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Blank Files

A collection of minimal valid blank files in various formats. These files are valid and open in the right software. This repo is the canonical source for the Blank Files website and is consumable via CDN.

This collection focuses mainly on binary work files, not text-based files.

Current catalog size: 104 formats.

Catalog schema (for bots and contributors)

The file list is in files/files.json. It has a single key files, an array of objects:

Field Type Description
type string Extension / type id (e.g. xlsx, pdf).
url string Filename under files/ (e.g. blank.xlsx).
category string Slug for grouping (e.g. document-spreadsheet, image).
package boolean (optional) If true, the file is served as {url}.zip (e.g. blank.logicx.zip).

Example entry: { "type": "xlsx", "url": "blank.xlsx", "category": "document-spreadsheet" }.

Adding a file

  1. Add the file under files/ (e.g. files/blank.xyz).
  2. Append an entry to files/files.json with type, url, category, and optional package.
  3. Keep the file as small and minimal as possible.

Then open a Pull Request.

Categories

These categories are used for grouping on the website and in catalog consumers. They are broad and may evolve.

  • 3D
  • 3D-editing
  • archive
  • audio
  • audio-editing
  • data
  • database
  • document-text
  • document-spreadsheet
  • document-presentation
  • font
  • image
  • image-editing
  • network
  • video
  • video-editing

Suggestions and pull requests for additional binary formats are welcome.

Consuming the catalog

CDN

  • Catalog: {BASE_URL}/files/files.json — returns the full files array.
  • File: {BASE_URL}/files/{url} (or {BASE_URL}/files/{url}.zip when package: true).

Example: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/filearchitect/blank-files/main/files/blank.xlsx.

Note: Using raw.githubusercontent.com as the base is subject to GitHub rate limits. For higher traffic, use a CDN that mirrors the repo (e.g. jsDelivr).

JavaScript package status

The repository contains package code in package.json and src/, but @filearchitect/blank-files is currently not published on npm.

Until publishing, consume files via CDN endpoints above or directly from this repository.

MCP server (published)

For agent/tool access, use the published MCP server package:

  • npm: @filearchitect/blankfiles-mcp (latest: 1.0.1)
  • MCP server id: io.github.filearchitect/blankfiles-mcp
  • Registry listing: https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io/v0.1/servers?search=io.github.filearchitect/blankfiles-mcp
  • Source: https://github.com/filearchitect/blankfiles-website/tree/main/packages/blankfiles-mcp

Install and run:

npm install -g @filearchitect/blankfiles-mcp
blankfiles-mcp

Automation

.github/workflows/zip-files.yml runs on push to main when files/** changes (or on manual dispatch). It creates a ZIP of the files/ directory and uploads it to a GitHub Release with tag latest. Use this artifact if you need a single ZIP of all blank files.

Website

The Blank Files website and its source repo consume this catalog via a configurable CDN URL and provide browse/download and an API.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License — see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

Some of the images and documents are from VerifyTests/EmptyFiles and are licensed under the MIT License.

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A collection of minimal valid blank files in various formats for testing and development purposes. This is aimed at binary files, not text files.

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