Extract text from WBCAT files
To convert your WBCAT file to another format, you need Microsoft Windows Backup or other Backup software.
To convert other file formats to the "Recovery Catalog" file type, you need software like Microsoft Windows Backup or a similar tool.
A .wbcat file is a proprietary binary catalog generated by Microsoft Windows during a system backup operation, specifically using the legacy "Backup and Restore (Windows 7)" utility still available in Windows 10 and 11. These files function as a map or index for your backup set, telling the operating system exactly where specific versions of your documents, photos, and system files are stored within the larger backup archives (often ZIP or VHD files) accompanying it.
For most users, finding a .wbcat file is a source of confusion because it cannot be opened directly. It does not contain your actual data - only the metadata pointing to it. You cannot double-click to view it, nor can you simply convert it to a PDF or TXT file to see a list of contents, as the format is obfuscated and intended only for the system's Restore Wizard. If you have lost the accompanying media files, this catalog is effectively useless. To access the data "inside" this process, you typically don't convert the .wbcat file itself; rather, you use the Windows Backup utility or third-party tools like Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office (formerly True Image) to parse the catalog and extract (restore) your original files to their native formats like DOCX, JPG, or XLSX.
Convert.Guru analyzes your WBCAT file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted WBK, 1-STEP, TIBX and KGP files.
If you want to convert WBCAT file to BAK, BACKUP, OLD, TMP, TEMP, ARC, ZIP, TAR, GZ, 7Z, RAR or ISO, you can use Microsoft Windows Backup or similar software from the "Backup Indexing Catalog" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SNAPSHOT, OLD, IMG, RESTORE, ISO, COPY, VMDK, TMP, VHD, BAK, ARCHIVE or BACKUP files to WBCAT, try Microsoft Windows Backup or another comparable tool in the "Backup Indexing Catalog" 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 WBCAT converter.