What is a .CIA file?
CIA is a Nintendo 3DS installable title package, used with custom firmware.
- Did you know
- A CIA bundles a 3DS title so it can be installed straight to the console’s home menu.
- CIA stands for “CTR Importable Archive”, CTR being Nintendo’s internal codename for the 3DS.
- A CIA bundles a certificate chain, a ticket holding the decryption key, title metadata and the encrypted content needed to install a title.
- What Analyser reads
- Inspect game ROMs, patches and engine assets: iNES/NES2.0, Game Boy/Color/Advance, SNES, Nintendo DS/DSi, Nintendo 64, and Sega Genesis ROM headers (title, mapper, region, checksum); IPS/BPS/UPS/PPF patches; Doom WAD lumps; Minecraft NBT/schematics and Bedrock bundles; Aseprite sprites; Godot .pck; Quake/id Tech PAK/PK3; Source BSP/VPK/VTF/VMT; KTX/KTX2 textures; Tiled maps; LÖVE games; PICO-8 carts - plus MPQ, 3DS/Switch and Ren’Py/RPG Maker identification.
- Depth of analysis
- .CIA is an identification-grade format: Analyser recognises it from its bytes and decodes the header metadata it carries, rather than opening it in a full viewer. Formats that do get a full viewer are marked "Full" on the formats page.
- Open a .CIA file
- Drag a .CIA file onto the Analyser home page (or tap to pick one). It is identified entirely in your browser - nothing is uploaded, there is no account, and it works offline once installed.