Windows Portable Executable

Writable

other · also known as Common Object File Format, COFF, EXE

A Windows Portable Executable (PE) is synonymous with a program or application that can potentially be run on Microsoft Windows. An executable is a file-format object that is compiled from source code files written in languages such as C, C++, Golang, or Rust among others. A PE is native to Windows and like other executables or programs, provided a means of distributing applications that performed a certain task or tasks for a specific operating system. Executables are compiled to a certain register width, e.g. 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit or 64-bit; which impacts the size of variables in memory, and may impact compatibilty on older or newer versions of an operating system, respectively. Executables might require external libraries or configuration to function and so the technical environment needed to run an executable should be documented and understood in order to preserve functionality over time and to protect future potential users of these files. The Windows Portable Executable format is used for the 'executable' component of a program, as well as external libraries such as dynamic link libraries (DLLs) other potential extensions are listed as '.acm, .ax, .cpl, .dll, .drv, .efi, .exe, .mui, .ocx, .scr, .sys, .tsp, .mun') (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Portable_Executable&oldid=1182679182). Despite the name, PE files will not run on other operating systems such as MacOS and Linux. Application programs must be compiled to a specific operating system architecture to run on different environments, and PE files will have been compiled to a specific Windows architecture, e.g. 32-bit (fmt-899) or 64-bit (fmt-900).

Identify it

Extensions	`.exe.dll.cpl.efi.ocx.scr.sys.lib.acm.drv.ime.mui.tsp`
MIME types	`application/vnd.microsoft.portable-executableapplication/efi`
Signatures	`4d5a` at byte 0 (Windows Portable Executable)
PRONOM	`x-fmt/411fmt/899fmt/900`
Wikidata	`Q1076355`
Apple UTI	`com.microsoft.windows-executable`

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Open it

CourgetteOpen sourcewrites · BSD licenses
flat assemblerOpen sourcewrites · 2-clause BSD License
Apache TikaOpen sourcereads · Apache Software License 2.0
DLL2DEFOpen sourcereads · 2-clause BSD License
ExifToolOpen sourcereads · Artistic License / GNU General Public License, version 1.0 or later
FFmpegOpen sourcereads · LGPL-2.1-or-later / GPL-2.0-or-later
IrfanViewreads · freeware
Microsoft Developer Studioreads
PuriFilereads
Q483132reads · Microsoft Software Assurance / proprietary license

Convert it

To	With	Fidelity	Command and losses
FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) 1.2.1	FFmpeg	Partial	`ffmpeg -i in.acm out.flac` Audio track only: the video is dropped.
Waveform Audio	FFmpeg	Partial	`ffmpeg -i in.acm out.wav` Audio track only: the video is dropped.
Matroska 1-4	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.acm 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.acm out.mp3` Lossy re-encoding.
MPEG-4 Part 14	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.acm 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.acm out.ogg` Lossy re-encoding.
WebM	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.acm 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/microsoft_pe.ksy

Versions and variants (2)

Windows Portable Executable 32 bitWritable
AEX Plugin 64 bitUnknown

Sources

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

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