What is the DJV file format?
.djv is a graphics file format used for saving raster images, designed for storing high-quality scanned documents and books. The format uses a layered compression scheme - a wavelet-based IW44 algorithm for the background color layer and a JB2 bitonal codec for the foreground text and line art mask - making it effective for distributing scanned material over the Internet at compact file sizes. .djvu files are more common than .djv files, but it is the same format with a different extension: .djv is simply the 3-letter 8.3 DOS-era filename variant, byte-for-byte identical to .djvu.
The format was created at AT&T Labs Research in 1996 and later open-sourced as the DjVuLibre project. Files use an IFF-derived container beginning with AT&T magic bytes, with a FORM:DJVU chunk for single-page documents or FORM:DJVM for multi-page collections. An optional OCR text layer (TXTz or TXTa chunks) enables searching and copying text from scanned pages.
Although the .djv standard is not especially popular compared to PDF, many tools and plugins are available to view, edit, and process .djv and .djvu files across platforms. WinDjView, DjView (DjVuLibre), SumatraPDF, and Okular all support the format. A .djv file can be renamed to .djvu without any conversion or data loss.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWDjV/DjVu is image-document data and cannot run code or macros. Download readers only from official sources (DjVuLibre on SourceForge, SumatraPDF, WinDjView) - some adware mirrors disguise themselves as DjVu converters. The legacy DB entry for DjVuLibre points to an adware mirror (Download366.com); do not use.
Format details
in a nutshellPrograms that open DJV files
Windows5 apps
XnView
Free Open .djv via Plugins pack (DjVu plugin required); supports view and export to image formats. 
SumatraPDF
Open-source Open the .djv directly - SumatraPDF reads both .djv and .djvu without conversion.
DjView (DjVuLibre)
Open-source Open .djv to read; use bundled ddjvu command to convert: 'ddjvu -format=pdf file.djv out.pdf'. 
macOS2 apps
DjView (DjVuLibre)
Open-source Install DjVuLibre for macOS (via Homebrew: 'brew install djvulibre'); open .djv with DjView. 
Linux2 apps
KDE Okular
Open-source Open .djv natively; print to PDF for conversion (File → Print → Print to File). 
Android1 app
DjVu Reader (various)
Free Install a DjVu reader from Google Play; most recognize both .djv and .djvu extensions. Technical details
deep spec| Container | IFF-derived with 4-byte AT&T prefix; standard IFF FORM chunks follow |
| Magic bytes | 41 54 26 54 ("AT&T") at offset 0, followed by FORM IFF chunk identifier |
| Byte order | Big-endian (IFF convention) |
| Foreground compression | JB2 bitonal codec (Sjbz chunk) for text and line art mask layer |
| Background compression | IW44 wavelet codec (BG44 chunk) for color or grayscale background layer |
| Single-page structure | FORM:DJVU IFF form type |
| Multi-page structure | FORM:DJVM IFF form type with per-page FORM:DJVU sub-chunks |
| Color depth | 1 bpp bitonal foreground mask + 8 or 24 bpp IW44 background layer |
| Optional OCR text layer | TXTz (zlib-compressed) or TXTa (plain text) IFF chunks |
| Thumbnail support | TH44 IFF chunks store IW44-encoded page thumbnails |
| Typical size per page | 50 KB - 5 MB; multi-page scanned books typically 1-30 MB total |
| Relation to .djvu | Byte-for-byte identical; .djv is the 3-letter 8.3 DOS-era filename variant |
| Released | 1996 (AT&T Labs Research) |
| Latest version | DjVu Specification 0.26 (2005, DjVuLibre) |
| Open standard | Yes · royalty-free |
| Specification | djvu.org |
DJV conversions
Community Q&A
asked by usersNo questions yet - be the first to ask about DJV files.
