Extract text from Asset and backup files (AB)
To convert AB files to another format, you need Android SDK or other Backup software.
To convert other file formats to the "App Data Archive" file type, you need software like Android SDK or a similar tool.
The .AB file format primarily functions as either an Android Debug Bridge (ADB) backup archive or a Unity game asset bundle. Secondary uses include vehicle as-built data for Ford Motor Company and DNA sequence files.
If it is an Android backup, the file holds a compressed, sometimes encrypted snapshot of app data and system settings generated by the Android SDK. The main disadvantage of this format is that it is completely opaque. You cannot browse the contents in standard file managers, and extracting the data requires typing specific terminal commands. Users usually want to convert these .AB backups to TAR or ZIP files to easily view the internal folders and recover lost data.
If the file is a Unity asset bundle, it contains compiled game assets such as 3D models, audio tracks, and textures. This format is proprietary and heavily restricted. Standard users cannot open or edit these files in the Unity editor directly; they require third-party extractors like AssetStudio. The goal is usually to unpack the .AB archive into usable PNG, MP3, or FBX files.
Because both variations are complex binary archives, standard online converters fail to process them. They are difficult to open natively without the original software.
Convert.Guru analyzes your AB file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted AB1, AB 2, ZRO, MANIFEST, TSB, BA, AP, ABT, VBF, TAR, AD, ASSET and BACKUP files.
If you want to convert AB file to TAR, MP3, WAV, AAC, FLAC, OGG, WMA, M4A, AIFF, OPUS, ALAC or APE, you can use Android SDK or similar software from the "Game Assets & System Backups" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert MIDI, AAC, TTA, AU, WV, DTS, MID, FLAC, RA, MP3, PCM or WAV files to AB, try Android SDK or another comparable tool in the "Game Assets & System Backups" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our AB converter.