Executable and Linkable Format

Writable

other

standard file format for executables, object code, shared libraries, and core dumps

Identify it

Extensions	`.elf.o.ko.so.mod.axf.bin.prx`
Signatures	`7f454c46` at byte 0
PRONOM	`fmt/688fmt/689fmt/690fmt/691`
Wikidata	`Q1343830`

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Open it

CourgetteOpen sourcewrites · BSD licenses
flat assemblerOpen sourcewrites · 2-clause BSD License
moldOpen sourcewrites · MIT License
WildOpen sourcewrites · Apache Software License 2.0 / MIT License
ZigOpen sourcewrites · MIT License
Apache TikaOpen sourcereads · Apache Software License 2.0
FFmpegOpen sourcereads · LGPL-2.1-or-later / GPL-2.0-or-later
Linux kernelOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License, version 2.0
PhotoRecOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License
GNU gold linkerwrites
CodeWarrior Debuggerreads
Readelfreads
stripreads

Convert it

To	With	Fidelity	Command and losses
FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) 1.2.1	FFmpeg	Partial	`ffmpeg -i in.bin out.flac` Audio track only: the video is dropped.
Waveform Audio	FFmpeg	Partial	`ffmpeg -i in.bin out.wav` Audio track only: the video is dropped.
Matroska 1-4	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.bin out.mkv` Re-encoded with lossy codecs by default; try `-c copy` to remux without re-encoding when the codecs fit the container.
MPEG 1/2 Audio Layer 3	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.bin out.mp3` Lossy re-encoding.
MPEG-4 Part 14	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.bin out.mp4` Re-encoded with lossy codecs by default; try `-c copy` to remux without re-encoding when the codecs fit the container.
Ogg	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.bin out.ogg` Lossy re-encoding.
WebM	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.bin out.webm` Re-encoded with lossy codecs by default; try `-c copy` to remux without re-encoding when the codecs fit the container.

Documentation

kaitai grammar: https://github.com/kaitai-io/kaitai_struct_formats/blob/master/executable/elf.ksy

Versions and variants (4)

Executable and Linkable Format 32bit Big EndianPartly documented
Executable and Linkable Format 32bit Little EndianPartly documented
Executable and Linkable Format 64bit Big EndianPartly documented
Executable and Linkable Format 64bit Little EndianPartly documented

Sources

From Converters (FFmpeg, ImageMagick, Pandoc, LibreOffice), Just Solve the File Format Problem (File Formats Wiki), Kaitai Struct format gallery, Wikidata. Updated 2026-10-24.

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