.ORC·File Extension

What is a .orc file?

A .orc file is a ORC Data File — Optimized Row Columnar storage for Hadoop.

In the mime-db registry it has no registered standard MIME type. When serving this file over HTTP, use a Content-Type that matches its actual format.

When served over HTTP, responses should set the following header:

# No standard MIME type is registered for .orc

Common software that reads/writes .orc:

• Configuration files
• Data interchange between systems
• API request and response payloads
• Logs and data exports

• Open the file with Apache Hive, make your changes and save.
• Most editors preserve the original formatting and encoding — avoid changing the charset.

• Create a new file and save it with the .orc extension, or export this format from Apache Hive.

• mime-db
• refnet data sources

Updated 2026-08-18