Extract text from Firmware and entity files (HXF)
To convert HXF Firmware files to another format, you need HX Edit or other System software.
To convert other file formats to the "Hardware Firmware File" file type, you need software like HX Edit or a similar tool.
An .hxf file generally serves one of two very distinct, highly specialized purposes. In most cases, it is a Line 6 firmware update file. Musicians use these files within companion software like HX Edit to update the operating system on guitar processors, such as the Line 6 Helix, HX Stomp, and HX Effects. Alternatively, in the game development world, an .hxf file acts as a 3D entity file for the HPL Engine, developed by Frictional Games for titles like Amnesia: The Dark Descent.
The primary disadvantage of the .hxf format is its strictly proprietary, closed nature. A Line 6 firmware file is a compiled binary package. It is completely unreadable by humans; you cannot open it in a text editor or a standard archive manager without seeing scrambled machine code. For the HPL Engine, the files contain engine-specific physics, nodes, and 3D mesh data that standard modeling tools like Blender cannot natively read.
Because these are highly specialized formats, standard online converters fail completely. Users looking to "convert" a Line 6 firmware file usually misunderstand its purpose - it must be flashed directly to the hardware and cannot be converted to documents or audio. For HPL Engine modders, extracting an .hxf into standard 3D formats like OBJ, FBX, or DAE requires specialized, community-built extraction scripts. Even then, game-specific collision and physics data will be lost during the conversion.
These files are notoriously difficult to open outside their native ecosystems. Usually, only the original hardware flashing utility or the specific game engine can properly parse the data. However, you can drag and drop your file onto convert.guru to see what it is and convert it if supported. Our deep-scan tools will identify whether you have a Line 6 update or a game asset, inspect the file for readable metadata, and determine if any underlying content can be extracted.
Convert.Guru analyzes your HXF file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted HLX, ALO and MAE files.
If you want to convert HXF file to DWG, DXF, DGN, RVT, RFA, SKP, 3DM, STEP, IGES, SAT, X_T or X_B, you can use HX Edit or similar software from the "Device Firmware Update" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SLDASM, DGN, PRT, IAM, X_B, CATPRODUCT, SLDPRT, RVT, ASM, DWG, CATPART or DXF files to HXF, try HX Edit or another comparable tool in the "Device Firmware Update" 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 HXF converter.