All about HKS Files

The HKS file type is primarily associated with Havok Engine.

HKS	File extension: HKS
	File type:	compiled script

What is an HKS file?

HKS files mostly belong to Havok Engine. HKS files are used in several specialized areas. The most common type is a compiled script file for game engines. Many games use a binary format, often created from Lua code, to execute complex behavior and physics routines. For example, some game titles implement these files to manage in‐game behavior, as seen with Elden Ring in its use of Havok Script data. You can read more about that use on the related webpage.
Other applications include:

Embroidery Design – Certain HKS files store embroidery pattern data, where the content may be encrypted for security.

HVAC System Design – A few HKS files hold load calculation data vital for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning projects.

FilExt.com tip: This file extension appears in multiple industries, so its structure and viewing method depend on its source. Specialized software or mod tools, and sometimes a hex editor to view the header information, are needed to safely open or edit these files.

How to open HKS files

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

Online HKS Text Viewer

Choose your .hks file to analyze

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

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HKS file extension format:

If you can determine the file format, the associated program can also be determined. A file format is determined by the file extension and signature, so JPEG images have the extension .jpg and the first bytes in the file are ÿØÿ. If the file extension or signature does not match the file format, errors will occur when opening or editing the file. So you need a detailed analysis of a file to find out the format and the associated program. Below is our analysis of the HKS files:

An HKS file includes different formats for different programs. The two most common formats are as follows:

• 35% of all HKS files use the same file format, which have the signature 1B 4C 75 61 51 0E 00 04 08 04 04. The content consists of illegible binary data, which can only be read and interpreted by the associated programs. The file size is in the range of 11 KB to 1 MB. It is a modern file type. The keywords LuaQ, TBOOLEAN, TFUNCTION, TIFUNCTION, TLIGHTUSERDATA, TNIL, TNUMBER, TSTRING, TTABLE and TTHREAD are typical for these files. A common filename is c0000.hks or c8000.hks. Such files are related to talk, modifier, common, define and cmsg.
• 20% of all HKS files are using the well-known UTF-8 file format to store the data. UTF-8 is the World Wide Web's most common character encoding for Unicode. UTF-8 files can be viewed with any text editor. These files start with the 3 bytes  (hex: EF BB BF), the so called byte order mark (BOM). These files are text files, so they contain words and text. The files are on average 740 KB in size and range from 29 KB to 950 KB. The following keywords are characteristic: ------------, -- Fixed decompiled c0000.hks for ELDEN RING, -- Refined from decompiles by Vawser, -- Curated at: https://github.com/ividyon/EldenRingHKS and function. c0000.hks or c8000.hks is a typical file name.

The remaining 45% of all HKS files are different files with different signatures, often, for example, HKSPK, DACCS and local. If you want to find out which format your HKS file belongs to, just click on the button "Choose your .hks file to analyze".