How do I open a file ending in ~?

Open it in any text editor (for example emacs notes.txt~ or nano notes.txt~), or rename it to remove the tilde and open it normally. It is plain text.

Is it safe to delete a ~ backup file?

Yes. It only holds the earlier version of your file, so deleting it does not affect the current file. The editor makes a new backup next time you save.

How do I stop Emacs making ~ files?

Add (setq make-backup-files nil) to your Emacs config, or redirect them to one folder with backup-directory-alist.

Is a ~ at the start the same thing?

No. A leading ~ like ~/notes.txt is a shell shortcut for your home directory. A backup file has the tilde at the end of the name.

What Is a File Ending in ~ (Tilde)? Editor Backup File

Q: What is a file ending in ~?

It is an automatic backup of the previous version of your file, created by a text editor like Emacs, gedit or nano when you save.

You found a file whose name ends in a tilde — like notes.txt~ — sitting next to your real file. It is a backup your text editor saved. Here is what is inside it, how to open it, and whether you can delete it.

What a file ending in ~ is

A file whose name ends in a tilde, such as notes.txt~, is an automatic backup created by a text editor. When you save notes.txt, the editor first copies the previous version to notes.txt~ so you can fall back to it. It is a plain copy of your file's earlier contents — nothing is encoded or compressed.

Which programs make it

Emacs is the classic source: by default it writes a file~ backup the first time you save in a session. gedit, nano (with backups on), Kate and several Linux editors do the same. Vim normally uses .swp instead, but with set backup it also writes a ~ file.

How to open it

It is just text, so open it in any editor: emacs notes.txt~, nano notes.txt~, or drag it into VS Code. On Windows you can rename it to remove the ~ (or add .txt) and double-click. The contents are the version of the file from before your last save — useful if you need to recover something you overwrote.

Is it safe to delete?

Yes. The ~ file is only a backup of the previous save; deleting it does not touch your real file. Remove it once you are sure you do not need the older version. The editor will create a fresh one next time you save.

How to stop them appearing

In Emacs add (setq make-backup-files nil) to your config, or send them to one folder with (setq backup-directory-alist '((".*" . "~/.emacs-backups/"))). In gedit, turn off Create a backup copy of files before saving in Preferences.

Common mix-up

A leading tilde like ~/notes.txt is different — there the ~ is a shell shortcut for your home folder, not part of the name. The backup file has the tilde at the end.