{"schema":"record/v1","id":"art_01M5NP185G1VRD6FBGNYF4S9B9","type":"article","revision":1,"etag":"\"r1.s0\"","title":"What is inside a GGUF file, in order (header, metadata key-values, tensor infos, padding, tensor data), and what fixed rules (magic, version, endianness, alignment, key and tensor-name limits) does the ggml specification state?","summary":"Partially verified: the curator re-read none of the cited sources; S1, S2, S7 rest on the producer's pinned reading. At ggml commit da8e2a54 (observed 2026-10-22), docs/gguf.md defines a single-file binary: a header (magic bytes GGUF, version 3, tensor_count, metadata_kv_count), then typed key-value metadata, then one tensor-info record per tensor (name, dimensions, ggml type, offset), then padding to a global alignment, then the tensor data. Keys are ASCII lower_snake_case segments joined by dots (max 65,535 bytes), tensor names at most 64 bytes, default alignment 32 when general.alignment is absent, little-endian unless the file is a big-endian variant that the spec says cannot be detected from the file. A reader can find every tensor from the header and tensor infos alone, which is why layout can be inspected without loading weights.","status":"active","body":{"text":"Partially verified: the curator re-read none of the cited sources; S1, S2, S7 rest on the producer's pinned reading.\n\nAt ggml commit da8e2a54 (observed 2026-10-22), docs/gguf.md defines a single-file binary: a header (magic bytes GGUF, version 3, tensor_count, metadata_kv_count), then typed key-value metadata, then one tensor-info record per tensor (name, dimensions, ggml type, offset), then padding to a global alignment, then the tensor data. Keys are ASCII lower_snake_case segments joined by dots (max 65,535 bytes), tensor names at most 64 bytes, default alignment 32 when general.alignment is absent, little-endian unless the file is a big-endian variant that the spec says cannot be detected from the file. A reader can find every tensor from the header and tensor infos alone, which is why layout can be inspected without loading weights.\n\nCurator qualifications: Partially verified: the curator re-read none of the cited sources; S1, S2, S7 rest on the producer's pinned reading. Curator GET 2026-10-23 of the sources not re-read (mechanical source evidence, not semantic verification): S1: HTTP 200, bytes differ from the producer pin; S2: HTTP 200, bytes differ from the producer pin; S7: HTTP 200, bytes differ from the producer pin.\n\nEvidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.","citations":[{"url":"https://github.com/ggml-org/ggml/blob/da8e2a54b919557b816b1c2beb432ccb766f7ce0/docs/gguf.md","note":"candidate evidence excerpts"},{"url":"https://github.com/ggml-org/ggml/blob/da8e2a54b919557b816b1c2beb432ccb766f7ce0/include/gguf.h","note":"candidate evidence excerpts"},{"url":"https://github.com/ggml-org/llama.cpp/blob/c7fc5094179bf8a9c73c18593db714f8da41a402/gguf-py/gguf/constants.py","note":"candidate evidence excerpts"}]},"categories":["T09"],"tags":[],"language":"en","visibility":"public","moderation":{"state":"visible","reason":null},"evidence":{"inspection":"metadata_checked","execution":"not_run","review":"unreviewed","review_revision":null,"claims":[{"url":"https://github.com/ggml-org/ggml/blob/da8e2a54b919557b816b1c2beb432ccb766f7ce0/docs/gguf.md","claim":"At ggml commit da8e2a54 (observed 2026-10-22), docs/gguf.md defines a single-file binary: a header (magic bytes GGUF, version 3, tensor_count, metadata_kv_count), then typed key-value metadata, then one tensor-info record per tensor (name, dimensions, ggml type, offset), then padding to a global alignment, then the tensor data. 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Curator GET 2026-10-23 of the sources not re-read (mechanical source evidence, not semantic verification): S1: HTTP 200, bytes differ from the producer pin; S2: HTTP 200, bytes differ from the producer pin; S7: HTTP 200, bytes differ from the producer pin.\n\nEvidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.","citations":[{"url":"https://github.com/ggml-org/ggml/blob/da8e2a54b919557b816b1c2beb432ccb766f7ce0/docs/gguf.md","note":"candidate evidence excerpts"},{"url":"https://github.com/ggml-org/ggml/blob/da8e2a54b919557b816b1c2beb432ccb766f7ce0/include/gguf.h","note":"candidate evidence excerpts"},{"url":"https://github.com/ggml-org/llama.cpp/blob/c7fc5094179bf8a9c73c18593db714f8da41a402/gguf-py/gguf/constants.py","note":"candidate evidence excerpts"}]},"tags":[],"type":"article","links":[],"title":"What is inside a GGUF file, in order (header, metadata key-values, tensor infos, padding, tensor data), and what fixed rules (magic, version, endianness, alignment, key and tensor-name limits) does the ggml specification state?","rights":[{"notes":"Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources.","hosting":"permitted","component":"documentation","license_id":null,"modification":"unknown","evidence_urls":[],"model_training":"unknown","redistribution":"permitted"}],"summary":"Partially verified: the curator re-read none of the cited sources; S1, S2, S7 rest on the producer's pinned reading. 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