FCS File Type

- The quick facts

What are FCS files and how to open them

Are you having problems opening a FCS file or just wondering what they contain? We explain what these files are used for and show you software that we know can open or otherwise handle your files.

What is a FCS file?

FCS files have multiple uses, and Flow Cytometry Standard format is one of them.

Flow Cytometry Standard format

These FCS files contain the textual data and binary data used while reading and writing data from flow cytometry experiments. This data is saved in an array format for analysis. The binary data has three segments: Text segments that contain metadata, segments that contain a matrix of detected expression values, and an analysis segment.

How to open FCS files

Important: Different programs may use files with the FCS file extension for different purposes, so unless you are sure which format your FCS file is, you may need to try a few different programs.

While we have not verified the apps ourselves yet, our users have suggested 6 different FCS openers which you will find listed below.

Last updated: March 30, 2021

More file formats using the FCS extension

Through our research of FCS files, we know that the following formats exist. However, we have not yet analyzed them in detail, and we would love to hear from you if you have information about either of them.

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Various apps that use files with this extension

These apps are known to open certain types of FCS files. Remember, different programs may use FCS files for different purposes, so you may need to try out a few of them to be able to open your specific file.