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Convert CBR to CBT

Verified by Adam B.· reviewed by FE Editorial ·updated Jul 24, 2026
QUICK ANSWER
Is it possible to convert CBR to CBT?
Yes - CBR converts to CBT.

Extract the .cbr with 7-Zip (Windows) or unar (Mac), repack the image files into a .tar archive, then rename it .cbt. No image data is re-encoded - only the archive container changes from RAR to TAR.

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Tested on macOS, Windows & Linux
Last verified Oct 2026

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Why convert CBR to CBT?

Both .cbr and .cbt are renamed archives holding ordered comic page images; the difference is the container - RAR versus TAR. Moving from CBR to CBT replaces the proprietary RAR wrapper with the open TAR format. In practice .cbz is far more widely supported and is the preferred open target; choose CBT only when a specific reader or workflow requires it.

How to convert CBR to CBT

7-Zip FREE

Right-click the .cbr and choose 7-Zip > Extract, then select all extracted images, right-click, choose 7-Zip > Add to archive, set the format to tar, and rename the output .tar to .cbt.

tar FREE

Run unar comic.cbr (Mac) or unrar x comic.cbr (Linux) to extract the images, then tar -cf comic.tar *.jpg *.png to repack them and rename the result to .cbt.

About these formats

.CBR Comic Book RAR Archive

A CBR file is a digital comic or manga - JPG/PNG page images packed in a RAR archive and renamed .cbr so a comic reader opens it as a paged book. To read it, use YACReader or CDisplayEx on…

Open .CBR details →
.CBT CDisplay TAR Comic book file

A .CBT file is associated with CDisplay TAR Comic book, a compressed file.

Open .CBT details →

Quality & what to watch

  • No image quality loss - the page images are copied unchanged; only the archive container changes from RAR to TAR.
  • TAR does not compress by default, so a .cbt may be larger than the source .cbr if the original RAR used compression.
  • Keep the original filenames from the .cbr intact when repacking - comic readers sort pages by filename to determine reading order.

Frequently asked questions

Why is CBT less supported than CBZ?
CBZ uses ZIP, which every operating system handles natively; TAR is less universal on Windows, so fewer comic readers support CBT.
Will my comic reader open the converted CBT?
Only a subset of readers supports CBT; check your reader's documentation and convert to CBZ instead if CBT is not listed.
Is any data lost when converting CBR to CBT?
No - the page images are copied without re-encoding; only the outer archive wrapper changes.