The **zarf format** is similar to other **archive formats**, such as the **ar format**, the **cpio format**, the **shar format**, the **tar format**, and the **WARC format** — but is designed to be easier to understand and implement than all of the other **archive formats** and **container formats**.
In fact, one of the main points of the **zarf format** existing, is that it was designed to be easy to understand and implement for programmers.
## Extension
Although **zarf** does _not_ require an extension (since it has magic-bytes), if a file-extension is used for a **zarf** file, it should use the `.zarf` extension (on systems where file-extensions are necessary).
## MIME Type
Although **zarf** does _not_ require a MIME-type (since it has magic-bytes), f a MIME-type is used for a **zarf** file, it should use the `multipart/zarf` extension (on systems where file-extensions are necessary).