.PARQUET file signature
A Apache Parquet file begins with the bytes 50 41 52 31 (PAR1 in ASCII) at the start of the file. The signature is the same whatever the file is named, which is why a renamed or extensionless PARQUET file is still recognisable.
Signature
| Offset | Hex | ASCII |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 50 41 52 31Present at both the start and the end of the file; the footer is what readers use. | PAR1 |
MIME type: application/octet-stream · usual extensions: .parquet
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.parquet
file file.parquetWindows (PowerShell):
Format-Hex -Path file.parquet -Count 32If the bytes do not match
A file named .parquet whose first bytes are something else is not a PARQUET 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 PARQUET guide explains what a genuine file should contain.