What is the CUBE file format?
.cube is a plain-text color lookup table (LUT) format used throughout professional video production for color grading and correction. Originally developed by IRIDAS (acquired by Adobe in 2011), the format specification was published by Adobe in 2013 and has since become the most widely supported LUT format in the industry.
A .cube file contains either a 1D LUT, a 3D LUT, or both. The header section declares the LUT size with the keyword LUT_3D_SIZE or LUT_1D_SIZE, optionally followed by DOMAIN_MIN and DOMAIN_MAX values. The data section lists space-separated floating-point RGB output triplets, one per line; in 3D LUTs the blue channel iterates fastest. Lines beginning with # are comments.
Common 3D LUT sizes are 17³ (4,913 data points), 33³ (35,937), and 65³ (274,625); 33³ is standard for creative look LUTs while 65³ is used for technical camera transforms. Every major color grading application supports .cube natively, including DaVinci Resolve, Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro X, After Effects, Avid Media Composer, and Nuke. It can also be applied in FFmpeg via the lut3d filter. The CLF format (SMPTE S-2014-006) is a more formally standardized alternative, but .cube remains dominant in practice.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWPlain text file; no executable code. Safe to open in any text editor. No known security issues.
Format details
in a nutshell- Antaeus payment processing data - Some sources incorrectly associate .cube with Antaeus (payment processing software by eCity Transactions); this appears to be a rare or legacy usage with no current relevance.
Programs that open CUBE files
Windows4 apps
Adobe Photoshop
Paid Layer → New Adjustment Layer → Color Lookup → select .cube file from 3DLUT File dropdown. 
DaVinci Resolve
Freemium Color page → LUTs panel (or Color → Apply LUT). Place .cube in Resolve's LUT folder or use Project Settings → Color Management. 
macOS3 apps
DaVinci Resolve
Freemium Color page → LUT panel. Import via Project Settings → Color Management → LUT directories. 
Linux2 apps
FFmpeg (CLI)
Open-source ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf lut3d=file.cube output.mp4 - applies 3D cube LUT to video. Technical details
deep spec| Format type | Plain-text color lookup table (1D LUT, 3D LUT, or combined) |
| Encoding | ASCII / UTF-8 text |
| LUT types supported | 1D LUT, 3D LUT, or 3D LUT combined with a 1D shaper LUT |
| Data format | Space-separated floating-point RGB output triplets per line (range 0.0-1.0) |
| 3D LUT axis iteration | Blue channel iterates fastest (innermost loop over blue axis) |
| Common 3D LUT sizes | 17³ (4,913 pts), 33³ (35,937 pts), 65³ (274,625 pts) |
| Header keywords | TITLE, LUT_3D_SIZE / LUT_1D_SIZE, DOMAIN_MIN, DOMAIN_MAX |
| Comment syntax | Lines beginning with # are comments |
| Typical file size | 50 KB - 10 MB |
| MIME type | application/octet-stream (also text/plain) |
| Associated OS | Windows, macOS, Linux (cross-platform plain text) |
| Industry adoption | Supported natively by DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro X, After Effects, Avid Media Composer, Nuke |
| Successor/alternative | CLF (SMPTE S-2014-006) for formal interchange; .cube remains dominant in practice |
| Released | circa 2000s (IRIDAS); Adobe spec v1.0 published 2013 |
| Latest version | CUBE LUT Specification 1.0 (Adobe, 2013) |
| Open standard | Yes · royalty-free |
| Specification | wwwimages2.adobe.com |
CUBE conversions
Community Q&A
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