Extract text from MLK files
To convert your MLK file to another format, you need Stronghold or other Game software.
To convert other file formats to the "Campaign Mission File" file type, you need software like Stronghold or a similar tool.
The .mlk extension is a rare, multi-purpose format primarily associated with proprietary game data and legacy software settings. Its most significant use is as a Stronghold campaign map file, developed by Firefly Studios for the classic real-time strategy series. These files contain mission scripting, terrain data, and unit placement logic required to load custom campaigns. A secondary but notable use is within Mount & Blade (specifically Warband mods), where the file functions as a game data container. Finally, a small percentage of these files are MasterCook Look Files (Version 4 or older), used to store visual layout themes for recipes.
Because .mlk files are binary and engine-specific, they cannot be opened by standard text editors or image viewers. Users often struggle to convert them because they are locked to the specific software version that created them. For Stronghold and Mount & Blade users, the goal is typically to edit the map or extract assets. The only reliable "conversion" method is using the official Map Editor or community modding tools to export the data as XML or render the map as a BMP or PNG image for web sharing. For MasterCook users, the file is obsolete; the best workflow is opening it in a legacy version of the software and printing the recipe to PDF for archiving.
Convert.Guru analyzes your MLK file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted FMF, WF1 and TTT files.
If you want to convert MLK file to INI, CFG, CONF, CONFIG, JSON, XML, YAML, YML, TOML, ENV, PROPERTIES or RC, you can use Stronghold or similar software from the "Game Campaign Map" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert ZSHRC, CONF, RCFILE, GITCONFIG, RC, PLIST, BASHRC, CONFIG, PROFILE, INI, PREFS or CFG files to MLK, try Stronghold or another comparable tool in the "Game Campaign Map" 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 MLK converter.