What do the ECU file types mean?

A file's extension is the first clue to what you have been sent. It will not tell you everything, because customers rename files, but it tells you where to start.

Which file types are plain binaries?

These hold the ECU's memory more or less as it is. Any editor can open them, as long as it understands the ECU.

Which file types belong to a tool?

These are the makers' own containers. They wrap the data, often lock it, and usually need the maker's software to open.

Treat this table as a guide. Makers change their formats, and the same extension can mean different things in different places.

Can you trust the extension?

Not completely. People rename files, and some tools write a plain binary with their own suffix. That is why it is better to look inside the file than at its name. A file's first bytes usually say what it is, and a plain read often holds the ECU's software number in text.

Trust what the file says about itself over what its name says.

What should a file portal accept?

All of the above, without making the customer think about it. A portal that refuses a file because of its suffix sends the customer to WhatsApp, and that is the habit you are trying to end. What a portal should refuse is anything dangerous, such as programs and scripts, and it should do that quietly.

A TunerEngine portal accepts the usual binaries and the common tool containers from the first day, and refuses files that could run on a server. The customer uploads, and the portal reads what it can from the file.

What name should a tuned file have?

One the customer can recognise, and not one that gives away where it came from. A file named by the vehicle is easy to find on a laptop later and carries your brand instead of someone else's. On a portal the delivered file is named for you, so nobody has to think about it.