NBT File

What are NBT files and how to open them

Are you having problems opening a NBT 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 NBT files.

What is a NBT file?

A .NBT file is a Minecraft Named Binary Tag file.

The Minecraft Named Binary Tag File stores game data in a format used by Minecraft Java Edition and Bedrock Edition (with slight differences). It is a binary file format created by Mojang (originally by Markus Persson) to hold structured data such as world settings, player inventories, entities, level metadata, and other game-state information. These files are typically saved whenever Minecraft saves the world, updates a player's state, or exports certain resources.

Every .NBT file is written and read by Minecraft itself and by tools built specifically for it, such as NBTExplorer. Users typically use these files to backup, edit, or transfer game state: for example, editing player coordinates, world generation settings, inventory contents, or server-level data. Modders and server administrators often inspect and modify .NBT files to customize game behavior or fix corrupt data.

Internally, a .NBT file is a tree structure composed of named tags. There are many tag types (such as TAG_Byte, TAG_Short, TAG_Int, TAG_Long, TAG_String, TAG_Compound, TAG_List, TAG_Byte_Array, TAG_Int_Array, TAG_Long_Array, and others), each with a tag type ID, a UTF-8 string name (except TAG_End), and a payload whose form depends on the type. Most .NBT files are compressed using GZip compression, though uncompressed or zlib-compressed variants are used in certain contexts.

A technical identifier: every .NBT file begins with a root tag of type TAG_Compound (ID 10), which includes a two-byte big-endian name length and name string. After that come nested tags according to their tag types. A TAG_End (ID 0) marks the end of a TAG_Compound; other tags have IDs followed by names and payloads per their specification.

How to open NBT files

We have identified one NBT opener that is compatible with this specific type of NBT file.

Programs that open Minecraft Named Binary Tag files

Last updated: August 10, 2026

Various apps that use files with this extension

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

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