What is a .URL file?
A .url file is a saved internet shortcut that opens a web page. Created and opened by Windows.
- Did you know
- A .url file is a tiny text shortcut Windows uses to hold the address of a web page.
- A .url internet shortcut is written in the old Windows INI layout, with an [InternetShortcut] section whose URL key holds the web address.
- Optional keys such as IconFile and IconIndex let a .url shortcut display a custom icon for the page it points to.
- What Analyser reads
- Decode shortcut files: Windows shortcuts (LNK) - target path, arguments, working directory, icon, hotkey, window state, and target timestamp - plus internet shortcuts (URL) and macOS web shortcuts (WEBLOC), surfacing the URL or path they point to.
- Depth of analysis
- .URL 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 .URL file
- Drag a .URL 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.
- Related formats
- .LNK · .WEBLOC. See all supported file types.