.BF File Extension

In 1992, Urban Müller created the Brainf*ck programming language. When creating Brainf*ck, Müller's goal was to create a language that could be compiled using the smallest-possible compiler. As such, the language includes only eight commands, each of which is implemented using a single character. These characters include:

• <
• >
• +
• -
• .
• ,
• [
• ]

While the Brainf*ck language is quite impractical, some other developers have latched onto the esoteric language and its structure. When these developers create Brainf*ck programs, they typically save them in BF files. An example Brainf*ck program, saved within a BF file, might look like this:

++++++++[>++++[>++>+++>+++>+<<<<-]>+>+>→>+[<]<-]>>.>---.+++++++..+++.>>.<-.<.+++.------.--------.>>+.>++.

NOTE: Brainf*ck source code is also saved using the .B extension.

Because BF files are plain text files, you can open and examine them using any text editor, such as Microsoft Notepad (Windows), Apple TextEdit (Mac), or Github Atom (cross-platform). If you want to run the Brainf*ck program a BF file contains, you can do so using a Brainf*ck development environment or interpreter, such as Brainf*ck Interpreter (Web, Android).

You can open BF files with the Beef IDE, which offers syntax highlighting, autocompletion, and debugging features tailored for Beef development. Beef IDE is available for Windows, but you can also build it from source in macOS and Linux.

Alternatively, you can use Microsoft Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text, or other plain text editors, but these lack dedicated Beef integration.

Some games that utilize the LyN or Jade engines are The Adventures of Tintin: The Game, Rabbids Go Home, From Dust, Just Dance 2, ZombiU, and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

BF files are not meant to be manually opened. Instead, they are referenced by the game to load gameplay content.

However, users looking to modify the content in BF game archives can use custom scripts with QuickBMS to extract the contents in a BF archive.

You can open a BF file in Birdfont (cross-platform). To do so, select Birdfont's sandwich menu (located in the program's upper right-hand corner), select File → Open, and then navigate to and open your BF file. The font your file describes will appear in Birdfont's Overview window.

How do I convert a BF file into a TTF, OTF, EOT, or SVG file?

To export a BF file as a TTF, OTF, EOT, or SVG file, open the file in the paid version of Birdfont and select the sandwich menu. Then, select Import and Export → Export Fonts.