What is the NFS file format?
An .nfs file is a Navigon NFS Panorama View Terrain Data File - a proprietary binary data tile used by the NAVIGON GPS navigation app to render a three-dimensional landscape view during turn-by-turn navigation.
The Panorama View feature, available in NAVIGON's iOS and Android apps from around 2009 onward, displayed a forward-looking 3D terrain perspective based on elevation and terrain data stored in these .nfs tile files. The internal plugin that processed them was named NPNFS3, suggesting version 3 of the format; earlier variants may have existed. The binary format is entirely proprietary and undocumented - no third-party tool can open or interpret .nfs files.
NAVIGON AG was a German GPS software company. Garmin acquired NAVIGON in 2011, and the NAVIGON brand was gradually phased out, with the apps removed from app stores around 2016. Any .nfs files encountered today are found only on old iOS or Android devices with the archived NAVIGON app, or in backed-up map data directories.
Despite the identical extension, Navigon .nfs files are completely unrelated to the Network File System (NFS) protocol used on POSIX/Unix systems (developed by Sun Microsystems) - that is a network protocol with no associated on-disk file format and no file extension.
These files serve no current practical purpose. No available software can open them, and the application that generated them is no longer distributed.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWBinary terrain data file; not executable. No known malware use. Vestigial data from a discontinued app; safe to delete from old device backups.
Format details
in a nutshell- NFS (Network File System) temporary files - Unix/Linux NFS client sometimes creates .nfsXXXXX temporary files (rename-to-delete idiom); these have a random hex suffix and are not the same as this extension.
- Netflix Subtitle File - Some sources list .nfs as a Netflix internal subtitle/streaming data file; details are sparse and format is undocumented.
- F1 2015 speech data file - The F1 2015 racing game (Codemasters) uses .nfs for internal speech/audio data files in its data directory.
Programs that open NFS files
Android1 app
NAVIGON (discontinued)
Paid Removed from Google Play circa 2016. .nfs files are inaccessible without the original app.
NAVIGON (discontinued)
Paid The only app that used .nfs terrain files; removed from App Store circa 2016. No replacement reads this format. Technical details
deep spec| Format type | Proprietary binary terrain and 3D elevation data tile |
| Application purpose | Supplies terrain geometry for Navigon Panorama View - a forward-looking 3D landscape display during GPS navigation |
| Internal plugin name | NPNFS3 (NFS version 3 per the Navigon plugin identifier) |
| Encoding | Binary (internal structure undocumented and proprietary) |
| Compression | Likely compressed terrain/elevation data; exact method unknown |
| Platform | iOS (NAVIGON app for iPhone/iPad) and Android (NAVIGON for Android) |
| Developer | NAVIGON AG (acquired by Garmin in 2011) |
| Current status | Obsolete - NAVIGON app discontinued and removed from app stores circa 2016 |
| Tooling | No third-party software can open .nfs files; the originating NAVIGON app is no longer available |
| Common confusion | Unrelated to the Unix/POSIX Network File System (NFS) protocol (Sun Microsystems) - a network protocol with no associated on-disk file format |
| Released | circa 2009-2012 (Navigon Panorama View feature era) |
| Latest version | Obsolete - NAVIGON app discontinued by Garmin; last meaningful updates circa 2015-2016 |
NFS conversions
Community Q&A
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