HOD Converter

Extract text from HOD files

Select File
Drop or upload your .HOD file

Online File Converter

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How to extract text from your HOD file

Click the "Select File" button above, and choose your HOD file.
You’ll see a preview, if available.
Click the "Convert file to..." button to extract text information.

Convert HOD to another file type

To convert your HOD file to another format, you need IBM Host On-Demand or other Settings software.

Convert a file to HOD

To convert other file formats to the "Configuration File" file type, you need software like IBM Host On-Demand or a similar tool.

About HOD files

The .HOD extension primarily refers to Host On-Demand session files used by IBM software to connect to mainframes (zSeries/iSeries) via 3270 or 5250 terminal emulation. These files function as launchable configuration scripts, storing connection details like host IP, port, SSL settings, and keyboard mappings.

The Problem: In corporate environments, users often struggle to open these because they rely on legacy Java applets or specific versions of IBM i Access Client Solutions. Modern browsers and security policies frequently block the necessary plugins, leaving users with a file they cannot run. Additionally, the file itself is just a set of instructions; it does not contain the actual mainframe data or screen history.

The Solution:

For IBM Users: Since these are often plain text or XML-based, you can rename the file to TXT and open it in Notepad++ to view or edit the raw connection parameters (e.g., changing a hardcoded IP address). To archive the settings, print the text file to PDF.
For Gamers: A secondary, distinct use is for Homeworld 2 game assets (Homeworld Object Data). These are proprietary binary files containing 3D meshes and textures. You cannot open these in standard 3D software like Blender without conversion. Use specialized modding tools like CFHodEd or RODOH to convert them to DAE or OBJ for editing.

Convert.Guru analyzes your HOD file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.

Users also converted CRS, EPB and RDT files.

FAQ

If you want to convert HOD file to CSV, JSON, XML, YAML, YML, TOML, INI, CFG, CONF, DAT, DB or SQL, you can use IBM Host On-Demand or similar software from the "Terminal Emulator Settings" 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 HOD, try IBM Host On-Demand or another comparable tool in the "Terminal Emulator Settings" category.

The HOD 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 HOD converter.