What is a .cb7 file?
Comic Book 7z Archive · eBook · Comic reader community · 2000s
A .cb7 file is a comic book archive using 7-Zip compression: a 7z archive of page images renamed so comic readers recognise it. The strong 7z compression makes for smaller files than CBZ.
What is a .cb7 file used for?
Rename a .cb7 to .7z and it extracts to numbered page images. Because 7z compresses harder than ZIP, CB7 files are smaller, at the cost of needing a 7z-capable reader.
Modern comic readers open CB7; otherwise extract with 7-Zip and view the images. Convert to CBZ for the widest compatibility.
How to open a .cb7 file
The .cb7 format opens in the following apps, grouped by operating system. If one app does not work, try another from the same list. For a step-by-step walkthrough, see how to open a .cb7 file.
Windows
- YACReader
- CDisplayEx
- 7-Zip (to extract)
macOS
- YACReader
- The Unarchiver
Linux
- YACReader
- MComix
- 7z
How to convert a .cb7 file
You can convert a .cb7 file to cbz, pdf using a conversion tool or the export menu of an app that opens it.
.cb7 file signature (magic bytes)
Programs recognise a .cb7 file by the bytes at the start of the file, not by its name. These are the signatures for CB7. For a full breakdown, see the CB7 file signature page.
| Hex signature | Offset | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 37 7A BC AF 27 1C | 0 | 7z magic (CB7 is a 7z archive) |
See the full magic-numbers reference for every format.
Frequently asked questions
What is a .cb7 file?
A .cb7 file is a comic book archive using 7-Zip compression: a 7z archive of page images renamed so comic readers recognise it. The strong 7z compression makes for smaller files than CBZ.
How do I open a .cb7 file?
Use a comic reader like YACReader, or rename it to .7z and extract the images with 7-Zip.
Why use CB7 instead of CBZ?
7z compresses more than ZIP, so CB7 files are smaller. The trade-off is that fewer readers support 7z than ZIP-based CBZ.
How do I convert CB7 to CBZ?
Extract the images (rename to .7z), then zip them and rename the archive to .cbz, or use a comic manager that converts directly.
Related formats
Sources
Details on this page were checked against authoritative references: