What is the EMULECOLLECTION file format?
An .emulecollection file is a plain-text list of eD2k (eDonkey2000) download links - analogous to a .torrent or NZB file. Opening it in eMule or aMule queues all the listed files for download from the eD2k peer-to-peer network.
The file contains one ed2k:// URI per line. Each link encodes the filename, file size in bytes, and a 128-bit MD4 hash of the file content, used by the network to identify and locate file chunks across peers. An optional AICH (Advanced Intelligent Corruption Handling) hash adds chunk-level integrity verification. Any line that is not a valid ed2k:// link - descriptive text, comments, or blank lines - is silently ignored by parsers.
Collections were introduced around eMule 0.30 (circa 2003) to let users share curated sets of related files: album discographies, TV series seasons, and software archives. There is no hard limit on the number of links per file; practical collections range from a handful to several thousand entries.
The eD2k network remains operational via the Kad DHT (distributed hash table) backbone as of 2026. eMule was last released as version 0.60d in 2022; aMule is the primary cross-platform client. Any text editor can open an .emulecollection file to inspect or manually copy the individual ed2k:// links.
Security & safety
RISK: MEDIUMThe .emulecollection file itself is plain text and cannot execute code. The risk lies in the downloads it triggers: files obtained from the eD2k network may include malware or pirated content. Always scan downloaded files with antivirus. Be cautious with collections from untrusted sources, as they may queue large or unwanted downloads. The eD2k network has no central authority; downloaded content is user-supplied.
Format details
in a nutshellPrograms that open EMULECOLLECTION files
Windows3 apps
eMule
Open-source File → Open or double-click the .emulecollection - eMule imports all ed2k links and queues downloads. 
eMule Plus
Open-source Alternative eMule client; supports .emulecollection files. Note: development appears stalled since ~2010. 
Any text editor
Free Open in Notepad or Notepad++ to inspect the individual ed2k:// links without downloading. 
macOS1 app
Linux1 app
aMule
Open-source Open the .emulecollection file from aMule's menu or drag into the link input field. Technical details
deep spec| File encoding | Plain text (UTF-8 or ANSI; UTF-8 recommended for filenames with non-ASCII characters) |
| Link format | ed2k://|file|<name>|<size_bytes>|<MD4_hash>|/ - one URI per line; no linebreaks within a single link |
| File hash | 128-bit MD4 hash of complete file content embedded in each ed2k:// link |
| Optional integrity | AICH (Advanced Intelligent Corruption Handling) hash appended as |h=<hash>| for chunk-level verification |
| Comment handling | Lines not matching ed2k:// format are silently ignored; free-text comments between links are permitted |
| Multi-source download | eMule breaks files into fixed-size chunks; each chunk is independently verifiable via the AICH hash tree, enabling parallel download from multiple peers |
| Typical size | 1 KB - 50 KB |
| Link capacity | No hard limit; practical collections range from a few to thousands of ed2k links per file |
| Network | eD2k (eDonkey2000) peer-to-peer; operational via Kad DHT as of 2026 |
| Analogous formats | Functionally equivalent to .torrent (BitTorrent) and .nzb (Usenet) manifest/collection files |
| Client support | eMule (Windows, last release v0.60d 2022), aMule (cross-platform), any plain-text editor |
| File creation | Generated by eMule/aMule when exporting a download queue selection, or authored manually in a text editor |
| Introduced | eMule 0.30 era, circa 2003, for sharing curated groups of related eD2k files as a single descriptor |
| Released | ~2003 (eMule 0.30+ era) |
| Latest version | eMule 0.60d (2022, latest release) |
| Specification | wiki.amule.org |
EMULECOLLECTION conversions
Community Q&A
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