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IMG (Raw disk image) file format

.img · .bin  ·  disk image  ·  introduced 1980 by Various

What is a IMG (Raw disk image) file?

.img is a generic name for a raw, byte-for-byte disk image. Unlike ISO it can contain any filesystem (FAT, ext4, APFS, NTFS) and even partition tables. Raspberry Pi OS, Linux distros, and embedded firmware are commonly distributed as .img.gz files for direct flashing to SD cards or USB sticks.

Most readers reach this page after double-clicking a .img file and finding their operating system unsure what to do with it. The good news: IMG (Raw disk image) is a well-understood format with mature tooling on every major platform. It is supported in one click by mainstream archivers on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

How to extract a IMG (Raw disk image) file

Opening a .img file is straightforward on every modern operating system. The exact steps depend on which platform you are on:

On Windows

  1. Locate the .img file in File Explorer.
  2. Right-click the file. If you have 7-Zip installed, choose 7-Zip → Extract Here. On Windows 11 the built-in extractor handles ZIP, 7z, RAR and several other formats directly through Extract All…
  3. If prompted, pick a destination folder and click Extract.
  4. The extracted files appear in a folder next to the original archive.

On macOS

  1. Find the .img file in Finder.
  2. Install The Unarchiver from the Mac App Store, or Keka for both creating and extracting.
  3. Right-click the file → Open With → The Unarchiver (or just double-click after Unarchiver is set as the default).
  4. The extracted folder appears next to the archive.

On Linux

  1. Use your file manager: right-click the archive → Extract Here (file-roller on GNOME, Ark on KDE).
  2. On the command line, run one of: 
    7z x archive.img    # works for almost any format
  3. The files appear in the current directory.

How to create a IMG (Raw disk image) file

To pack files into a .img archive, you typically need an archiver that supports writing this format. Not every tool can create every format — for example, only WinRAR can create real RAR files. The sidebar lists the software known to read and write IMG (Raw disk image).

On the command line, the canonical create command is:

# Use 7-Zip, PeaZip, or the format's reference tool to create .img files.

If you regularly create archives at scale, a dedicated archive automation suite can wrap this command in scheduled jobs, integrity checks, and offsite replication.

Strengths

  • Format-agnostic — captures everything
  • Trivial to write back with dd
  • No tooling lock-in

Weaknesses and limitations

  • Uncompressed by default — file size = disk size
  • No metadata about source device

Typical use cases

  • Raspberry Pi OS images
  • Embedded firmware
  • Forensic disk dumps

Technical details

IMG (Raw disk image) uses the None (raw bytes) algorithm and is identified on disk by the magic byte sequence (varies by inner filesystem). The standard MIME type is application/octet-stream. The format is an open specification and is free for any use.

Frequently asked questions

Is IMG (Raw disk image) safe to open?

Archive files are containers — they are only as safe as what they contain. A .img from a trusted source is fine; one received from a stranger can hold malicious executables, scripts, or files engineered to exploit bugs in your archiver. Always keep your archiver updated, and never run unknown executables that come out of an archive. A safe workflow is to extract into a sandbox and scan the contents before opening anything.

What is the maximum file size?

Modern implementations support archives in the multi-terabyte range. The practical limit is your filesystem (FAT32 caps at 4 GB; ext4, NTFS, APFS, and exFAT all comfortably handle multi-TB files).

Can I password-protect a IMG (Raw disk image)?

Some archivers can wrap IMG (Raw disk image) files in an encrypted container, but the format itself does not always include built-in encryption. Check your archiver's documentation.

How does IMG (Raw disk image) compare to other formats?

See our format comparison pages such as ZIP vs 7z, ZIP vs RAR, and tar.gz vs tar.xz for side-by-side feature tables.

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