Extract text from GenBank or backup files (GBK)
To convert GBK files to another format, you need NCBI Tools or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "Genomic Sequence Data" file type, you need software like NCBI Tools or a similar tool.
A .GBK file is most frequently a Genomic Sequence Data file formatted by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). It contains DNA or protein sequence data alongside rich biological annotations, such as gene features, translations, and bibliographical references. Alternatively, it serves as a database backup file created by the Firebird or InterBase SQL relational database management systems. Minor uses include Gionee mobile phone backups and XML-based project files for the Gobstones programming language.
For genetic data, researchers use bioinformatics software like SnapGene, UGENE, or standard text editors. For database backups, database administrators use the gbak command-line utility bundled with Firebird.
The .GBK format for genetic data is highly structured and verbose. Its rigid multi-line, column-dependent format makes it prone to parsing errors if modified manually. Files can exceed hundreds of megabytes for entire chromosomes, crashing standard text editors. For the Firebird variant, it is a proprietary binary format that cannot be explored without a running SQL server and the correct database credentials.
Bioinformatics users often need to convert .GBK to FASTA. The FASTA format strips away the heavy annotations, leaving only the raw sequence, which is required by fast-alignment algorithms. For databases, converting a .GBK back to an operational FDB file or exporting data to standard SQL dumps is necessary to interact with the data.
Because a .GBK file can be either complex biological text data or a proprietary binary database backup, standard online converters often fail to process it. They simply lack the niche parsers required for bioinformatics or SQL backups. Our platform can inspect the file, show text or internal content, and if our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your GBK file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted GENBANK, GDB, TXT, DNA, TWM, FASTA, ZIP, FNA, GB, DOCX, PDF, TED and EXE files.
If you want to convert GBK file to FASTA, TXT, RTF, DOC, DOCX, ODT, PAGES, TEX, LATEX, MD, MARKDOWN or LOG, you can use NCBI Tools or similar software from the "Genetic Sequence Data Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert PDF, DOC, ASC, TODO, NFO, MEMO, README, DOCX, JPG, TXT, NOTE or RTF files to GBK, try NCBI Tools or another comparable tool in the "Genetic Sequence Data Storage" 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 GBK converter.