Extract text from Nuke scripts (NK)
To convert NK scripts to another format, you need Nuke or other Text software.
To convert other file formats to the "Nuke Compositing Script" file type, you need software like Nuke or a similar tool.
The .nk file is a Nuke Script used by Nuke, the industry-standard node-based visual effects software by Foundry. These files store the entire node compositing graph, mathematical parameters, and programming expressions required to render a final VFX shot. They do not contain any actual video or image media, only absolute or relative file paths referencing external high-dynamic-range image sequences like EXR or DPX.
A major disadvantage of the .nk format is that viewing the visual compositing output requires an active, highly expensive subscription to Nuke. The scripts are tightly coupled to the Nuke software ecosystem. Missing third-party plugins (like OFX) or missing external footage will instantly break the script. Furthermore, natively translating its proprietary mathematical operations to other compositing applications is exceptionally difficult and often lossy.
To bypass these limitations, users often convert or read .nk files as TXT or XML to extract lost file paths, audit node settings, or safely review code without loading the heavy graphical interface. Technical directors might attempt complex Python parsing to convert the file to COMP for Blackmagic Fusion, though nodes rarely translate 1:1.
Because this is a proprietary, application-specific graph format, standard online converters fail to process it.
Convert.Guru analyzes your NK file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted NKNC, PDF and PY files.
If you want to convert NK file to JS, TS, PY, JAVA, CPP, C, CS, PHP, RB, GO, RS or SWIFT, you can use Nuke or similar software from the "VFX Compositing Node Graph" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SH, PY, KT, PS1, SWIFT, LUA, PL, JAVA, SCALA, JS, VBS or TS files to NK, try Nuke or another comparable tool in the "VFX Compositing Node Graph" 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 NK converter.