How to Convert CBZ to CBT for Comics and Manga (2026 Guide)

CBT is the tar-based variant of the comic-archive family. CBZ uses ZIP compression, CBR uses RAR, and CBT uses TAR. CBT is the niche option, mostly used by readers built for Linux and Unix-like systems where tar is native. It also has the advantage of being uncompressed by default, which makes random page access fast on slower hardware.

Converting CBZ to CBT means extracting the page images from the ZIP archive, then re-packing them into a TAR archive renamed with a .cbt extension. The image files themselves are unchanged.

Watch: Comic format conversion in How to Convert

Method 1: How to Convert (Easiest, Local, Cross-Platform)

How to Convert converts CBZ to CBT locally. Drop the CBZ in, pick CBT, click Convert. Pages are extracted from the ZIP archive and re-packed as TAR.

Steps

• Open How to Convert (desktop or browser).
• Drag your CBZ onto the window.
• Pick CBT as the output format.
• Click Convert. The CBT saves next to the original.

Method 2: Command Line (Fast for Power Users)

With standard Unix tools (unzip and tar):

mkdir pages
unzip input.cbz -d pages/
tar -cf output.cbt -C pages .

For batch conversion of many CBZ files, wrap the commands in a shell loop. unzip is built into Mac and most Linux distros.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why use CBT over CBZ?

CBT is rarely the better choice for general use. CBZ is more widely supported. Use CBT only when your specific comic reader requires it, when you are working in a Unix-only environment, or when you want fast random-access page reads.

Is CBT smaller than CBZ?

By default, no. Plain TAR is uncompressed, so a CBT will usually be larger than the equivalent CBZ. If you compress the TAR with gzip (tar -czf), the file size becomes comparable to CBZ.

Will my comic reader open CBT?

Some will, most will not. Comic readers like ComicRack, CDisplayEx, and Tachiyomi handle CBT. Most casual comic readers and mobile apps do not. Check your reader before converting.

Final Thoughts

For one-off conversions, our free in-browser CBZ to CBT converter is the fastest. For batches, the desktop app or the two-line shell command above scale well. Use CBT when your specific reader requires it; otherwise stick with CBZ for compatibility.