CKB File

What are CKB files and how to open them

Are you having problems opening a CKB 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 CKB files.

What is a CKB file?

A .CKB file is a Cricket Audio Bank file.

Cricket Audio Bank files store a collection of short sounds (samples or "banked" audio) bundled together in a compact binary format for games or apps. These banks are created with XML descriptions (.ckbx) and the build tools supplied by Cricket Technology (such as "cktool") so that many sound effects can be packaged and loaded efficiently as a single resource.

The bank file is generated by the build process of Cricket Audio: a bank description XML lists each sound to include (name, source file, and optional attributes like loop points or pan), and cktool compiles these into one Cricket Audio Bank file. In applications using Cricket Audio, the bank is loaded into memory and individual sounds are played by referencing their names inside the bank. These sounds can use several internal audio encodings.

Internally, the file starts with the ASCII signature "ckmk" at byte offset 0, followed by fields defining target platforms, type, and version. Then come a fixed-size bank name, parameters about how many samples are stored, and for each sample: its name, format (for example PCM, ADPCM, or float), number of channels, sample rate, loop start and end, volume and pan, and size of its data. The sample audio data is concatenated after the metadata.

How to open CKB files

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

We have not yet verified any programs for Windows that work with this specific file format. If you know one, please use the 'Suggest a program' link below. Thanks!

Last updated: August 31, 2026

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