What is a .cue file?
Cue Sheet · Disk image · Jeff Arnold (CDRWIN) · 1998
A .cue file is a cue sheet: a small text file that describes the track layout of a disc image, telling a player or burner where each track starts. It always accompanies a data file such as a .bin.
What is a .cue file used for?
A cue sheet lists the tracks, their types and start times in plain text, pointing at a matching image file (commonly BIN, but also APE or FLAC). On its own it holds no audio or data; it is the index for the real image.
Media players and burning tools use the .cue to split or burn the paired file correctly. If the referenced file is missing or renamed, the cue will not work.
What opens a .cue file?
The .cue format opens in the following apps, grouped by operating system. If one app does not work, try another from the same list.
Windows
- Any text editor
- ImgBurn
- foobar2000
macOS
- Any text editor
- XLD
Linux
- Any text editor
- cdemu
- ffmpeg
Open a .cue file step by step
- Confirm the file really is a .cue. Drop it into the WhatFileType identifier, which reads its signature in your browser without uploading anything.
- On Windows, open it with Any text editor or ImgBurn.
- On Mac, use Any text editor or XLD.
- On Linux, try Any text editor or cdemu.
- Still stuck? Convert the .cue to iso, which opens more widely.
Why can't I open my .cue file?
Almost always because no installed app understands CUE. Install one of the apps above, or convert the file to a format your existing software already reads. If double-clicking opens the wrong program instead of nothing at all, the file association is set to the wrong app rather than the file being broken.
The other possibility is that the file is not really a .cue at all. Drop it into the file identifier to check it by its bytes instead of its name. Nothing is uploaded.
How to convert a .cue file
You can convert a .cue file to iso using a conversion tool or the export menu of an app that opens it.
CUE has no fixed magic number, so there is no signature table on this page. Its bytes alone do not prove the format: identification relies on the extension, the structure of the content and the program that created it. The magic-numbers reference lists the formats that do carry one.
Frequently asked questions
What is a .cue file?
A .cue file is a cue sheet: a small text file that describes the track layout of a disc image, telling a player or burner where each track starts. It always accompanies a data file such as a .bin.
What is a .cue file for?
It describes the track layout of a disc image, telling software where each track begins. It always pairs with a data file such as a .bin.
Can I open a .cue file on its own?
You can read it in a text editor, but it needs its paired image file (like the matching .bin) to actually play or burn anything.
My .cue file will not load, why?
Usually the image file it references was renamed or is missing. Open the .cue in a text editor and make the FILE line match the actual filename.
Related formats
Sources
Details on this page were checked against authoritative references. How sources are ranked and what is deliberately left out is set out in the methodology.