Clip Studio Paint Document
image/vnd.clip
Released 2012
· by Celsys, Inc.
The image/vnd.clip MIME type represents the native project file format for Clip Studio Paint (formerly known as Manga Studio), a premier digital illustration, webtoon, and 2D animation software developed by Celsys. Beneath the surface, modern .clip files are actually structured as SQLite databases. This robust container approach allows the format to efficiently store complex project data, including high-resolution raster layers, vector paths, 3D object references, multi-page comic layouts, and animation timelines in a single file.
Technical Specifications
.clip.lip
Proprietary (Celsys Blob Encoding)
application/vnd.clipapplication/x-clip-studio-paintapplication/x-sqlite3
Magic Bytes & HTTP Headers
SQLite format 3\x00
Browser Support Matrix
| Browser | Status | Min Version |
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Not Supported | — |
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Not Supported | — |
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Not Supported | Legacy |
Advantages & Limitations
- SQLite backend provides incredibly robust data integrity, preventing catastrophic project loss if the application crashes during a save
- Allows for massive multi-page comic projects and animation timelines to be handled efficiently without loading the entire project into RAM simultaneously
- Industry standard for manga, anime, and webtoon professional workflows
- Heavily closed-source and proprietary, meaning no third-party applications (like ImageMagick or GIMP) can parse or render the files
- Standard MIME identification tools will misidentify the file as a generic SQLite database, causing friction in automated file-upload validations
- Zero web browser support
Developer Code Snippets
File Detection Steps
How to programmatically detect a image/vnd.clip
file by reading its raw bytes:
- 1 Check the first 16 bytes for the standard SQLite3 header ('SQLite format 3\x00').
- 2 Because standard sniffers will resolve this to 'application/vnd.sqlite3' or 'application/x-sqlite3', backend systems must rely on the '.clip' extension or perform deep inspection of the SQLite database tables (e.g., checking for proprietary Celsys schema definitions) to confirm it is an image document.
Software Support
Conversion Tools
Share & Embed
[](https://freewebptojpg.com/mime/image/clip)
<iframe src="https://freewebptojpg.com/mime/image/clip/embed" width="100%" height="280" style="border:1px solid #cbd5e1;border-radius:8px;" title="CLIP Specs"></iframe>
JSON API
All data on this page is available as a free, open JSON API. Use it in your project, documentation, or tooling.
GET https://freewebptojpg.com/mime/image/clip.json
Open JSON
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a .clip file?
A .clip file is the proprietary, native working format for Clip Studio Paint. It saves all editable data of an illustration or comic, including intact layers, vector data, rulers, text, and 3D models.
Why is my .clip file being detected as an SQLite database?
Because it is one. Celsys engineered the modern .clip format using the standard SQLite3 database structure to manage the complex, multi-layered data required for comics and animation. Standard file sniffers read the magic bytes and correctly identify the underlying SQLite container rather than the proprietary Celsys payload.
Can I open image/vnd.clip files in Photoshop?
No, Photoshop cannot read the proprietary SQLite structure of a .clip file. To move a project to Photoshop, you must open it in Clip Studio Paint and export it as a .psd file, which preserves most standard raster layers and blend modes, though Clip Studio-specific features (like 3D layers or specialized vector tools) will be rasterized or lost.