What is the HT file format?
An .ht file is a saved session configuration created by HyperTerminal, the terminal emulation application bundled with Windows 95, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows 2000, and Windows XP. Microsoft removed HyperTerminal from Windows Vista and later releases.
The file is a plain-text INI-style document that records all parameters needed to re-open a saved connection without re-entering settings:
- Hostname or dial-up phone number
- Baud rate, data bits, parity, and stop bits
- Terminal emulation type (VT100, ANSI, and others)
- Key macro assignments
- File-transfer protocol preferences (Xmodem, Ymodem, Zmodem, Kermit)
HyperTerminal was developed and licensed to Microsoft by Hilgraeve Inc. Hilgraeve continues to sell HyperTerminal Private Edition (HTPE) as a commercial product with expanded capabilities including SSH support; HTPE can open .ht files created by the original bundled version.
Opening an .ht file directly launches HyperTerminal and restores the saved connection. Because the format is plain ASCII text, the settings can also be inspected or edited in any text editor such as Notepad.
Modern alternatives such as PuTTY and Windows Terminal do not read .ht files natively.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWHT files are plain-text configuration files and cannot execute code directly. They may contain hostnames, phone numbers, or port information but no passwords (HyperTerminal does not store passwords in session files). No known malware vector.
Format details
in a nutshellPrograms that open HT files
Windows3 apps
HyperTerminal Private Edition
Paid Double-click the .ht file or use File → Open within HyperTerminal. Technical details
deep spec| Format type | INI-style plain-text terminal session configuration |
| Encoding | ASCII / ANSI plain text |
| Typical size | 1 KB - 20 KB |
| File structure | INI sections and key-value pairs; typically begins with [HyperTerminal] section header |
| Stored connection parameters | Hostname or phone number, baud rate, data bits, parity, stop bits, terminal emulation type |
| Terminal emulations stored | VT100, ANSI, and others depending on HyperTerminal version |
| File transfer protocols stored | Xmodem, Ymodem, Zmodem, Kermit |
| Developer | Hilgraeve Inc. (licensed to Microsoft for Windows bundling) |
| Windows bundling history | Included with Windows 95 through Windows XP; removed in Windows Vista and later |
| Current product | HyperTerminal Private Edition (HTPE) 7.0 - commercial; reads .ht files from bundled versions |
| OS | Windows only |
| Released | 1990s (HyperTerminal shipped with Windows 95, NT 4.0) |
| Latest version | HyperTerminal Private Edition 7.0 (latest Hilgraeve commercial release) |
| Specification | www.hilgraeve.com |
HT conversions
Community Q&A
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