Opening an AU File

The AU file type is primarily associated with VLC.

AU	File extension: AU
	File type:	sound/music

What is an AU file?

AU files mostly belong to VLC by VideoLAN. AU filename extension is associated with audio blocks generated when an Audacity audio editing software saves a project (AUP) file. They contain chunks of audio data. Audacity stores AU files in a folder that starts with the name of their corresponding AUP file and ends in _data. For example, example1.aup will have a corresponding folder for AU files called example1_data. Audacity uses this scheme to break up data in a project into smaller files. Doing so makes editing more efficient. Since Audacity generates AU files automatically as users interact with the project, they are not intended for direct use. Modifying, moving, deleting or renaming an AU file or the _data directory can corrupt a project. AU is also the filename extension of a simple audio format used to store sounds and music on NeXT and UNIX systems. These AU files contain audio compressed using μ-law data encoding standard.

How can I open an AU file?

You need a suitable software like VLC to open an AU file. Without proper software you will receive a Windows message "How do you want to open this file?" or "Windows cannot open this file" or a similar Mac/iPhone/Android alert. If you cannot open your AU file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a AU file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

Online AU File Viewer

Choose your .au file to play

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

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How to convert an AU file to MP3, WAV, OGG, FLAC, AAC, AIFF, ...

1. To do this, click the button "Choose your .au file to play" on this page.
2. After your file is opened in browser,
3. click "Save as..." in the menu.
4. Then choose the audio format (e.g. MP3, WAV, OGG, FLAC, AAC, AIFF, ...) you want.
5. Download the converted file.

AU format details:

Why is it important to know the file format? This is the only way to find out which program to use to open the file. Often, the file format can be deduced from the file extension or the initial bytes (called the signature). However, different programs can use the same file extension, and file extensions can be assigned incorrectly. So you need a detailed analysis of a file to find out the format and the associated program. Below you will find our evaluation of the AU files:

The AU file extension is not widely used. Such a file is used by a few programs, each with its own file format. The two most popular formats are as follows:

• 60% of all AU files are associated with Audacity audio block. These files are binary files, so they do not contain text, but only cryptic characters. The files are on average 1 MB in size and range from 580 KB to 1 MB. The file type is old but is used even today. The keywords AudacityBlockFile112 and dns.\0 are typical for these files.
• 25% of all AU files are NeXT/Sun uLaw/AUdio format files. The content consists of illegible binary data, which can only be read and interpreted by the associated programs. The files are often between 6 KB and 2 MB in size. The following keywords are characteristic: .snd. The file name SET10-Sample Call.au is typical for these files. Such files sometimes refer to call, sample, event, voipau, audio, saved and voip.

The remaining 15% of all AU files are different files with different signatures, the following 3 formats can be found: MP4. If you want to find out which format your AU file belongs to, just click on the button "Choose your .au file to play".