All about VMT Files

The VMT file type is primarily associated with Source Filmmaker.

VMT	File extension: VMT
	File type:	configuration file

What is a VMT file?

VMT files mostly belong to Source Filmmaker. Valve Material Type (VMT) files are text configuration files used by the Source Engine and Source Filmmaker to define how surfaces appear in games.
These files store data that instructs the engine on material properties like shader settings and texture references.
For example:

Material definition: They list parameters such as the shader type, reflectivity, and transparency.

Engine integration: They work alongside texture files (often with a .VTF extension) to render surfaces correctly.

Editable format: Being plain text, they can be opened and viewed in any text editor.

Development use: Mainly used in Valve's Source Filmmaker and other Source Engine projects.

FilExt.com tip: Detailed syntax and options can be found on the Valve Developer Wiki or the Source Filmmaker site.

How do you open VMT files?

You need a suitable software like Source Filmmaker to open a VMT 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 VMT file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a VMT file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

Online VMT Text Viewer

Choose your .vmt file to view

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

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How to extract texts from VMT files or capture a screenshot to PDF, JPG, DOCX, TXT, ...

1. Just click the "Choose your .vmt file to view" button on this page.
2. After your file is opened in browser,
3. click "Save as..." in the menu.
4. Then choose the file format (e.g. JPG, PDF, DOCX, TXT, ...) you want.
5. Download the converted file.

VMT file format:

A file format defines how the data in the file is structured. The initial characters of a file are called signature, sometimes also referred to as "magic bytes". The signature can be used to infer the file format. If the file extension or signature does not match the file format, errors will occur when opening or editing the file. Exact knowledge of the format is therefore important in order to solve problems occurring in files. Below you will find our evaluation of the VMT files:

The VMT file extension is very common and mainly uses a defined VMT format. The two most common formats are as follows:

• 75% of all VMT files are Valve Material Type files. These files are text files, so they contain words and text. The file size is in the range of 94 bytes to 760 bytes. The file type is old but is used even today. Several words can almost always be found in the files, e.g. "VertexLitGeneric", basetexture, models and bumpmap. The following filename is common: body.vmt. These files can be linked to standard, head, material, sheet, skin, black, visor and blue.
• 5% of all VMT files use the same file format, which have the signature Vertex. The content consists of readable text data, which can be read using a text editor. The file size is in the range of 110 bytes to 500 bytes. Several words can almost always be found in the files, e.g. basetexture, VertexLitGeneric, models and bumpmap. Files like these are about machine and vending.

All the rest of the VMT files (20%) have different formats, often, for example, ZIP, itGeneric, Light, patch, vertex and customcharacter. These files are often connected to eyeball, panel, color, hands, metal, base or face. Drag & drop your file here to see the file format and a preview of your VMT file!