# CAB Viewer

Free online CAB viewer. Open Microsoft Cabinet archives (.cab) in your browser to list contents — no upload, no extraction.

> Canonical page: https://elysiatools.com/en/viewers/cab

- **Category:** Archives

- **Supported formats:** .cab

## Overview

This CAB viewer reads Microsoft Cabinet archives directly in your browser. CAB (.cab) is a compression format native to Windows, historically used for system updates, driver packages and software installers. Pick a sample or choose your own .cab file to browse its contents instantly, with no upload.

## When to use

- You received a .cab file (e.g. a Windows driver) and want to inspect it without extracting.
- You need a private preview of an installer package before running it.
- You want to check a Cabinet archive on a non-Windows machine.

## How it works

- Select a built-in sample archive or choose your own .cab file.
- The viewer reads the archive's contents in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
- Browse the file list and inspect entry names and sizes.

## Use cases

- Checking Windows driver and hotfix packages.
- Previewing legacy installer archives.
- Inspecting CAB files on macOS or Linux.

## Samples

- **Sample Archive**: A CAB archive sample for in-browser preview

## Frequently asked questions

### What is a CAB file?

CAB (Cabinet) is a compression archive format from Microsoft, used since Windows 95 for software installation packages, driver packages and Windows Update files. It uses MSZIP, Quantum or LZX compression.

### Are my CAB files uploaded?

No. Files you open from your device stay on your device and are read locally. Only the public sample archive is requested from the server.

### Can it open all CAB compression methods?

The viewer handles standard CAB files with MSZIP and LZX compression. Some rare or legacy compression methods may have limited support.

## Related content

- [ZIP Viewer](https://elysiatools.com/en/viewers/zip): Open and preview ZIP archives (.zip, .zipx) directly in your browser — list contents without uploading or extracting.
- [7Z Viewer](https://elysiatools.com/en/viewers/7z): Open and preview 7Z archives (.7z) directly in your browser — list contents without uploading or extracting.
- [RAR Viewer](https://elysiatools.com/en/viewers/rar): Open and preview RAR archives (.rar, .cbr) directly in your browser — list contents without uploading or extracting.
- [TAR Viewer](https://elysiatools.com/en/viewers/tar): Open and preview TAR archives (.tar, .tgz) directly in your browser — list contents without uploading or extracting.
- [GZ Viewer](https://elysiatools.com/en/viewers/gz): Open and preview GZip archives (.gz, .gzip) directly in your browser — list contents without uploading or extracting.
- [BZ2 Viewer](https://elysiatools.com/en/viewers/bz2): Open and preview BZip2 archives (.bz2, .bzip2, .tbz, .tbz2) directly in your browser — list contents without uploading or extracting.