.WV file extension
To open .WV files on Windows, if your audio player supports WavPack, open the .wv file from within the player (File → Open) or double-click it if file associations are set.
To open a .wv file, use software that supports the WavPack audio format, or decode it to WAV with the official WavPack command-line tools. On Linux, many desktops recognize .wv as WavPack audio via the shared MIME database.
Last updated: October 13, 2026
Open on your device
Choose your operating system for a dedicated step-by-step opening guide.
How to open .WV files
Use these platform-specific instructions to open .WV files safely.
Windows
- If your audio player supports WavPack, open the .wv file from within the player (File → Open) or double-click it if file associations are set.
- If it won’t play, install and use the official WavPack tools to decode it to WAV (unpack/decode), then play the resulting WAV in any standard audio player.
Mac
- Try opening the .wv file in an audio player that supports WavPack (use the app’s File → Open).
- If playback is not supported, use the official WavPack tools to decode the .wv to WAV, then open the WAV in any macOS audio player.
Linux
- In your file manager, open the .wv file with a compatible audio player (Linux desktops commonly recognize it as audio/x-wavpack).
- If your player cannot handle it, decode the .wv to WAV using the official WavPack tools, then play the WAV.
iOS
- If your iOS player/app does not support WavPack directly, decode the .wv to WAV on a desktop using the official WavPack tools, then transfer the WAV to your device.
Android
- If your Android player/app does not support WavPack directly, decode the .wv to WAV on a desktop using the official WavPack tools, then copy the WAV to your device.
Security notes
- .wv is an audio container/bitstream format, not a script or executable, but malformed media files can still trigger bugs in decoders; prefer well-maintained players and libraries when opening untrusted files.
- Be cautious when a download is a .wv plus an accompanying .wvc correction file: both may be required to restore lossless audio in hybrid mode, and mixing files from different sources could cause decode failures or unexpected results.
- If a file with a .wv extension does not behave like audio (e.g., won’t be recognized by any WavPack-aware tool), treat it as suspicious or mislabeled and avoid forcing it into decoders.
Can't open this file?
These are the most common causes and fixes when .WV files fail to open.
Common reasons
- The file won’t play in my media player
- Hybrid WavPack file sounds lower quality (missing .wvc)
- Wrong file association on Linux (opens in the wrong app)
Fix steps
- Try a different player that explicitly supports WavPack.
- Decode the .wv to WAV using the official WavPack tools, then play the WAV.
Recover a deleted or lost .WV file
If the file was deleted by mistake or the drive was formatted, data recovery software may be able to get it back. Stop writing to that drive right away, because new data can overwrite what you want to recover.
Windows software that recovers deleted or lost files from PCs and external drives such as HDDs, SSDs, USB drives and memory cards, after deletion, formatting or a crash.
Wondershare RecoveritWindows and Mac software that recovers deleted or lost files from computers and external drives such as HDDs, SSDs, USB drives and SD cards.
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OS-specific troubleshooting
What is a .WV file?
.wv is the standard file extension for WavPack, an audio compression format. WavPack files are composed of blocks with headers (as documented in the WavPack file/block format specification), and they can optionally be paired with a separate .wvc correction file for “hybrid” mode to restore audio to lossless.
Background
WavPack is an audio compression format commonly stored as .wv files. It is used to reduce file size while preserving audio quality, and it is also used in a hybrid mode where a smaller lossy .wv can be supplemented by an optional .wvc correction file to reconstruct the original lossless audio.
For practical use, the official WavPack tools can create .wv files and also unpack/decode them back to standard formats (typically WAV) for broad compatibility. This is often the simplest workflow when a device or app does not support WavPack playback directly.
On Linux systems, .wv is widely identified as WavPack audio in the shared-mime-info database (MIME type audio/x-wavpack), which helps file managers and desktop environments associate the file with compatible audio applications.
Common MIME types: audio/x-wavpack
Known aliases: .wvc
Further reading
Authoritative resources for more details on the .WV format.
Common .WV issues
The file won’t play in my media player
Not all players support WavPack (.wv) out of the box, even if they handle common formats like MP3 or FLAC.
- Try a different player that explicitly supports WavPack.
- Decode the .wv to WAV using the official WavPack tools, then play the WAV.
Hybrid WavPack file sounds lower quality (missing .wvc)
In WavPack “hybrid” mode, the .wv may be lossy by itself; the optional .wvc correction file is used to restore lossless audio.
- Check whether a matching .wvc file exists alongside the .wv (same base name).
- If you have the .wvc, keep it with the .wv and decode/restore using WavPack tools to recover lossless audio.
Wrong file association on Linux (opens in the wrong app)
Linux desktops often identify .wv via shared-mime-info as audio/x-wavpack, but your system’s default app for that type might not support playback.
- Use “Open With…” to choose a different audio player that supports WavPack.
- Optionally set the chosen player as the default for audio/x-wavpack in your desktop environment.
FAQ
What is a .wv file?
It is a WavPack compressed audio file. WavPack can store lossless audio, and it can also use a hybrid mode where a separate .wvc correction file can restore lossless audio.
What is the .wvc file that sometimes comes with .wv?
.wvc is a WavPack correction file used with hybrid encoding. When present and matched with the .wv, it can be used to reconstruct the original lossless audio.
Is there an official MIME type for .wv?
In the freedesktop.org shared MIME database used by many Linux desktops, .wv is associated with audio/x-wavpack. The IANA media type registry is the authoritative list of registered types.
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