What is a .ELF file?
ELF is the executable and library format used by Linux and many Unix systems.
- Did you know
- ELF became the standard Unix binary format in the 1990s, replacing older a.out files.
- ELF was designed by Unix System Laboratories with Sun Microsystems for System V Release 4 and first appeared in Solaris 2.0.
- The same ELF container is used for executables, object files, shared libraries, device drivers and core dumps.
- What Analyser reads
- Inspect virtual-machine descriptors (VMware .vmx, VirtualBox .vbox, OVF/OVA), disc images (Nero .nrg, Alcohol .mds/.mdf, CloneCD), embedded firmware (Intel HEX, Motorola S-record, UF2, ELF/AXF, Device Tree Blobs, U-Boot uImage), partition tables (MBR/GPT with GUIDs), Linux filesystem superblocks (ext2/3/4, SquashFS, cramfs, romfs) and Windows imaging (WIM/ESD) - reading headers directly, no upload.
- Depth of analysis
- .ELF is an identification-grade format: Analyser recognises it from its bytes and decodes the header metadata it carries, rather than opening it in a full viewer. Formats that do get a full viewer are marked "Full" on the formats page.
- Open a .ELF file
- Drag a .ELF file onto the Analyser home page (or tap to pick one). It is identified entirely in your browser - nothing is uploaded, there is no account, and it works offline once installed.