What is the WS file format?
.ws is a WordStar Document file - the native format of WordStar, the dominant word processor of the early 1980s developed by MicroPro International. Originally running on CP/M systems, WordStar moved to MS-DOS and early Windows, and the .ws extension was used specifically by WordStar versions 5.0 through 7.0.
Despite resembling a plain text file, a .ws document stores formatting through two mechanisms embedded directly in the text stream. Inline control characters mark styles such as bold (^B) and underline (^S), while lines beginning with a period serve as "dot commands" - for example .lm to set the left margin or .pa to force a page break. In files created by WordStar 4.0 and earlier, the high bit of the last byte of each word was set as a word-wrap flag, which causes those files to appear garbled in modern UTF-8 editors unless specifically decoded.
.ws files carry no fixed magic-byte signature; identification relies on recognising the characteristic dot-command and control-character patterns inside the file.
WordStar was discontinued in the 1990s and has been superseded by modern formats such as .DOCX and .RTF. The underlying plain-text content of most .ws files remains readable in any text editor, though the embedded control codes will appear as stray characters unless the application understands them. LibreOffice Writer and Corel WordPerfect include import filters for legacy WordStar files. Related version-specific extensions include .ws2, .ws3, .ws4, .ws5, .ws6, and .ws7.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWWordStar .ws files are plain-text documents with formatting codes - they cannot execute and carry no macros, so they are essentially harmless. The only real risks are misidentification (an .ws that is actually a script could in theory run code, but Windows scripts use .wsf/.vbs/.js, not .ws) and the cosmetic confusion of garbled high-bit characters in old files. As always, only run anything if you are sure of what it is; a genuine WordStar document is safe to open in a text editor.
Format details
in a nutshell- Windows Script File (Microsoft) - The site's database name labels .ws as a 'Windows script file', but Microsoft's actual scripting extension is .wsf; .ws as a script is rare/informal.
- Worksheet (Worksheet Builder / SmartWare) - Some worksheet applications save .ws data files, opened by their own software (e.g. SmartWare).
- Wondershare project / EQ data file - A few niche apps (Wondershare tools, statistics packages) have used .ws for their own data.
Programs that open WS files
Windows4 apps
Windows Notepad
Built-in Opens the file as plain text; fine for newer WordStar files, garbled for high-bit pre-5.0 documents. 
Corel WordPerfect
Paid WordPerfect can import legacy WordStar documents; use File > Open and select the .ws, then save in a modern format. 
LibreOffice Writer
Open-source Best free route: File > Open and pick the .ws - LibreOffice has a WordStar import filter that decodes the formatting. Then Save As DOCX/PDF. 
Notepad
Open-source Quick raw view of the text; formatting codes show as control characters. For pre-5.0 files the text may look garbled - use LibreOffice for a clean import. 
macOS1 app
LibreOffice Writer
Open-source Free; File > Open the .ws via its WordStar filter, then export to a modern format. TextEdit only shows raw text. 
Linux2 apps
gedit
Open-source Plain-text view only; shows the words but not formatting and may render high-bit characters oddly. Use LibreOffice for proper import.
LibreOffice Writer
Open-source Preinstalled on most distros; File > Open imports the WordStar document. Technical details
deep spec| Developer | MicroPro International (later SoftKey / WordStar International) |
| Primary platform | CP/M, MS-DOS, Windows (legacy) |
| MIME type | application/x-wordstar |
| Format type | Plain text stream with embedded control characters and dot commands |
| Character encoding | 7-bit ASCII with high-bit word-wrap flags (pre-5.0); 8-bit text with inline control codes (WordStar 5.0+) |
| File signature (magic bytes) | None - no fixed header or magic number; format identified by internal patterns |
| Typical file size | 1 KB - 200 KB |
| Inline formatting codes | Control characters embedded in the text stream (e.g. ^B = bold, ^S = underline, ^Y = strikethrough) |
| Page-layout dot commands | Period-prefixed commands on dedicated lines (e.g. .lm left margin, .rm right margin, .pa page break) |
| Format versioning | Tied to WordStar release (4.0, 5.0, 6.0, 7.0); the high-bit word-wrap trick was dropped in later versions |
| Related extensions | .ws2, .ws3, .ws4, .ws5, .ws6, .ws7, .wsd |
| Superseded by | Modern word-processor formats including .doc, .docx, .rtf, .odt |
| Released | 1978 (WordStar 1.0 for CP/M); .ws used by WordStar 5.0-7.0 for DOS/Windows |
| Latest version | WordStar 7.0 (1992, DOS); WordStar for Windows 2.0 (1994) - product discontinued |
| Specification | www.loc.gov |
WS conversions
Community Q&A
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