Someone sent you an .avif and Photoshop will not touch it. The fix depends entirely on which version you are running, and it takes about ten seconds to find out which of the three routes below applies to you.
First, check your version
Go to Help, then About Photoshop, or read the version number in the Creative Cloud desktop app. Recent releases of Photoshop read AVIF natively. Older ones have no idea what the format is and will refuse it outright, no matter how many times you rename the file.
That single check decides everything, because there is no point hunting for a hidden setting on a version that simply cannot decode the format.
| Your situation | Do this | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Recent Photoshop, kept updated | File then Open. It just works. | None |
| Older Photoshop, you can install plug-ins | Install a free AVIF format plug-in, then restart. | One-off setup |
| Locked-down work machine, no installs allowed | Convert the AVIF to JPEG or PNG, open that. | Per file |
| You only need this image once | Convert it. Faster than any setup. | Seconds |
The full walkthrough
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1
Check your Photoshop version first
Open Photoshop and go to Help, then About Photoshop, or check the version listed in the Creative Cloud desktop app. Recent versions handle AVIF natively, and older ones cannot open it at all, so this one check tells you which of the routes below you need.
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2
Try opening the file directly
Use File, then Open, and select the .avif file. If your version supports the format it will simply open like any other image. If you get an unsupported format error, move on to the plug-in or conversion route rather than fighting it.
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3
If the file will not appear in the dialog, show all files
Some Open dialogs filter to recognised extensions. Set the file type dropdown to All Formats or All Files so the .avif is selectable, then try opening it again before assuming support is missing.
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4
On an unsupported version, install an AVIF format plug-in
A free open-source AVIF format plug-in for Photoshop is available and adds both opening and saving. Download it from its official project page, close Photoshop, copy the plug-in into your Photoshop Plug-ins folder, then restart Photoshop.
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5
Or convert the file and skip the plug-in entirely
If you only need the image once, converting is faster than installing anything. Turn the AVIF into a JPEG or PNG first, then open that in Photoshop as normal. This is the pragmatic route on a locked-down work machine where you cannot install plug-ins.
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6
Saving back out as AVIF
Where AVIF is supported, use File, then Save a Copy, and choose AVIF from the format list rather than looking for it under Save As. If AVIF is missing from that list, your version does not support writing it and you will need the plug-in.
Why AVIF is missing from Save As
This trips up more people than the opening problem does. Photoshop routes newer web formats through File, Save a Copy rather than Save As. So you can be running a version that fully supports AVIF, look in Save As, not see it, and reasonably conclude support is missing.
Check Save a Copy before you conclude anything. If AVIF is absent from that dropdown too, your version genuinely cannot write the format and you need the plug-in.
A note on plug-ins
A free, open-source AVIF format plug-in for Photoshop exists and works well, adding both read and write support to versions that lack it. Install it only from its official project page. Photoshop plug-ins run with the same access as Photoshop itself, so a plug-in from a random download mirror is a genuine security risk, not a theoretical one.
Does any of this lose quality?
Opening an AVIF does not. The file is decoded to full pixel data when it loads, so nothing is degraded at that point. Quality goes when you save back out to a lossy format, and it goes twice over if you convert AVIF to JPEG, edit the JPEG, then save it again.
If you are working on something more than once, keep the original AVIF and work from that each time. If you want the background on why the format is worth keeping, we compare it properly in AVIF vs WebP vs JPEG.
If you do not need Photoshop at all
Plenty of people land here wanting to look at an AVIF rather than edit one, which does not need Photoshop. Our guide to opening AVIF files on Windows and Mac covers the built-in viewers, and converting AVIF to JPG covers the quickest way to get a file everything can read.
In short
How do you open an AVIF file in Photoshop?
Key takeaways
- Check Help then About Photoshop first. Your version decides which of the three routes applies.
- Recent Photoshop opens AVIF natively with no plug-in and no setup.
- On older versions, install a free AVIF format plug-in, or convert the file and open that.
- AVIF lives under File then Save a Copy, not Save As. That is why people think support is missing.
- Opening an AVIF loses nothing. Saving back out to a lossy format is where quality goes.