.xcf File — GIMP eXperimental Computing Facility

XCF is the native file format of GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program), the leading free and open-source raster image editor. XCF files preserve the full editing state of a GIMP project including layers, channels, paths, layer masks, selection masks, parasites (attached data), and GIMP-specific features like floating selections and layer groups. The format stores images with lossless compression and supports color depths up to 32-bit floating point per channel in RGB, grayscale, and indexed color modes. XCF serves as GIMP's working format, similar to how PSD serves Photoshop — it maintains full editability of all elements for continued work on a project. The format uses a well-documented specification that has evolved across GIMP versions, with newer features added while maintaining backward compatibility. XCF files can be quite large due to lossless storage of all layer data. For sharing final images, XCF files are typically exported to web-friendly formats like PNG, JPEG, or WebP. The format can be viewed by some image viewers but is primarily intended for editing in GIMP.