9. File formats

This chapter describes Gmsh's native “MSH” file format, used to store meshes and associated post-processing datasets. The MSH format exists in two flavors: ASCII and binary. The format has a version number (currently: 2.1) that is independent of Gmsh's main version number.

(Remember that for small post-processing datasets you can also use human-readable “parsed” post-processing views, as described in Post-processing commands. Such “parsed” views do not require an underlying mesh, and can therefore be easier to use in some cases.)