[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"howto:wat:windows:en":3},{"resolvedFromAlias":4,"canonicalExt":5,"ext":5,"name":6,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"updatedAt":9,"os":10,"osLabel":11,"quickSolution":12,"stepByStep":13,"recommendedSoftware":16,"alternativeMethods":17,"commonIssues":18,"securityNote":37,"extensionPath":38,"extensionLabel":39,"breadcrumbs":40,"metaDescription":50},false,"wat","WebAssembly Text Format (WAT)","code","Code","2026-06-12T07:59:02.252Z","windows","Windows","To open .WAT files on Windows, open the .wat file in a code editor (for example, Visual Studio Code) since it is plain text.",[14,15],"Open the .wat file in a code editor (for example, Visual Studio Code) since it is plain text.","If you need a runnable module, convert it to .wasm using a WebAssembly tool such as WABT’s wat2wasm.",[],[],[19,25,31],{"title":20,"description":21,"steps":22},"The file opens as unreadable or with the wrong app",".wat files are plain text, but the OS may associate the extension with an unrelated program or a non-text viewer.",[23,24],"Open it explicitly in a code editor (e.g., VS Code) using File → Open.","If needed, change the default app for .wat files to your preferred editor.",{"title":26,"description":27,"steps":28},"“It won’t run” because WAT is not the executable WebAssembly format","Browsers and runtimes typically load WebAssembly in the binary .wasm format; .wat is the text form used for authoring and inspection.",[29,30],"Convert the .wat file to .wasm using wat2wasm (WABT) or equivalent tooling.","Use the produced .wasm file in your WebAssembly workflow (for example, in a web project).",{"title":32,"description":33,"steps":34},"Conversion fails with parse/validation errors","wat-to-wasm conversion tools will reject WAT that does not match the expected text-format conventions or contains syntax errors.",[35,36],"Check the file against WebAssembly text-format conventions and correct syntax issues.","Try converting again with wat2wasm and fix the reported line/column errors.",".wat is human-readable source text, but it can describe a module that, once converted to .wasm and executed, performs potentially unsafe or unexpected computations within the limits of the runtime environment.","/file-extension/wat",".WAT",[41,44,47],{"label":42,"to":43},"Home","/",{"label":45,"to":46},"How To","/file-extension",{"label":48,"to":49},"Open .WAT on Windows","/how-to/open-wat-on-windows","Learn how to open .WAT files on Windows with step-by-step instructions, recommended software, and troubleshooting tips."]