CKBX File

What are CKBX files and how to open them

Are you having problems opening a CKBX 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 CKBX files.

What is a CKBX file?

A .CKBX file is a Cricket Audio XML Bank Description file.

Cricket Audio XML Bank Description files define which individual sound files to include when building an audio bank for games or apps using Cricket Audio, a toolkit by Cricket Technology. They are simple XML documents rather than sound banks themselves. These description files list each audio asset (usually WAV, AIFF or similar) along with metadata such as its name, source file, and optional playback parameters. The toolkit's build tool (often called cktool) reads a description file and produces a compiled bank file (.CKB) that the game or app later loads and plays sounds from.

This XML bank description format is created by developers or sound designers when preparing audio for inclusion in a Cricket Audio bank. After writing or editing the XML file, cktool is invoked (for example via a command like "cktool buildbank") pointing at the XML description; it compiles the referenced source audio files into a binary bank optimized for runtime use. At runtime the application loads that compiled bank and refers to individual sounds by the "name" assigned in the XML; multiple platform targets and streaming vs banked playback are often configured elsewhere or via additional attributes.

Files of this format begin with a less-than sign ("<") at the very first byte, indicating they are XML. The text includes required tags or attributes such as "BANK NAME", "SOUND NAME" or "SOURCE", which identify the bank's name, each sound's name, and the file path or filename of the source asset.

How to open CKBX files

Important: Different programs may use files with the CKBX file extension for different purposes, so unless you are sure which format your CKBX 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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