{
 "id": "shorten-codec",
 "name": "Shorten (codec)",
 "category": "other",
 "identifiers": {
  "extensions": [
   "shn"
  ],
  "mime": [
   "application/x-shorten"
  ],
  "puid": [
   "fmt/1961"
  ],
  "wikidata": [
   "Q597450"
  ],
  "loc_fdd": [
   "fdd000199"
  ],
  "magic": [
   {
    "offset": 0,
    "hex": "616a6b67",
    "notes": "Shorten (codec)"
   }
  ],
  "signatures": [
   {
    "name": "Shorten (codec)",
    "sequences": [
     {
      "position": "bof",
      "offset": 0,
      "pattern": "616a6b67"
     }
    ]
   }
  ]
 },
 "status": "readable",
 "summary": "Shorten is a file format used for compressing audio data.It is used to compress audio files losslessly. One of the first open source lossless compressors, it was created in 1993 by Tony Robinson.",
 "tools": [
  {
   "name": "FFmpeg",
   "url": "https://ffmpeg.org",
   "license": "LGPL-2.1-or-later / GPL-2.0-or-later",
   "open_source": true,
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false
  },
  {
   "name": "Awave Studio",
   "url": "https://www.fmjsoft.com/awavestudio.html#main",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false
  },
  {
   "name": "EZ CD Audio Converter",
   "url": "https://www.poikosoft.com/",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false
  },
  {
   "name": "PhotoRec",
   "url": "http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false,
   "license": "GNU General Public License",
   "open_source": true
  }
 ],
 "projects": [
  {
   "name": "File Formats Wiki",
   "url": "http://fileformats.archiveteam.org/wiki/Shorten",
   "kind": "wiki"
  },
  {
   "name": "PRONOM fmt/1961",
   "url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/PRONOM/fmt/1961",
   "kind": "format-doc"
  },
  {
   "name": "Wikidata Q597450",
   "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q597450",
   "kind": "wiki"
  }
 ],
 "provenance": {
  "sources": [
   "converters",
   "ffw",
   "pronom",
   "wikidata"
  ]
 },
 "updated": "2026-10-24",
 "conversions": [
  {
   "to": "flac-free-lossless-audio-codec-1-2-1",
   "tool": "FFmpeg",
   "command": "ffmpeg -i in.shn out.flac",
   "fidelity": "partial",
   "losses": "Audio track only: the video is dropped.",
   "url": "https://ffmpeg.org"
  },
  {
   "to": "waveform-audio",
   "tool": "FFmpeg",
   "command": "ffmpeg -i in.shn out.wav",
   "fidelity": "partial",
   "losses": "Audio track only: the video is dropped.",
   "url": "https://ffmpeg.org"
  },
  {
   "to": "mpeg-1-2-audio-layer-3",
   "tool": "FFmpeg",
   "command": "ffmpeg -i in.shn out.mp3",
   "fidelity": "lossy",
   "losses": "Lossy re-encoding.",
   "url": "https://ffmpeg.org"
  },
  {
   "to": "ogg",
   "tool": "FFmpeg",
   "command": "ffmpeg -i in.shn out.ogg",
   "fidelity": "lossy",
   "losses": "Lossy re-encoding.",
   "url": "https://ffmpeg.org"
  },
  {
   "to": "mpeg-4-part-14",
   "tool": "FFmpeg",
   "command": "ffmpeg -i in.shn out.mp4",
   "fidelity": "lossy",
   "losses": "Re-encoded with lossy codecs by default; try `-c copy` to remux without re-encoding when the codecs fit the container.",
   "url": "https://ffmpeg.org"
  },
  {
   "to": "matroska-1-4",
   "tool": "FFmpeg",
   "command": "ffmpeg -i in.shn out.mkv",
   "fidelity": "lossy",
   "losses": "Re-encoded with lossy codecs by default; try `-c copy` to remux without re-encoding when the codecs fit the container.",
   "url": "https://ffmpeg.org"
  },
  {
   "to": "webm",
   "tool": "FFmpeg",
   "command": "ffmpeg -i in.shn out.webm",
   "fidelity": "lossy",
   "losses": "Re-encoded with lossy codecs by default; try `-c copy` to remux without re-encoding when the codecs fit the container.",
   "url": "https://ffmpeg.org"
  }
 ],
 "aliases": [],
 "structure": [],
 "parsers": [],
 "samples": [],
 "claims": [],
 "verification": []
}