Originally short for ShockWave Flash, SWF is now a backronym for Small Web Format and was a file format from Adobe. An SWF file can contain animations or applets created using ActionScript (e.g., a browser game) that were created using Adobe Flash, Adobe Animate, or After Effects.
How can I play an SWF today?
Because browsers no longer support Flash and SWF files, you’ll need to use a movie player such as Ruffle or Gnash to play SWF files.
As of January 12, 2021, Adobe has declared Flash EOL (end-of-life). Browsers and the Flash player no longer support playing SWF files.
Computer abbreviations, Flash, Internet terms
The Internet Archive has thousands of SWF flash animations and flash games and use Ruffle to allow them to be played through your browser.
