Skip to content

Khronos texture filefor OpenGL and OpenGL ES applications (.ktx)

.ktx file signature | application/octet-stream

KTX is a texture container file format defined by Khronos Group for storing GPU-ready image data for OpenGL and OpenGL ES applications. It is used to distribute compressed textures, mipmaps, and other texture resources in game engines, graphics tools, and cross-platform rendering workflows. The format is still in use and is generally considered safe, though texture files should always be obtained from trusted sources like any binary asset.

Safe

Magic Bytes

Offset 0
AB 4B 54 58 20 31 31 BB 0D 0A 1A 0A

Sources: Gary Kessler

Extension

.ktx

MIME Type

application/octet-stream

Byte Offset

0

Risk Level

Safe

Validation Code

How to validate .ktx files in Python

Python 
def is_ktx(file_path: str) -> bool:
    """Check if file is a valid KTX by magic bytes."""
    signature = bytes([0xAB, 0x4B, 0x54, 0x58, 0x20, 0x31, 0x31, 0xBB, 0x0D, 0x0A, 0x1A, 0x0A])
    with open(file_path, "rb") as f:
        return f.read(12) == signature

How to validate .ktx files in Node.js

Node.js 
function isKTX(buffer: Buffer): boolean {
  const signature = Buffer.from([0xAB, 0x4B, 0x54, 0x58, 0x20, 0x31, 0x31, 0xBB, 0x0D, 0x0A, 0x1A, 0x0A]);
  return buffer.subarray(0, 12).equals(signature);
}

How to validate .ktx files in Go

Go 
func IsKTX(data []byte) bool {
    signature := []byte{0xAB, 0x4B, 0x54, 0x58, 0x20, 0x31, 0x31, 0xBB, 0x0D, 0x0A, 0x1A, 0x0A}
    if len(data) < 12 {
        return false
    }
    return bytes.Equal(data[:12], signature)
}

API Endpoint

GET /api/v1/ktx
curl https://filesignature.org/api/v1/ktx

See the full API documentation for all endpoints and parameters.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a .ktx file?

A .ktx file is a Khronos texture filefor OpenGL and OpenGL ES applications file. KTX is a texture container file format defined by Khronos Group for storing GPU-ready image data for OpenGL and OpenGL ES applications. It is used to distribute compressed textures, mipmaps, and other texture resources in game engines, graphics tools, and cross-platform rendering workflows. The format is still in use and is generally considered safe, though texture files should always be obtained from trusted sources like any binary asset.

What are the magic bytes for .ktx files?

The magic bytes for Khronos texture filefor OpenGL and OpenGL ES applications files are AB 4B 54 58 20 31 31 BB 0D 0A 1A 0A at byte offset 0. These bytes uniquely identify the file format regardless of the file extension.

How do I validate a .ktx file?

To validate a .ktx file, read the first bytes of the file and compare them against the known magic bytes (AB 4B 54 58 20 31 31 BB 0D 0A 1A 0A) at offset 0. This is more reliable than checking the file extension alone, as extensions can be renamed.

What is the MIME type for .ktx files?

There is no officially registered MIME type for .ktx files. Systems typically use application/octet-stream as a generic fallback when handling this format.

Is it safe to open .ktx files?

Khronos texture filefor OpenGL and OpenGL ES applications (.ktx) 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.