How to open .ARW files (Sony raw photos) on Android, Windows and Linux

A friend shoots with a Sony Alpha, sends you the day’s pictures, and every file is called something like DSC01234.ARW. Your phone says it can’t open them, and on a laptop they may show up as plain white icons. The pictures are there; they’re just in Sony’s raw format.

To open an .ARW file you need either a raw editor or a viewer that reads the preview tucked inside the file. Folders is the second kind: free, offline, and it works on Android, Windows and Linux.

What is a .ARW file?

ARW is Sony’s raw photo format, usually expanded as Sony Alpha Raw. Alpha mirrorless cameras, the older Alpha DSLRs and SLTs, and premium Cyber-shot compacts such as the RX series save it when image quality is set to RAW. It holds the sensor’s data before the camera has made decisions about colour, contrast and sharpening, which gives an editor much more to work with than a JPEG.

An ARW is a TIFF-based file. Besides the raw data it stores EXIF details and a JPEG preview, the same image you see on the camera’s screen with its Creative Style or Creative Look applied. Newer bodies let you choose uncompressed, compressed or lossless compressed raw.

Extension	What it is
.arw	Raw photo from Sony Alpha and many Cyber-shot cameras
.srf	An early Sony raw format from the first Cyber-shot models with raw
.sr2	Sony’s second raw format, used briefly before ARW

SRF and SR2 come from a few mid-2000s cameras, so you’ll mostly meet them in old photo archives.

How to open a .ARW file with Folders

Android phone or tablet

1. Download Folders from the download page and install it.
2. Grant file access when it asks. Folders needs it to list your photos.
3. Find the ARW. Downloads, a chat app’s folder or a card reader copy are the usual places; search for DSC if you’re not sure where it landed.
4. Tap it to open it in the image viewer.

When another app offers to open the file, pick Open with → Folders.

Windows or Linux computer

1. Install Folders (setup file on Windows; deb, rpm, AppImage, Flatpak, Snap or tar.gz on Linux).
2. Go to the folder in Folders and double-click the ARW, SRF or SR2.
3. On Windows you can also stay in File Explorer: right-click the file, choose Open with, then Folders. The installer registers it for these types.

What you can do with it in Folders

• View the picture from the embedded preview, labelled RAW · embedded preview, and zoom in.
• Check the preview’s size. Its size depends on the camera. On many Sony bodies it’s smaller than the full image, around 1,600 pixels wide, which is plenty for judging a shot on screen but not for printing. Details shows the preview size next to the raw’s real size in megapixels.
• See the settings under Details: camera model, lens, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, focal length, exposure mode, flash, date and GPS location when there is one.
• Move through the folder by swiping, or with the arrow keys on a computer, including any JPEGs shot alongside.
• Share the file, or rename, move and zip ARW files from the file browser.

Folders doesn’t process raw data. It won’t adjust exposure or white balance, and it can’t convert ARW to JPEG. For that, use one of the editors below.

Other ways to open .ARW files

• Imaging Edge Desktop: Sony’s free software for Windows, with a viewer and a raw editor.
• RawTherapee and darktable: free raw editors for Windows and Linux.
• Adobe Lightroom and Capture One: paid editors with strong Sony support.
• Microsoft’s Raw Image Extension, which lets Windows Photos and File Explorer show ARW previews.

Problems opening a .ARW file?

• “Unsupported camera” in your editor. Every new Sony body needs an update in raw software. Update the editor, or use Imaging Edge Desktop, which Sony updates for its own cameras.
• SRF or SR2 won’t open. Some modern apps never added these old formats. Try another editor; free tools such as RawTherapee tend to cover older cameras well.
• The preview looks soft when zoomed. It’s probably the smaller preview many Sony cameras store, not a blurry photo. A raw editor shows the full resolution.
• The file is damaged. An ARW that stops partway, for example after an interrupted transfer, may show nothing at all. Copy it again from the card or ask for it to be sent again, ideally zipped so chat apps don’t touch it.

Questions people ask

Can I open ARW files on my phone? Yes. Folders shows ARW photos on Android from the preview inside each file, along with the camera settings. Raw editing on a phone needs a dedicated editor app.

How do I convert ARW to JPG? Open it in Imaging Edge Desktop, RawTherapee, darktable or Lightroom and export a JPEG. Folders doesn’t convert raw files.

Why does my ARW look different in Lightroom than on the camera? The camera’s screen and the preview show your Creative Style or Creative Look. Raw editors ignore those and start from the sensor data, so the first view can look flatter.

ARW vs JPEG: which should I shoot? JPEG is ready to share and much smaller. ARW keeps far more detail in highlights and shadows for editing. Many people shoot both.

Using a Nikon too? See how to open NEF files. Or browse all 382 file types Folders opens.