Boneyard Tools

WAV File Info Viewer

Drop in a WAV file to read its header: the audio format (PCM, IEEE float, A-law, mu-law), channel count, sample rate, bit depth, byte rate, and the exact clip duration. The file is parsed entirely in your browser and never uploaded.

How to read WAV file info

  1. Drag a .wav file onto the box, or click to browse for one.
  2. Read the format, channels, sample rate, bit depth, and duration that appear instantly.
  3. Use the byte rate and block align values to confirm the file matches the spec you expect.

Examples

A CD-quality recording

track.wav (stereo, 44100 Hz, 16-bit PCM, one second of audio)
PCM, 2 channels, 44100 Hz, 16-bit, byte rate 176400, duration 1.000 s

Frequently asked questions

Is my WAV file uploaded anywhere?

No. The file is read and parsed entirely in your browser using JavaScript. The audio never leaves your device and nothing is sent to a server, so even private recordings stay local.

How does it read the WAV details without playing the file?

WAV files start with a RIFF/WAVE header followed by labeled chunks. The tool walks those chunks, reads the 'fmt ' chunk for the format, channels, sample rate and bit depth, and reads the 'data' chunk size to compute duration. It only needs the header bytes.

How is the duration calculated?

Duration in seconds equals the data chunk size in bytes divided by the byte rate (sample rate times channels times bytes per sample). For a one second stereo 44100 Hz 16-bit clip that is 176400 bytes divided by 176400 bytes per second.

Which WAV formats are recognized?

It reads the raw format tag and names PCM, IEEE float, A-law, mu-law, and WAVE extensible files. Other tags are still parsed and shown with their numeric code so you always see the channels, sample rate and bit depth.

What if the file is not a valid WAV?

If the bytes do not begin with a RIFF/WAVE header, or the required 'fmt ' chunk is missing, the tool reports an error instead of guessing. Use the File Type Identifier to confirm what the file actually is.

Related tools