Extract text from Starbound backup files (BAK3)
To convert BAK3 backups to another format, you need Starbound or other Backup software.
To convert other file formats to the "Game Save Backup" file type, you need software like Starbound or a similar tool.
The .BAK3 file is a sequential backup file, most commonly generated by the sandbox adventure game Starbound. It functions as part of a rotating backup system that protects player progress and world states. These files are exclusively managed by the Starbound game engine. Players typically interact with them via their operating system file manager to recover lost or corrupted game saves.
The format is highly proprietary and game-specific. The main disadvantage of a .BAK3 file is that the data is completely useless outside the specific application that created it. It requires the original software to function. You cannot open it with standard office tools, and web browsers do not support it. Standard online converters will fail to process it because it contains closed, binary game state data rather than standard documents or media.
The best "conversion" method is manually renaming the file extension back to its original target format, such as PLAYER, WORLD, or .SHIPWORLD. Converting to generic formats like ZIP or TXT is unhelpful and will likely corrupt the save data.
This file format is difficult to open or convert because it is a closed, proprietary format. Often only the original software can properly read or export the data. We can inspect the file and show text or internal content. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your BAK3 file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
If you want to convert BAK3 file to BAK, BACKUP, OLD, TMP, TEMP, ARC, ZIP, TAR, GZ, 7Z, RAR or ISO, you can use Starbound or similar software from the "Rotating Game Save Backup" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SNAPSHOT, OLD, IMG, RESTORE, ISO, COPY, VMDK, TMP, VHD, BAK, ARCHIVE or BACKUP files to BAK3, try Starbound or another comparable tool in the "Rotating Game Save Backup" 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 BAK3 converter.