What is a .kra file?
Krita Document · Design · Krita Foundation · 2004
A .kra file is the native document of Krita, the free and open-source painting program loved by digital artists. It preserves layers, masks, vector shapes and animation frames as a ZIP package.
What is a .kra file used for?
Because Krita is free on Windows, Mac and Linux, .kra is an accessible alternative to Photoshop's PSD for painting and illustration. The file is a ZIP, so it starts with the ZIP signature.
Krita opens .kra with full editability. To share a flat image, export to PNG or JPG; Krita can also open and save PSD for interchange.
What opens a .kra file?
The .kra format opens in the following apps, grouped by operating system. If one app does not work, try another from the same list.
Windows
- Krita
- 7-Zip (to inspect)
macOS
- Krita
Linux
- Krita
Open a .kra file step by step
- Confirm the file really is a .kra. Drop it into the WhatFileType identifier, which reads its signature in your browser without uploading anything.
- On Windows, open it with Krita or 7-Zip (to inspect).
- On Mac, use Krita.
- On Linux, try Krita.
- Still stuck? Convert the .kra to png, which opens more widely.
Why can't I open my .kra file?
Almost always because no installed app understands Krita. 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 .kra 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 .kra file
You can convert a .kra file to png, psd, jpg, tiff using a conversion tool or the export menu of an app that opens it.
What is the .kra file signature (magic bytes)?
A .kra file starts with the hex bytes 50 4B 03 04, which read as PK.. in ASCII. Programs identify Krita by those bytes, not by the filename, so a renamed file still gives itself away.
These are the documented signatures for Krita. For a full breakdown, see the ZIP file signature page.
| Hex signature | Offset | ASCII | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 4B 03 04 | 0 | PK.. | ZIP package (PK..) |
See the full magic-numbers reference for every format.
Frequently asked questions
What is a .kra file?
A .kra file is the native document of Krita, the free and open-source painting program loved by digital artists. It preserves layers, masks, vector shapes and animation frames as a ZIP package.
How do I open a .kra file?
Use Krita, which is free on Windows, Mac and Linux. To see a flat version, export to PNG; to inspect the package, rename it to .zip.
Can Photoshop open a .kra file?
Not directly. Open the .kra in Krita and export it as PSD, which Photoshop reads with its layers.
What is the difference between KRA and PSD?
KRA is Krita's native painting format; PSD is Photoshop's. Both keep layers, and Krita can read and write PSD for interchange.
Related formats
Sources
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