How to open .WEBP files (WebP images) on Android, Windows and Linux

You right-click a picture on a website, choose Save image as, and get photo.webp instead of the JPG you expected. Then the upload form, the old photo editor or the print shop’s machine refuses it. WebP is everywhere on the web now, but not everything outside the browser has caught up.

Folders opens WebP files in its image viewer on Android, Windows and Linux, free, and turns them into JPG or PNG copies in a couple of taps when something needs an older format.

What is a .WEBP file?

WebP is an image format Google introduced in 2010, built on the compression of the VP8 video codec. It was designed to do the jobs of JPEG, PNG and GIF in one format, with smaller files:

• Lossy compression for photos, like JPEG, usually with noticeably smaller files at similar quality.
• Lossless compression for graphics, like PNG.
• Transparency, even in lossy images, which JPEG can’t do.
• Animation, like GIF but far more compact.

That’s why so many websites serve their images as WebP, even when the page was built with JPGs: the server sends WebP to browsers that accept it, and that’s what you end up saving. Inside, a WebP file is a RIFF container, the same family of wrapper as WAV audio, and its first bytes read RIFF followed by WEBP. You’ll also meet it in chat apps: WhatsApp stickers are WebP files.

Its limits: a WebP can be at most 16,383 pixels on each side, so huge panoramas don’t fit, and support in older desktop software is patchy. Older versions of Photoshop, for example, needed a plug-in.

	WebP	JPG	PNG	GIF
Compression	lossy or lossless	lossy	lossless	lossless, 256 colours
Transparency	yes	no	yes	on or off only
Animation	yes	no	APNG only	yes

How to open a .WEBP file with Folders

Android

1. Install Folders from the download page and allow access to files.
2. Pictures saved from Chrome or another browser land in Download. Type *.webp in the search box to list every WebP below the current folder.
3. Tap one. From the browser’s downloads list you can also pick Open with → Folders.

Windows and Linux

1. In Folders, open the folder (often Downloads) and double-click the file.
2. On Windows the installer registers Folders for WebP, so in File Explorer you can right-click → Open with → Folders.

What you can do with a WebP in Folders

• View it with zoom, step through the folder with swipes or the arrow keys, and check Details.
• Turn it into a JPG or PNG. Select one or many and choose Convert to ▸ JPEG or PNG. The copies are saved beside the originals, and the WebP files stay as they were. PNG keeps transparency; JPEG doesn’t, so see-through areas become white.
• Make WebP files. Going the other way, select JPGs or PNGs and choose Convert to ▸ WebP for lighter images on a website. Android uses the phone’s own encoder; on Windows and Linux, Folders uses FFmpeg, which it downloads the first time you need it.
• Edit: crop by dragging an edge or corner, Adjust brightness, contrast and saturation, or add a Filter. Folders’ editor can’t write WebP, so it saves your edit as a PNG copy and leaves the original alone.
• Copy all text from a screenshot or an infographic someone posted as WebP.
• Resize…, Share and Open with another app.

Animated WebPs, stickers included, open in the same image viewer.

Other ways to open .WEBP files

• Any current browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge): drag the file into a tab.
• Windows: the Photos app.
• Linux: the desktop’s image viewer; some need an extra WebP package, such as webp-pixbuf-loader.
• GIMP, free on Windows and Linux, opens and exports WebP.

Problems opening a .WEBP file?

A program says the format isn’t supported. Common with older editors, office software and upload forms. Convert a copy to JPEG or PNG with Convert to ▸.

The file ends in .jpg, but a program calls it WebP. Some sites send WebP under a .jpg name, and strict programs complain. Rename it to end in .webp, or convert a copy to PNG.

A sticker or animation shows only one frame. Many editors read only the first frame of an animated WebP. A browser plays the whole thing.

An image is too big to save as WebP. The format stops at 16,383 pixels a side. Keep very large panoramas as JPEG or PNG.

Questions people ask

How do I change a WebP to JPG on Android? Open the folder in Folders, long-press the WebP (tap others to add them), and choose Convert to ▸ JPEG from the menu. It works offline and keeps the originals.

Why does Chrome save images as WebP? Because the website sent a WebP. The browser saves exactly what it received.

Is WebP better than JPG? For size, usually: smaller files at similar quality, with transparency and animation on top. Its real weakness is that some older software still can’t open it.

Is a .webp file safe? It’s an image like any other. Opening it in an up-to-date viewer is safe.

For the newer, even smaller format, see the AVIF guide; for classic photos, the JPG guide. Or browse all 382 file types Folders opens.