What is the AFPUB file format?
An .afpub file is the native document format of Affinity Publisher, the desktop publishing app built by Serif as an alternative to Adobe InDesign. Serif first released Affinity Publisher in June 2019, and Canva acquired the company in 2024.
A single .afpub file holds an entire publication. That includes page and spread geometry, master pages, layers, text frames and their styles, tables, vector shapes, and raster images that are either embedded in the file or linked from disk. Affinity also saves the document's state, so reopening a file restores the layout exactly as it was left. Designers use .afpub files for brochures, magazines, books, flyers and posters.
The format is proprietary. Serif never published the specification, which is why no reliable third-party program can read .afpub directly.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWAn .afpub file is a document, not an executable, so it carries little inherent risk. It can contain embedded images but no macros or scripts that run on open. As always, only open files from sources you trust, since large embedded assets can make files very big.
Format details
in a nutshellPrograms that open AFPUB files
Windows2 apps
Affinity Publisher 2
Paid Open the .afpub file directly to edit the full layout; this is the application that created the format.
Affinity by Canva (unified app)
Free Open a .afpub file in the free unified Affinity app to view and edit it, then optionally save to the newer .af format. 
macOS2 apps
Affinity Publisher 2
Paid Open the .afpub document to edit pages, text and images in the native app.
Affinity by Canva (unified app)
Free Open the .afpub file in the free unified Affinity app for macOS to view or continue editing.
Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad
Paid Open a .afpub file on iPadOS to edit the layout with touch and Apple Pencil.
Affinity by Canva for iPad
Free Open and edit .afpub documents in the free unified Affinity app on iPad. Technical details
deep spec| Encoding | Binary (proprietary Serif/Affinity document container) |
| Byte order | Unknown (not publicly documented) |
| Container | Single self-contained document file that stores all pages, spreads, master pages, text frames, typography, vector artwork and embedded or linked raster images |
| Compression | Internal compression is used but the scheme is undocumented |
| Encryption | None by default |
| Typical size | Hundreds of KB to hundreds of MB, depending on embedded image data |
| Structure | The file holds the entire publication: page and spread geometry, master pages, layers, text stories and styles, tables, linked or embedded images, and vector shapes. It also preserves editing history so a document reopens exactly as it was saved. |
| Integrity | Not publicly documented |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, iPadOS |
| Initial Release Full | First released with Affinity Publisher 1.7 in June 2019 |
| Notes | In October 2025 Canva unified the Affinity apps into a single free application that introduced a new universal .af format. The classic Affinity Publisher 2 apps continue to open and save .afpub files; the new unified app can open .afpub but its own .af files cannot be reopened in the older version-2 apps. |
| Released | 2019 |
| Latest version | Affinity Publisher 2 (v2.6) |
AFPUB conversions
Community Q&A
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