What is the CUSTOMDESTINATIONS-MS file format?
.customDestinations-ms files are binary Windows Shell data files that store user-pinned entries in the Jump List for a specific application. When a user right-clicks a taskbar button in Windows 7 or later and pins a file or task to an app's Jump List, Windows records the entry in a .customDestinations-ms file.
Each file is named after the application's AppID - a 16-digit hexadecimal value - and stored in %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\CustomDestinations\. For example, Windows Explorer's pinned items live in a file named 5f7b5f1e01b83767.customDestinations-ms.
Internally, the file is a sequential concatenation of Windows Shell Link binary records, each conforming to the MS-SHLLINK specification. Every record encodes a target file path, volume information, timestamps, and icon data. Unlike the closely related .automaticDestinations-ms format - which stores recently and frequently used items inside an OLE Compound File Binary container - .customDestinations-ms has no outer container: it is raw .lnk records written back to back.
These files are significant in digital forensics: they reveal which files a user deliberately pinned to the taskbar, including file paths and timestamps, even after the original files are deleted. The format is unchanged from Windows 7 through Windows 11.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWThese are Windows internal metadata files - not executable and not dangerous. Privacy implication: they contain a detailed history of files the user pinned in Jump Lists, including full paths, volume serials, and timestamps. Users clearing privacy traces should delete these files from %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\CustomDestinations\.
Format details
in a nutshellPrograms that open CUSTOMDESTINATIONS-MS files
Windows3 apps
JumpList Explorer (Eric Zimmermann)
Free Open JumpListExplorer.exe, File → Load → select the .customDestinations-ms file; displays all pinned entries in a table.
Windows Jump List Parser (tzworks)
Free/paid Command-line: jp64.exe --i customDestinations-ms\<file> --csv output.csv
Microsoft Windows (built-in)
Built-in Windows manages these files automatically; right-click a taskbar icon to see Jump List contents. No manual open needed. Technical details
deep spec| Internal structure | Sequential concatenation of MS-SHLLINK (LNK) binary records - no outer container |
| Byte order | Little-endian |
| File naming | 16-digit hexadecimal AppID + `.customDestinations-ms` |
| Storage location | `%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\CustomDestinations\` |
| Record specification | MS-SHLLINK v2 Shell Link records per Microsoft [MS-SHLLINK] open protocol |
| Purpose | Stores items manually pinned by the user to an application's taskbar Jump List |
| Typical size | 1 KB - 100 KB |
| Contrast with automaticDestinations-ms | That format uses OLE Compound File Binary (CFBF); this format does not |
| Forensic value | Reveals pinned file paths and timestamps even after source files are deleted |
| Platform | Windows 7 through Windows 11 (format unchanged) |
| Managed by | Windows Shell automatically; no documented public API for direct creation |
| Released | 2009 (Windows 7) |
| Latest version | No versioned spec; format unchanged through Windows 11 |
| Specification | docs.microsoft.com |
Community Q&A
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