VLC
macOS
- Music
- QuickTime
- Audacity
Linux
- Audacity
- VLC
Web
- Every browser
How to convert a .wav file
You can convert a .wav file to MP3, FLAC, AAC, OGG using a conversion tool or the export menu of an app that opens it.
.wav file signature (magic bytes)
Programs recognise a .wav file by the bytes at the start of the file, not by its name. These are the signatures for WAV. For a full breakdown, see the WAV file signature page.
| Hex signature | Offset | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 52 49 46 46 ?? ?? ?? ?? 57 41 56 45 | 0 | RIFF....WAVE |
See the full magic-numbers reference for every format.
Frequently asked questions
What is a .wav file?
WAV stores audio uncompressed, so it is bit-perfect and lossless, which makes it the standard for recording, editing and production. The catch is size: a few minutes of WAV can be tens of megabytes.
Why is my WAV file so large?
WAV is uncompressed, so it stores every sample in full. Convert to FLAC for lossless-but-smaller, or MP3 for much smaller lossy files.
Comparisons
Related formats
Sources
Details on this page were checked against authoritative references: