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Format

Vim SWAP File

Summary

Name
Vim SWAP File
Identifiers
PUID: fmt/1582
Description
Vim SWAP file is a temporary file created by the open source Vim text editor, when editing a file. The file's name typically begins with ".", and ends with ".swp". The file is normally deleted when editing is complete, but may be left behind in the event of a crash or other abnormal termination. Its main purpose is to periodically record unsaved changes made to the file. It also serves as a lock file. The file format is undocumented, and not necessarily portable. Vim is free and open-source, screen-based text editor program for Unix, released to the public in 1991. Vim was designed for use both from a command-line interface and as a standalone application in a graphical user interface.
Note
https://www.vim.org/ https://vimhelp.org/recover.txt.html#swap-file http://fileformats.archiveteam.org/wiki/Vim_swap_file https://github.com/adamhotep/misc-scripts/blob/master/ls.swp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vim_(text_editor)
File extensions
swp
Source
The National Archives and Records Administration / The National Archives and Records Administration

Internal signatures

Vim SWAP file

Note
BOF; Offset: 0; Magic Bytes: 'b0VIM'

Byte sequences

Min Frag Length
Absolute from BOF
Offset
0
Max offset
0
Byte Sequence
623056494D
Endianness
None

Changelog

  • Updated in V115

    Release date
    15 November 2023

    Vim SWAP File: Format Type removed. Submitted by The National Archives and Records Administration.

  • Added in V101

    Release date
    15 February 2022

    Vim SWAP File: Signature researched and samples provided by The National Archives and Records Administration.

    Vim SWAP File: Full entry added. Submitted by The National Archives and Records Administration.