Click the "Select File" button above, and choose your CGI file.
You’ll see a preview, if available.
Click the "Convert file to..." button to extract text information.
Convert CGI to another file type
To convert your CGI file to another format, you need Apache_HTTP_Server or other Developer software.
Convert a file to CGI
To convert other file formats to the "Web Server Executable" file type, you need software like Apache_HTTP_Server or a similar tool.
About CGI files
A .CGI file is typically a Common Gateway Interface script or executable used by web servers to generate dynamic content. These files act as a bridge between a web server (like Apache HTTP Server or Nginx) and external applications, allowing websites to process forms, query databases, and produce interactive page elements. While vital for server-side logic, .CGI files present significant challenges for desktop users. Because they are designed to run on a server, they cannot be 'opened' like a standard document. Often, users end up with these files due to a server misconfiguration - where the browser downloads the script itself instead of displaying the intended output (such as an HTML page, PDF document, or JPG image). Additionally, because they can contain executable code (compiled ELF or EXE) or scripts in languages like Perl or Python, opening them blindly poses a security risk and requires specific technical environments to function. To make these files usable, developers typically convert them to TXT to inspect the source code. If the file was downloaded by mistake, identifying the file's true internal header and converting it to its intended format (e.g., PDF or HTML) is the only way to retrieve the data.
Convert.Guru analyzes your CGI file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
If you want to convert CGI file to PDF, EXE, MSI, APP, DMG, DEB, RPM, PKG, RUN, SH, BAT or CMD, you can use Apache_HTTP_Server or similar software from the "Server-Side Web Script" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert JAR, APP, SCR, IPA, COM, AAB, PS1, DMG, VBS, EXE, XAPK or MSI files to CGI, try Apache_HTTP_Server or another comparable tool in the "Server-Side Web Script" category.
The CGI Converter Story
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 CGI converter.