BNR File

What are BNR files and how to open them

Are you having problems opening a BNR file or are you simply curious about its contents? We're here to explain the properties of these files and provide you with software that can open or handle your BNR files.

What is a BNR file?

BNR files have multiple uses, and BannerMania banner is one of them. Read more about the other uses further down the page.

BannerMania banner

These BNR files contain the banners created in BannerMania, a banner creation tool. You can create multi-page banners, special text, and effects, and it has a 16 color capacity. This is an app that was used on DOS Windows and Win9x in the 1998 era. Unless you find a way to use this app on an emulator, you can not use this app on newer operating systems.

How to open BNR files

Important: Different programs may use files with the BNR file extension for different purposes, so unless you are sure which format your BNR file is, you may need to try a few different programs.

While we have not verified the app ourselves yet, our users have suggested a single BNR opener which you will find listed below.

Last updated: August 24, 2026

All known file formats using extension .BNR

While BannerMania banner is a popular type of BNR-file, we know of 2 different uses of the .BNR file extension. Different software may use files with the same extension for different types of data.

Nintendo Wii Homebrew Banner

The Nintendo Wii Homebrew Banner file stores the graphics, audio, animation, and localized text shown when a Wii channel, disc, or homebrew loader is selected. It is created as part of a Wii "banner package" (often named Opening.bnr or 00000000.app) by archival tools used during WAD or channel content preparation. Its purpose is to bundle assets like banner animations, menu icons, and sound effects for display in the Wii system menu.

This format is produced when a channel or disc content is built - such as by Nintendo's SDK tools or by homebrew packaging utilities. The system menu reads it from content index 0 of the title or from a "disc title" slot. Inside this package, there are sub-archives for banner.bin (full-screen animation), icon.bin (menu/list icon), and sound.bin (audio for selection). These internal archives often use LZ77 compression and contain standard files like BRLAN animations, BRLYT layouts, TPL texture images, and optional WAV, AIFF, or Nintendo DSP-ADPCM audio.

Files start with an IMET header (either 0x40 or 0x80 bytes of zero padding depending on disc or NAND title), followed by values including language strings (for Japanese, English, French, etc.), version number ("3"), sizes of icon.bin, banner.bin, sound.bin, and a 16-byte MD5 hash of the header (excluding initial zero padding) to ensure integrity. The U8 archive that follows holds the /meta/banner.bin, /meta/icon.bin, and /meta/sound.bin entries. The internal archives themselves use IMD5 headers which include their own MD5 checksums.

Various apps that use files with this extension

These apps are known to open certain types of BNR files. Remember, different programs may use BNR files for different purposes, so you may need to try out a few of them to be able to open your specific file.

Help us help others

File.org helps thousands of users every day, and we would love to hear from you if you have additional information about BNR file formats, example files, or compatible programs. Please use the links below or email us at submit@file.org to discuss further.