An INF file (or Setup Information file) is a plain text file used by Microsoft Windows for installation of software/hardware. INF files are most frequently used for installing device drivers for hardware components. Windows includes IExpress.exe for the creation of INF-based installations.

Structure of an INF file

The structure of an INF file is very similar to that of an INI file; it contains various sections that specify the files to be copied, changes to the registry etc. All INF files contain a [version] section with a Signature value specifying the version of Windows that the INF file is meant for. The signature is frequently $CHICAGO$ (for Windows 9x) or $WINDOWS NT$ (for Windows NT/2K/XP) Most of the remaining sections are user-defined and contain information specific to the component being installed.