> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://allmycameras.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # GoPro File Names Explained: GX010001, Chapters, LRV and THM Files - URL: https://allmycameras.com/gopro-file-names-explained/ - Published: 2026-10-10T05:33:37.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-10T05:33:37.000Z - Description: GoPro names pack the codec, the chapter and the clip number into eight characters, in an order that makes long recordings sort wrongly and two cameras clash. Here is how to read them, what the LRV and THM files beside each video are, and a renaming routine that keeps clips apart. - Author: All My Cameras - Tags: GoPro, Guides A GoPro video called `GX010123.MP4` is clip number 0123, chapter 01, recorded in HEVC. The letters say how it was encoded, the next two digits are the chapter of a long recording, and the last four are the clip number. Every name repeats across cameras and cards, and the chapter number sits in front of the clip number, which is why GoPro folders sort in a confusing order. Here is the whole scheme and what to do about it. ## Reading a HERO video name Take `GX020123.MP4` apart: | Part | Meaning | | ------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | G | GoPro | | X or H | Codec: X is HEVC (H.265), H is AVC (H.264) | | 02 | Chapter: 01 for the first part of a recording, 02 for the second, and so on | | 0123 | Clip number: the same for every chapter of one recording | This scheme is used from HERO6 Black onwards, per GoPro's naming convention article. Older cameras (HERO5 and earlier) used `GOPR0123.MP4` for the first part and `GP010123.MP4` for later chapters. ## Why long recordings split into chapters A long recording does not stop. The camera closes one file and starts the next with no gap, so `GX010123`, `GX020123` and `GX030123` are one continuous take. GoPro has long split at about 4 GB per file, a limit that comes from the FAT32 file system. ### The sorting problem Because the chapter comes before the clip number, sorting by name gives this: ``` GX010123.MP4 recording 123, part 1 GX010124.MP4 recording 124, part 1 GX020123.MP4 recording 123, part 2 GX020124.MP4 recording 124, part 2 ``` Part 2 of recording 123 ends up after a completely different clip. Sort by the date taken instead, or rename (below), and the order is right. ### Joining chapters Most editors line chapters up without a gap if you drop them in order. To join them into one file without re-encoding, the free tool ffmpeg can concatenate them. Make a text file listing the parts in order: ``` file 'GX010123.MP4' file 'GX020123.MP4' file 'GX030123.MP4' ``` Then: ``` ffmpeg -f concat -safe 0 -i parts.txt -map 0:v -map 0:a -c copy GX_0123_joined.MP4 ``` That keeps the video and audio exactly as recorded. GoPro files also carry a telemetry track (GPS, gyro and other sensor data, called GPMF). This command leaves it out. If you use telemetry overlays, keep the original chapters. ## Photos, bursts and time-lapses | File | Name pattern | | --------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Single photo | GOPR0123.JPG | | RAW photo (models that shoot RAW) | GOPR0123.GPR next to the JPG | | Burst, time-lapse or night-lapse photo series | G0050123.JPG: the first three digits after G are the group, the last four the photo in that group | | Looping video | GX or GH, with the two digits used for the loop instead of the chapter | ## The extra files: LRV, THM and WAV ### .LRV: low-resolution video Each video gets a small low-resolution copy, named with `GL` in place of `GX` or `GH`: `GL010123.LRV`. The camera and the GoPro Quik app use it for quick previews and phone transfers. You do not need it to edit or keep the full-quality clip. Some people keep LRVs as lightweight editing proxies. ### .THM: thumbnail `GX010123.THM` is a small thumbnail image used by the camera's own playback screen. Safe to leave behind once the MP4 is copied. ### .WAV: separate audio If you turned on RAW audio in Protune, the camera writes a `.WAV` with the same name as the video. Keep it with the clip if you recorded it on purpose. ## What to keep from a GoPro card - **Always:** every `.MP4`, every chapter, plus `.JPG` and `.GPR` photos and any `.WAV` you recorded on purpose. - **Keep while editing:** `.LRV` files, if you use them as proxies or edit in Quik. - **Safe to leave behind:** `.THM` thumbnails. Copy the whole card regardless, then tidy the copy. That way nothing is lost to a wrong guess about which extension matters. ## 360 cameras: MAX and MAX2 GoPro's 360 cameras use a `GS` prefix, and 360 video has its own extension, `.360`, which needs GoPro's software to be turned into a normal video. A 360 recording is `GS010123.360`, with chapters following the same pattern as HERO cameras. When the MAX shoots in HERO (single-lens) mode it writes ordinary `GH` MP4s. ## Finding when a clip was recorded Unlike newer DJI drones or Insta360 cameras, a GoPro file name carries no date. The recording time lives inside the file, written from the camera's clock. Two practical consequences: - **Set the clock.** Check the camera's date and time before a trip and after crossing time zones. A wrong clock means every clip carries the wrong time. - **Read the date from the file, not the folder.** The file's "modified" date on your computer may be the copy date. To read the recording time stored in the clip, with exiftool: ``` exiftool -CreateDate -s GX010123.MP4 ``` Chapters of one recording each have their own time, so `GX020123` starts where `GX010123` ended. ## Stop clips from different cameras clashing Two GoPros, or one GoPro over two trips, will both produce `GX010001.MP4`. Drag both cards into one folder and Finder or Explorer asks whether to replace. Say yes once, applied to all, and a day of footage is gone. Two rules prevent it: 1. **Copy each card into its own new folder**, named for the date and the camera, for example `2026-10-10_Coast/GOPRO13`. Never merge into an existing folder. Our [folder structure guide](https://allmycameras.com/photo-folder-structure-multiple-cameras/) has a full scheme for several cameras. 2. **Rename to something unique** once the copy is verified. With exiftool, this prefixes every name with the recording date and time and a camera tag, and keeps the original name at the end: ``` exiftool -ext mp4 -ext jpg -ext gpr -ext lrv \ '-FileName