MO File Documentation

Overview

Feature Value
File Extension .mo
MIME Type application/x-gettext-translation
Binary Format Yes
Usage Compiled gettext translation files
Encoding Variable, depends on original text source
Plural Forms Support Yes
Generated From .po files (Portable Object files)
Used by Software applications to provide internationalization support
Header Length Dependent on the number of strings
Index Table Contains offsets for original and translated strings
Hash Table Size Optional, for faster lookup
Endianess Little or Big endian, indicated by magic number in header
Revision Number Stored in the header
Tool Used for Creation msgfmt command from GNU gettext package
Can be Edited With Binary editors, specialized gettext tools
Compatibility Can be converted back to .po for editing purposes
Performance Binary format provides faster access to translations at runtime
Character Set Depends on the specific translations, can support UTF-8
Localization Support Wide, due to gettext being a common internationalization system
File Signature (Magic Number) 950412de (Little-endian) or de120495 (Big-endian)