What is a .xd file?
Adobe XD Design Document · Design · Adobe · 2016
An .xd file is a design document from Adobe XD, Adobe's tool for UI and prototype design. It holds the artboards, components and interactions of an app or website design.
What is a .xd file used for?
Adobe XD is used to design and prototype interfaces. The .xd format is proprietary, so the reliable way to open one is Adobe XD itself, though some tools can import it.
With Adobe winding XD down, many teams migrate designs to Figma, which offers importers for XD files.
What opens a .xd file?
The .xd format opens in the following apps, grouped by operating system. If one app does not work, try another from the same list.
Windows
- Adobe XD
- Figma (import via plugin)
macOS
- Adobe XD
- Figma (import via plugin)
Linux
- Figma (web, via converter)
Web
- Adobe XD cloud
- Figma
Open a .xd file step by step
- Confirm the file really is a .xd. Drop it into the WhatFileType identifier, which reads its signature in your browser without uploading anything.
- On Windows, open it with Adobe XD or Figma (import via plugin).
- On Mac, use Adobe XD or Figma (import via plugin).
- On Linux, try Figma (web, via converter).
- Still stuck? Convert the .xd to fig, which opens more widely.
Why can't I open my .xd file?
Almost always because no installed app understands Adobe XD. Install one of the apps above, or convert the file to a format your existing software already reads. If double-clicking opens the wrong program instead of nothing at all, the file association is set to the wrong app rather than the file being broken.
The other possibility is that the file is not really a .xd at all. Drop it into the file identifier to check it by its bytes instead of its name. Nothing is uploaded.
How to convert a .xd file
You can convert a .xd file to fig, pdf, png, svg using a conversion tool or the export menu of an app that opens it.
Adobe XD has no fixed magic number, so there is no signature table on this page. Its bytes alone do not prove the format: identification relies on the extension, the structure of the content and the program that created it. The magic-numbers reference lists the formats that do carry one.
Frequently asked questions
What is a .xd file?
An .xd file is a design document from Adobe XD, Adobe's tool for UI and prototype design. It holds the artboards, components and interactions of an app or website design.
How do I open an .xd file without Adobe XD?
Options are limited because the format is proprietary. Use a Figma import plugin to bring the design in, or ask for a PDF or PNG export.
Is Adobe XD discontinued?
Adobe has wound down active development, so many teams move XD designs to Figma using import tools.
How do I convert XD to Figma?
Use one of the XD-to-Figma import plugins, which recreate the artboards and layers inside Figma.
Related formats
Sources
Details on this page were checked against authoritative references. How sources are ranked and what is deliberately left out is set out in the methodology.