What are AIR files?

This article describes the different file formats that use the AIR extension, including how to open each type.

What are AIR files?

A file with the .AIR extension is most likely an AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime) installation package that stores web-based applications programmed with ActionScript or Apache Flex. They are typically compressed in ZIP format and can be used on all computer and mobile operating systems that support the Adobe AIR runtime, such as Windows, macOS, Android and iOS.

MUGEN video game engine uses the AIR file extension for the plain text file format that stores animation settings. It can explain how a character should move or how the background scene should simulate movement.

However, another use for this file extension is as a binary game data file for a Windows flight simulator called Microsoft Flight Simulator X.

AIR is also an acronym for Automated Image Registration.

Note: The terms analog input range and antenna integrated radio may also be abbreviated as AIR, but they are not related to the file formats described on this page.

How to open AIR files

Adobe-related AIR files are ZIP-based files, so you can extract them with PeaZip, 7-Zip or any other free compression/decompression program. However, to have full access to the original application files, a decompiler may be required.

Warning: Be very careful when opening executable file formats such as .AIR files that you have received via email or downloaded from websites with which you are unfamiliar.

To actually use files on your computer, you need to set up an environment for them to run, which is done through Adobe AIR (currently managed by HARMAN). This is a prerequisite before you can use the AIR application. Once installed, the application runs like any other software program or video game.

AIR applications can be built using Adobe Animate (formerly known as Adobe Flash Professional).

Depending on whether the application is for mobile or desktop, Adobe AIR applications can be built using Adobe Flex, HTML, JavaScript, or Ajax.

MUGEN animation files used with MUGEN You can edit one or view the internal text settings using a text editor such as the Notepad program built into Windows.

Microsoft Flight Simulator X uses AIR files but players are not allowed to open them. If you have an AIR file associated with Automated Image Registration files, you will be able to open that file with the program suite of the same name.

How to convert AIR files

Check out Adobe's article on packaging a native desktop installer to learn how you can create an EXE, DMG, DEB, or RPM installer file from an AIR application using the AIR Developer Tool (ADT). Converting files to one of these formats means the application can be opened even if the Adobe AIR runtime is not installed.

There is probably no reason to convert MUGEN to any other format as doing so will cause them to stop working with that program. However, since they are just text files, they can technically be converted to other text-based formats like HTML and TXT using most text editors.

If any program can convert Automated Image Registration AIR files, it would be the program mentioned above.

Still can't open the file?

Some file formats use file extensions that are similar to the suffixes used for other file formats. For example, an ARI file looks very similar to an AIR file, but the two files are completely unrelated.

An ARI file is an image captured with an ARRI digital camera and opened with an image viewer/editor such as Adobe Photoshop. Some other files are archives compressed using algorithms such as PPM or LZP. Both of these file formats do not work like AIR files.

This same error can occur with any file that uses a file extension spelled similarly to .AIR. If you don't handle AIR files, be sure to research the actual file extension to find out which programs can open your specific file.

Micah Soto

Update 02 January 2024