BAK~ File

A .bak~ file is part of the backup copy system built into AbiWord, an open-source word processor. The extension stands for AbiWord Auto-Saved Document, indicating it was created automatically while a document was open in the program.

.bak~ files contain a backup copy of the currently open document. This form of automatic saving enables you to restore work in case of a sudden program failure or power loss. The backup interval is configurable in AbiWord's preferences.

Documents stored automatically share the same base name as their originals, with .bak~ appended. For instance, while editing an .abw document named my-file.abw, AbiWord periodically creates my-file.abw.bak~ alongside it. This applies equally to .rtf and .odt documents opened in AbiWord. .bak~ files ensure safety of the original file and can be recovered simply by renaming them. The format operates across Windows, Mac, and Linux environments.