What is the KAD file format?
A .kad file is a proprietary binary database created by Native Instruments for their Kore hardware/software instrument platform, first released in 2005. The file indexes a user's Kore sound library, storing metadata - patch names, attribute tags, and sound categories - for KoreSound presets, along with references to the underlying .nkx and NKS instrument files that Kore loaded at runtime.
Kore maintained separate databases for factory content and user-created or imported sounds. A .kad file contains no sample data; it acts purely as a catalog, allowing Kore's browser to search, filter, and organize thousands of patches by instrument type, character, and style tags.
Native Instruments released Kore 2 in 2008, introducing an updated database variant. The entire Kore product line was discontinued in 2011 and all product sales ended. .kad files have no function outside that software, and no current Native Instruments product - including Komplete Kontrol or the NKS standard that succeeded Kore's browser concept - can read them.
File size varies widely depending on library size, ranging from roughly 100 KB to 50 MB. Because the format is entirely proprietary with no published specification and no known magic bytes, .kad files cannot be parsed or converted by third-party tools. Users retaining Kore libraries have no automated migration path to modern platforms.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWBinary database file; not executable. No known malware association.
Format details
in a nutshellPrograms that open KAD files
Windows1 app
Native Instruments Kore 2
Paid The only software that opens .kad files; discontinued in 2011. License activation no longer available from NI. Technical details
deep spec| Format type | Proprietary binary library database |
| Encoding | Binary |
| Developer | Native Instruments GmbH |
| Platform | Windows, macOS |
| Typical file size | 100 KB - 50 MB (varies with library size) |
| Content | Sound patch metadata: names, tags, categories, and file references |
| References | Links to .nkx and NKS instrument files on disk |
| Database variants | Kore 1 (2005) and Kore 2 (2008) format variants |
| Magic bytes | None publicly documented; proprietary format |
| MIME type | application/octet-stream |
| Container | Proprietary (format specification not published) |
| Compression | Unknown; not publicly specified |
| Discontinued | 2011; Kore product line ended, no successor reads .kad |
| Successor concept | Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol and NKS standard |
| Released | 2005 (Native Instruments Kore 1.0) |
| Latest version | Kore 2 (2008); discontinued 2011 |
KAD conversions
Community Q&A
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