Extract text from BattleScribe catalogues (CATZ)
To convert CATZ catalogues to another format, you need BattleScribe or other Game software.
To convert other file formats to the "BattleScribe Data Package" file type, you need software like BattleScribe or a similar tool.
A .CATZ file is a compressed data catalogue used by BattleScribe, the industry-standard roster building tool for tabletop wargames like Warhammer 40k, The Horus Heresy, and Age of Sigmar. These files act as the database containers for game systems, holding all the raw logic for unit statistics, point costs, and upgrade rules.
While indispensable for gamers, the .CATZ format presents significant friction for data authors and power users. Because it is a proprietary compressed package, you cannot natively view or edit the underlying code in standard text editors. Users frequently run into issues with corrupted repositories or version mismatches that prevent BattleScribe from loading the data at all. Additionally, the file is useless without the specific host application installed, meaning you cannot easily read unit stats on a device that doesn't have the app.
Technically, a .CATZ file is simply a standard ZIP archive containing a single CAT file, which is structured as XML. For manual editing, debugging, or data verification, the best workflow is to convert or rename the file to ZIP to extract the contents. Once extracted, the internal CAT file can be opened in any code editor like VS Code or converted to TXT for quick reference. If you are trying to print an army list, do not try to convert this file; instead, open it in BattleScribe and generate a ROS (roster) file to export to PDF.
Convert.Guru analyzes your CATZ file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted BSI, GST and GIB files.
If you want to convert CATZ file to CSV, JSON, XML, YAML, YML, TOML, INI, CFG, CONF, DAT, DB or SQL, you can use BattleScribe or similar software from the "Wargame Data Catalogue" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DBF, XML, SQLITE, XLSX, SQL, TSV, ACCDB, YAML, MDB, CSV, ODS or JSON files to CATZ, try BattleScribe or another comparable tool in the "Wargame Data Catalogue" 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 CATZ converter.