GIF File

What are GIF files and how to open them

Are you having problems opening a GIF file or are you simply curious about its contents? We're here to explain the properties of these files and provide you with software that can open or handle your GIF files.

What is a GIF file?

GIF files have multiple uses, and Graphical Interchange Format bitmap image is one of them. Read more about the other uses further down the page.

Graphical Interchange Format bitmap image

GIF files are image files that can be created by a number of different graphics applications. Files with the .gif file extension can contain up to 256 colors. GIF files are often used in web graphics and are commonly used to create graphic text for websites.

While the pixels in a GIF file can be transparent, they must either be fully transparent or fully opaque when creating or editing the image. They cannot be alpha-blended, like with e.g. PNG images.

GIF files are also commonly used for website animations since the images within a GIF file can be animated.

How to open GIF files

We have identified ten GIF openers that are compatible with this specific type of GIF file.

Programs that open Graphical Interchange Format bitmap image files

Last updated: January 22, 2025

All known file formats using extension .GIF

While Graphical Interchange Format bitmap image is a popular type of GIF-file, we know of 2 different uses of the .GIF file extension. Different software may use files with the same extension for different types of data.

GIF Bitmap

We know that one GIF format is GIF Bitmap. We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

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

Various apps that use files with this extension

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

Help us help others

File.org helps thousands of users every day, and we would love to hear from you if you have additional information about GIF file formats, example files, or compatible programs. Please use the links below or email us at submit@file.org to discuss further.