BSC File

What are BSC files and how to open them

Are you having problems opening a BSC 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 BSC files.

What is a BSC file?

BSC files have multiple uses, and BinSCII encoded is one of them. Read more about the other uses further down the page.

BinSCII encoded file

These BSC files are used to encode and decode Apple ProDOS files, an operating system used on the Apple II personal computer. These files give convenient and relatively error-free transmissions via email networks. BSC files are system files that you can run from GS/OS Finder. These text files allow for the file to travel over a network unscathed, and it can be reconstructed on the targeted system.

How to open BSC files

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

While we have not verified the apps ourselves yet, our users have suggested nine different BSC openers which you will find listed below.

Last updated: August 25, 2026

All known file formats using extension .BSC

While BinSCII encoded file is a popular type of BSC-file, we know of 4 different uses of the .BSC file extension. Different software may use files with the same extension for different types of data.

bsc Compressed Data

These BSC files contain data compressed with libbsc, a lossless compression library with high-performance created by Ilya Grebnov. BSC makes use of lossless and block-sorting data compression algorithms.

BSC ZX Spectrum Tape Data

We know that one BSC format is BSC ZX Spectrum Tape Data. We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

Microsoft Visual C Source Code Browser Info

Microsoft Visual C Source Code Browser Info files store symbol‐browser data built by Microsoft's Visual C++ compiler. The compiler generates intermediate files for each source file (.SBR), which are then merged by the BSCMAKE tool into a single file that tracks where symbols (functions, classes, macros, variables) are defined, referenced, and used across the project. These files let code‐browsing tools show definitions, references, caller/callee graphs, class hierarchies, and help with navigation through large C++ codebases.

These files are built during compilation when browse information is enabled (often via compiler flags like /FR or /Fr). They are used by Visual C++ tools and older versions of Visual Studio to provide "Go to definition," "Find symbol," "Find references," and other cross‐reference tasks. Since Visual Studio 2008 and later, most browsing and symbol data is instead stored in SQL Server Compact (.sdf) files, and the use of .bsc has been largely deprecated though the tools for generating and reading them are still provided.

Files typically begin with a binary header signature (for example, the bytes 0x02 00 02 01 at offset zero) and contain internal keywords such as "INCLUDE", "UNKNOWN", "LENGTH", "STRING", "FSIZE", "SIZE_", "TITLE", ".SBR", "COMP", "FILE", "FLAG", "INFO", "LIST", "MAIN", "OPEN", "TYPE" which identify structure and entries in the symbol browser information.

Various apps that use files with this extension

These apps are known to open certain types of BSC files. Remember, different programs may use BSC 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 BSC file formats, example files, or compatible programs. Please use the links below or email us at submit@file.org to discuss further.