Extract text from Mac disk images (HFS)
To convert HFS disk images to another format, you need HFSExplorer or other Disk Image software.
To convert other file formats to the "Legacy File System Archive" file type, you need software like HFSExplorer or a similar tool.
An .hfs file functions primarily as either a Hierarchical File System disk image from classic Mac OS or a compressed game data archive used by developers like Nexon and Valve. In the Apple ecosystem, this format was used to create exact digital replicas of floppy disks and CD-ROMs. In the gaming world, it acts as a proprietary container for 3D models, textures, and audio. You can use tools like HFSExplorer to read the Mac disk format.
Users face significant roadblocks with both types of .hfs files. Modern macOS systems dropped support for the classic HFS Standard format years ago, meaning you cannot natively open these files on a new Mac, let alone on Windows or Linux without paid virtualization software. Game archive versions are intentionally locked to prevent users from modifying assets, requiring specialized community modding tools to unpack. Because they are obsolete or heavily restricted, extracting their contents is usually the only way to access the data.
To actually use the data trapped inside, you must convert or extract the file. For preserving legacy Mac software, convert the image to an ISO or DMG format. If you just need the individual files for editing or web use, extracting them into a standard ZIP archive is the most pragmatic solution.
Convert.Guru analyzes your HFS file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted HSF, DMG, PRJ, MP4, IMG, DSK, NTFS, ZFS and ISO files.
If you want to convert HFS file to NTFS, ZFS, ISO, IMG, DMG, VHD, VMDK, VDI, HDD, QCOW, QCOW2 or RAW, you can use HFSExplorer or similar software from the "Legacy Disk Storage & Archives" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert VFD, DMG, OVA, IMA, VBOX, ADF, PVS, VHD, OVF, ISO, DSK or IMG files to HFS, try HFSExplorer or another comparable tool in the "Legacy Disk Storage & Archives" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our HFS converter.