For the executable, see executable file.

A binary file is a file that contains binary information that can be encoded and decoded using file formats.

Binary files are often distinguished from text files in that text files contain readable text in it, while binary files can store information in the native binary format used by the machine. For example, in storing the number 10 in a file, it can either be stored in a binary file as binary (0a) or in a text file as text (for example, in ASCII, 31,30).