Internet Archive ARC (web archive) (.arc)
.arc file signature | application/x-internet-archive
Internet Archive ARC (web archive) is a file format developed and maintained by the Internet Archive for storing archived web content. It was used to collect web pages and related resources for preservation, crawler output, and large-scale web archiving workflows. ARC is a legacy predecessor to the WARC format, and files from untrusted sources should be handled cautiously like other archived content.
Magic Bytes
Offset 0
66 69 6C 65 64 65 73 63 3A 2F 2F
Sources: Apache Tika
All Known Signatures
5 signature variants are documented for .arc files across multiple sources.
| Hex Signature | Offset | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| 66 69 6C 65 64 65 73 63 3A 2F 2F | 0 | Apache Tika |
| 41 52 43 | 0 | Wikipedia |
| 41 72 43 | 0 | Wikipedia |
| 1A 08 | 0 | Wikipedia |
| 41 72 43 01 | 0 | Gary Kessler |
Extension
.arc
MIME Type
application/x-internet-archive
Byte Offset
0
Risk Level
Safe
Validation Code
How to validate .arc files in Python
def is_arc(file_path: str) -> bool:
"""Check if file is a valid ARC by magic bytes."""
signature = bytes([0x66, 0x69, 0x6C, 0x65, 0x64, 0x65, 0x73, 0x63, 0x3A, 0x2F, 0x2F])
with open(file_path, "rb") as f:
return f.read(11) == signature
How to validate .arc files in Node.js
function isARC(buffer: Buffer): boolean {
const signature = Buffer.from([0x66, 0x69, 0x6C, 0x65, 0x64, 0x65, 0x73, 0x63, 0x3A, 0x2F, 0x2F]);
return buffer.subarray(0, 11).equals(signature);
}
How to validate .arc files in Go
func IsARC(data []byte) bool {
signature := []byte{0x66, 0x69, 0x6C, 0x65, 0x64, 0x65, 0x73, 0x63, 0x3A, 0x2F, 0x2F}
if len(data) < 11 {
return false
}
return bytes.Equal(data[:11], signature)
}
API Endpoint
/api/v1/arc
curl https://filesignature.org/api/v1/arc
See the full API documentation for all endpoints and parameters.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a .arc file?
A .arc file is a Internet Archive ARC (web archive) file. Internet Archive ARC (web archive) is a file format developed and maintained by the Internet Archive for storing archived web content. It was used to collect web pages and related resources for preservation, crawler output, and large-scale web archiving workflows. ARC is a legacy predecessor to the WARC format, and files from untrusted sources should be handled cautiously like other archived content.
What are the magic bytes for .arc files?
The magic bytes for Internet Archive ARC (web archive) files are 66 69 6C 65 64 65 73 63 3A 2F 2F at byte offset 0. These bytes uniquely identify the file format regardless of the file extension.
How do I validate a .arc file?
To validate a .arc file, read the first bytes of the file and compare them against the known magic bytes (66 69 6C 65 64 65 73 63 3A 2F 2F) at offset 0. This is more reliable than checking the file extension alone, as extensions can be renamed.
What is the MIME type for .arc files?
The primary MIME type for .arc files is application/x-internet-archive.
Is it safe to open .arc files?
Internet Archive ARC (web archive) (.arc) files are generally safe to open. They are classified as low risk because they primarily contain data rather than executable code. However, always ensure files come from a trusted source.