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QuickBooks Portable Company File magic bytes (.qbm)

.qbm file signature: D0 CF 11 E0 A1 B1 1A E1 | application/octet-stream

QuickBooks Portable Company File is a compact company data format created and maintained by Intuit for QuickBooks accounting software. It is used to transfer, email, and restore company records in a smaller package than a full company file, typically for sharing between users or moving data between systems. As a legacy QuickBooks interchange format, it is generally safe, though opening files from untrusted sources should still be done cautiously.

Safe

Magic Bytes

Offset 0
D0 CF 11 E0 A1 B1 1A E1

Sources: Gary Kessler

All Known Signatures

2 signature variants are documented for .qbm files across multiple sources.

Hex Signature Offset Sources
D0 CF 11 E0 A1 B1 1A E1 0 Gary Kessler
FD FF FF FF 04 512 Gary Kessler

Extension

.qbm

MIME Type

application/octet-stream

Byte Offset

0

Risk Level

Safe

Validation Code

How to validate .qbm files in Python

Python 
def is_qbm(file_path: str) -> bool:
    """Check if file is a valid QBM by magic bytes."""
    signature = bytes([0xD0, 0xCF, 0x11, 0xE0, 0xA1, 0xB1, 0x1A, 0xE1])
    with open(file_path, "rb") as f:
        return f.read(8) == signature

How to validate .qbm files in Node.js

Node.js 
function isQBM(buffer: Buffer): boolean {
  const signature = Buffer.from([0xD0, 0xCF, 0x11, 0xE0, 0xA1, 0xB1, 0x1A, 0xE1]);
  return buffer.subarray(0, 8).equals(signature);
}

How to validate .qbm files in Go

Go 
func IsQBM(data []byte) bool {
    signature := []byte{0xD0, 0xCF, 0x11, 0xE0, 0xA1, 0xB1, 0x1A, 0xE1}
    if len(data) < 8 {
        return false
    }
    return bytes.Equal(data[:8], signature)
}

API Endpoint

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

See the full API documentation for all endpoints and parameters.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a .qbm file?

A .qbm file is a QuickBooks Portable Company File. QuickBooks Portable Company File is a compact company data format created and maintained by Intuit for QuickBooks accounting software. It is used to transfer, email, and restore company records in a smaller package than a full company file, typically for sharing between users or moving data between systems. As a legacy QuickBooks interchange format, it is generally safe, though opening files from untrusted sources should still be done cautiously.

What are the magic bytes for .qbm files?

The magic bytes for QuickBooks Portable Company File (.qbm) files are D0 CF 11 E0 A1 B1 1A E1 at byte offset 0. These bytes identify the file format more reliably than the extension alone.

How do I validate a .qbm file?

To validate a .qbm file, read the first bytes of the file and compare them against the known magic bytes (D0 CF 11 E0 A1 B1 1A E1) at offset 0. This is more reliable than checking the file extension alone, as extensions can be renamed.

What is the MIME type for .qbm files?

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

Is it safe to open .qbm files?

QuickBooks Portable Company File (.qbm) 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.