.LHA file signature
A LHarc archive file begins with the bytes 2D 6C 68 (-lh in ASCII) at offset 2 (0x2). The signature is the same whatever the file is named, which is why a renamed or extensionless LHA file is still recognisable.
Signature
| Offset | Hex | ASCII |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2D 6C 68Method id such as -lh5- at offset 2. | -lh |
MIME type: application/x-lha · usual extensions: .lha, .lzh
How to check a file's signature
Without installing anything: drop the file on our detector. It reads the bytes in your browser and shows the hex dump alongside the verdict; nothing is uploaded.
macOS and Linux (Terminal):
xxd -l 32 file.lha
file file.lhaWindows (PowerShell):
Format-Hex -Path file.lha -Count 32This signature sits at offset 2, so look there rather than at the first bytes: xxd -s 2 -l 16 file.lha.
If the bytes do not match
A file named .lha whose first bytes are something else is not a LHA file. The common explanations are a wrong or deliberately misleading extension, a download that saved an HTML error page instead of the file, or a container such as ZIP wrapping the real content. The detector reports what the bytes say; the LHA guide explains what a genuine file should contain.