GIS file extensions
Geospatial and gridded scientific datasets used in mapping, GIS, and environmental analysis.
Total extensions in this category: 11
Extensions in GIS
Explore the most searched extensions in this category.
- .geojson
GeoJSON (RFC 7946) geospatial data
.geojson is a JSON-based format for exchanging geographic features (points, lines, polygons) and their properties. It is widely used in GIS and web mapping tools and follows the GeoJSON standard (RFC 7946).
- .shp
Esri Shapefile (geometry file)
.shp is the main geometry file in an Esri Shapefile dataset used to store vector GIS features. You typically open it in GIS software (for example ArcGIS Pro) together with its companion files such as .dbf and .shx.
- .kml
Keyhole Markup Language (KML)
KML is an XML-based GIS format for showing geographic features (placemarks, paths, polygons, overlays) on maps and virtual globes. It’s commonly opened in Google Earth and is also supported by GIS tools such as ArcGIS.
- .gpkg
OGC GeoPackage (SQLite) geospatial database
.gpkg is an OGC GeoPackage: a SQLite 3 database file with a standardized schema for geospatial data. It commonly stores vector layers and can also store raster/tiles in the same single file.
- .osm
OpenStreetMap OSM XML (map data)
.osm is an OpenStreetMap dataset stored as OSM XML, containing map features like nodes, ways, and relations. It’s commonly opened or imported into GIS tools such as QGIS, GDAL-based software, or data-integration tools like FME.
- .prj
ESRI/Shapefile Projection (WKT CRS) File
.prj is a plain-text “projection” sidecar file most commonly used with ESRI Shapefiles to store the dataset’s coordinate reference system in Well-Known Text (WKT). You typically open it in GIS software (as part of the shapefile) or a text editor to inspect the CRS definition.
- .shx
Esri Shapefile Index (SHX)
.shx is the index component of an Esri Shapefile dataset, used alongside .shp (geometry) and .dbf (attributes). You typically open it by opening the shapefile dataset (the .shp) in a GIS app rather than opening the .shx by itself.
- .kmz
KMZ (Zipped KML) geospatial archive
A KMZ file is a ZIP-compressed package used to share KML map content (places, paths, overlays), often for viewing in Google Earth and other GIS tools.
- .mbtiles
MBTiles (SQLite tile set)
.mbtiles is a single-file map tile package used to store tiled maps (raster or vector tiles) in a SQLite database. It’s commonly opened in GIS and mapping tools such as QGIS, GDAL-based tools, and MapTiler Desktop.
- .nc
NC data
.NC files are data files commonly used for scientific data storage and can be opened with specialized software on various platforms.
- .dbf
dBase database (.DBF)
.DBF is a dBASE table file used to store rows and columns of data. It’s widely supported by database/spreadsheet tools and is also commonly used as the attribute table in ESRI Shapefiles.