┌─ FILE ANALYSIS ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ┐
│ DEVELOPER : Macromedia / Adobe Inc.
│ CATEGORY : Other
│ MIME TYPE : application/x-shockwave-flash
│ MAGIC BYTES : 465753
└ ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ┘
What is an SWF file?
SWF (Small Web Format, originally Shockwave Flash) was the standard file format for Adobe Flash multimedia content. SWF files contained vector graphics, animations, interactive content, games, and video. Flash was discontinued by Adobe on December 31, 2020, and modern browsers no longer support SWF playback.
How to open SWF files
- Ruffle (Web, Desktop) — Open-source Flash emulator
- Flashpoint (Windows) — Flash game preservation project
- Newgrounds Player (Windows) — Flash game player
- Adobe Animate (Windows, macOS) — Legacy Flash authoring
Technical specifications
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Format | Binary (tag-based) |
| Graphics | Vector and bitmap |
| Scripting | ActionScript 1/2/3 |
| Video | FLV embedded, H.264 |
| Status | Discontinued (December 2020) |
Common use cases
- Legacy games: Playing archived Flash games via Ruffle/Flashpoint.
- Animation archives: Preserved Flash animations.
- Educational content: Legacy e-learning modules.
- Web history: Archiving early interactive web content.