OVF File

What are OVF files and how to open them

Are you having problems opening an OVF 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 OVF files.

What is an OVF file?

OVF files have multiple uses, and OOMMF Vector Field is one of them. Read more about the other uses further down the page.

OOMMF Vector Field File

We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

How to open OVF files

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

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

Last updated: August 10, 2026

All known file formats using extension .OVF

While OOMMF Vector Field File is a popular type of OVF-file, we know of 2 different uses of the .OVF file extension. Different software may use files with the same extension for different types of data.

Open Virtualization Format File

Open Virtualization Format (OVF) is a text-format descriptor used to distribute and import virtual machines or appliances. Produced according to a standard defined by the Distributed Management Task Force and adopted by ISO/IEC, an OVF file gives the configuration and metadata needed to deploy a virtual system across different virtualization platforms. The descriptor does not contain the virtual disk data itself but names and refers to associated disk image files (for example .vmdk or .vhd), required resource files, optional manifest and certificate files, and internal settings like CPU, memory, network, and hardware requirements.

When creating a virtual appliance (for example in Citrix XenCenter, VMware, Oracle VM, VirtualBox or other virtualization environments), the exporter writes out one OVF descriptor with extension .ovf. This file is usually accompanied by one or more disk image files, a manifest file (.mf) containing checksums for integrity checking, and optionally a certificate (.cert). The OVF package can be kept as a folder of files, or archived into a single .ova file (a TAR archive) for distribution.

Technically the OVF descriptor is an XML document that follows the OVF Specification (DSP-0243) version 2.1.1 (as of August 27, 2015) and ISO/IEC 17203:2017. Within the XML the root element is Envelope. Other elements include VirtualSystem or VirtualSystemCollection, File (referencing disk or data files), References, and HardwareSection elements for CPU, memory, storage, and network configuration. The manifest file if present shall use SHA-256 digests of each file in the OVF package.

OVF opener for Windows

We have identified one OVF opener that is compatible with this specific type of OVF file.

Various apps that use files with this extension

These apps are known to open certain types of OVF files. Remember, different programs may use OVF 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 OVF file formats, example files, or compatible programs. Please use the links below or email us at submit@file.org to discuss further.