Program executable
File type: Email attachment blocked file, Program executable file, Dangerous and malicious file
Files with exe extension are best known as main program executable files since the times of MS-DOS. It was adopted for executables in Windows as well. Executables are files that launch programs.
Found 3 different file type records with the same exe filename suffix.
File type category:
Email attachment blocked file
Program executable file
Dangerous and malicious file
Date updated: January 8, 2025
File extension exe is traditionally used for program executable file since the time of first DOS. There are several versions of this file format, but all serve the same purpose - to start a program.
EXE format was, and still is utilized in many operating system, including MS-DOS, Windows, OS/2, OpenVMS and others. These files can be found in 16-bit, 32-bit as well as 64-bit versions.
Pretty much every program has one or more executables to start it, as such it is probably one of the most used file formats.
In addition to executable code, .exe files can also contain various other data, such as program icons. For example self-extracting archives (such as RAR), use exe file extension for the first part, because it also contains the executable code.
Warning: Executables are also used to spread trojans and other malicious programs. Always be careful when opening unknown exe file as this can infect or alter the settings of your system.
MIME types:
application/octet-stream
application/x-msdownload
application/exe
application/x-exe
application/dos-exe
vms/exe
application/x-winexe
application/msdos-windows
application/x-msdos-program
Double-clicking on exe file results in starting the program they are created for.
Do not open unknown *.exe files as these can harm your computer.
Some executables might also be decompiled with specialized software.
There are some options how to export *.exe files to other formats.
Microsoft Windows (Microsoft Windows)
Microsoft Windows 11 (Microsoft Windows)
Microsoft Windows 10 (Microsoft Windows)
Microsoft Windows 8 (Microsoft Windows)
Microsoft Windows 7 (Microsoft Windows)
Microsoft Windows Vista (Microsoft Windows)
Microsoft Windows XP Professional (Microsoft Windows)
Microsoft Windows 2000 (Microsoft Windows)
Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 (Microsoft Windows)
Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Microsoft Windows)
Microsoft Windows 3.x (Microsoft Windows)
WinOnX (Apple macOS / Mac OS X)
Wine for Mac (Apple macOS / Mac OS X)
CP/M (Multiplatform)
MS-DOS (Microsoft MS-DOS)
DR-DOS (Microsoft MS-DOS)
Microsoft Visual Studio (Multiplatform)
FixExec (Microsoft Windows)
Microsoft Visual Studio (Multiplatform)
File type category:
Program executable file
Date updated: July 19, 2023
File extension exe is also used for the default slide show export format in Canvas X graphics suite.
Slideshows in can be saved either as the the default .cvx files, or as a self-running application that can only be executed on a Windows platform without the need to have Canvas X installed on the system.
You can only launch these files to start the slide show.
Considering that these files are compiled, export is unlikely. If you need to, you have to export the original source document (.cvx).
Canvas X (Multiplatform)
File type category:
Archive and compressed file
Date updated: July 19, 2025
File extension exe is also commonly used for so called self-extracting compressed file archives.
Depending on which program produced the archive you may be able to open this file in an unzipping program and extract files directly from it. In general, however, this file is designed to run and perform an extract just by double clicking on the file.
These files are executables. Opening should result in files being extracted.
In order to convert these archives to something else, you would first need to decompres the contents and then re-pack it again. Some programs do it automatically during the conversion process.
WinRAR (Microsoft Windows)
WinZip (Microsoft Windows)
7-zip (Microsoft Windows)
WinRAR (Microsoft Windows)
WinZip (Microsoft Windows)
7-zip (Microsoft Windows)
WinRAR (Microsoft Windows)
WinZip (Microsoft Windows)
7-zip (Microsoft Windows)
PKZIP for Windows (Microsoft Windows)
WinACE Archiver (Microsoft Windows)
The Unarchiver (Apple macOS / Mac OS X)
Advanced Zip Repair (Microsoft Windows)
Advanced RAR Repair (Microsoft Windows)
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