Synchronet v3.21e-Win32 (install) has been released (Mar-2026).

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Table of Contents

Synchronet Files

The format of most files created and used by Synchronet can be identified by the filename extension / suffix. This page is your guide to quickly identifying these files and links to format references, where available:

Encoding

Each of the file formats listed here will have an identified encoding:

Encoding Description
Binary You will need special software to view or modify files of this type1)
ASCII Contains US-ASCII characters only: Any plain text editor should work, but note lines may be LF or CR/LF terminated
UTF-8 Contains a combination of US-ASCII and UTF-8 characters with possible ANSI terminal escape sequences
ANSI Contains a combination of US-ASCII and CP437 characters with possible ANSI terminal escape sequences
PETSCII Contains CBM PETSCII characters and terminal control codes
SYNCASC Contains US-ASCII characters with possible Ctrl-A codes
SYNCMSG Contains US-ASCII and/or CP437 characters with possible Ctrl-A codes
SYNCDAT Contains US-ASCII and/or CP437 characters with ASCII ETX (3/Ctrl-C) padded data records and/or fields

Status

Each file format has a reported support “status” from the developers:

Status Description
Encouraged Use of this file format is encouraged and its use within Synchronet is increasing
Neutral Use of this file format is accepted practice
Discouraged Use of this file format is discouraged and support is expected to end in the future
Deprecated Use of this file format is no longer supported

Formats

Format Extensions Encoding Status Description
CNF .cnf Binary Discouraged Configuration file (ad hoc), managed by SCFG
CFG .cfg,.conf ASCII Discouraged Configuration file (ad hoc)
Trash .can ASCII Discouraged Filter file: one line per filter (pseudo-regex syntax)
List .lst ASCII Discouraged Data file: one line per record
Pointer .ptr,.sfp Binary Discouraged Export message pointers: 32-bits per record
DAT .dat SYNCDAT Discouraged Fixed record/field length (ETX-terminated) data file2)
IXT .ixt ASCII Deprecated Index file: 2 lines per record
DAB .dab Binary Discouraged Fixed record/field length (ad hoc) data file
IXB .ixb Binary Discouraged Index file (ad hoc)
EXB .exb Binary Discouraged Fixed record length (single-field) extended data file
Template .sif,.sof SYNCDAT Discouraged Synchronet Template user input (SIF) / display (SOF) file
SMB .shd,.sid, Binary Neutral Synchronet Message base v1.21
.sdt,.sda,.sha,
.sch,.hash
Fido Message .msg Binary Discouraged Fido BBS/Net “Stored Message” file (a.k.a. 1.msg)
Fido Packet .pkt,.?ut Binary Neutral FidoNet Type-2 Message Packet file
Fido Backbone .na ASCII Neutral FidoNet EchoList: one line per echo (e.g. backbone.na)
Fido Areas .bbs ASCII Neutral FidoNet EchoMail program area configuration / data file (e.g. areas.bbs)
PCB Files .bbs ASCII Neutral PCBoard-style File Listing (e.g. files.bbs)
INI .ini ASCII Encouraged Bi-level hierarchical configuration and data files
Baja .src,.inc ASCII Discouraged Baja source code for command shell or module
PCMS .bin Binary Discouraged Baja compiled command shell or module
JS/SSJS .js,.ssjs UTF-8 Encouraged Interpreted script in JavaScript syntax
JS/HTML .xjs UTF-8 Encouraged Interpreted JavaScript embedded within HTML
HTML .html UTF-8 Neutral Hypertext Markup Language for web pages
XML .xml UTF-8 Neutral Extension Markup Language for configuration or data
JSON .json,.jsonl UTF-8 Encouraged Data files created/used by JavaScript modules
LOG .log ASCII Neutral Activity logs, one line per message
Log-off List .lol ASCII Discouraged Terminal server log-off / statistics list
QWK .qwk,.rep Binary Neutral Offline message or reply packet (multiple files archived, usually w/PKZIP)
DIZ .diz,.sdi ASCII Neutral Description In Zip (e.g. FILE_ID.DIZ and DESC.SDI)
ASC .asc,.txt SYNCASC Neutral US-ASCII Only display file with attribute/color information
CP437 .msg SYNCMSG Encouraged IBM Extended-ASCII display file with attribute/color information
UTF-8 .utf8 UTF-8 Neutral UNICODE display file
PETSCII .seq PETSCII Neutral CBM PET-ASCII display file
ANSI .ans,.mon ANSI Discouraged ANSI-BBS display file
RIP .rip ANSI Neutral TeleGrafix' RIPscrip (Remote Imaging Protocol Script) display file
WIP .wip ANSI Deprecated Durand Communications' Windows Interface Protocol menu file
IBM-CGA .bin Binary Neutral So-called “BinaryText” display file, possibly with a SAUCE trailer
XBin .xb Binary Encouraged ACiD-defined multiple-font BinaryText w/SAUCE trailer
Fonts .f8,.f14,.f16 Binary Encouraged SyncTERM/PC-compatible fixed-width typeface files
Semaphore .now,<none> ASCII Neutral Existence / time-stamp of file causes effect
Mutex .lock,.bsy ASCII Neutral Existence of file indicates mutually-exclusive operation in progress

Drop Files

Drop files are identified by their full filename (not the just the extension) and are both created and consumed by the BBS:

Filename Encoding Description
DOOR.SYS ASCII GAP, both the 31-line and 52-line formats (write/read)
DORINFO#.DEF ASCII RBBS/QuickBBS (write-only)
EXITINFO.BBS Binary QuickBBS (write/read)
CHAIN.TXT ASCII WWIV (write-only)
CALLINFO.BBS ASCII Wildcat! (write-only)
PCBOARD.SYS Binary PCBoard (write-only)
USERS.SYS Binary PCBoard (write/read)
SFDOORS.DAT ASCII SpitFire (write-only)
DOORFILE.SR ASCII Solar Realms (write-only)
TRIBBS.SYS ASCII TriBBS (write-only)
DOOR32.SYS ASCII Mystic (write-only)
XTRN.DAT ASCII Synchronet (write-only)
MODUSER.DAT ASCII Synchronet (read-only)
MSGTMP ASCII QuickBBS (write/read)
MSGINF ASCII QuickBBS (write-only)
EDITOR.INF ASCII WWIV (write-only)
RESULT.ED ASCII WWIV (read-only)

See Also

1)
multi-byte integers are stored little-endian unless otherwise noted
2)
exceptions: XTRN.DAT and TEXT.DAT

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