TritonPanelsThe short answer
A CBZ or CBR file is a comic’s pages, saved as images and packed into a single archive. Neither iOS nor Android can read one as a comic on its own, so you need a comic reader app: install one, import the file, and it opens as a book with the pages in order, your place remembered and proper page turns. TritonPanels reads CBZ, CBR, CB7, CBT and compressed TAR comics, PDF and image-based EPUB on iPhone, iPad and Android.
Most files open first time. The exceptions are a CBR saved in the newer RAR5 format, a CBA archive, and anything copy-protected; the sections below explain how to spot those and what to do about them.
What CBZ, CBR, CB7 and CBT files are
A comic book archive is just a normal archive with a comic-specific extension. The letter at the end tells you which kind of archive it is:
| Extension | What is inside | TritonPanels |
|---|---|---|
| .cbz | A ZIP archive of page images | Supported |
| .cbr | A RAR archive of page images | Supported for RAR4; RAR5 is not |
| .cb7 | A 7-Zip archive of page images | Supported |
| .cbt, .tgz, .tbz, .txz | A TAR archive, plain or compressed | Supported |
| A PDF document, one comic page per PDF page | Supported | |
| .epub | An ebook; comics use fixed-layout pages that are images | Image-based, DRM-free EPUB only |
| .cba | An ACE archive | Not supported — convert to CBZ |
The pages inside can be JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP, BMP, TIFF, AVIF, HEIC/HEIF, JPEG XL or Netpbm images. Two caveats on Android: HEIC pages need Android 9 or later, and JPEG XL pages are not supported there. Pages are shown in filename order, which is why well-made archives name their images 001.jpg, 002.jpg and so on. Many archives also carry a small ComicInfo.xml file holding the series, issue number, writer and publisher.
Why your phone won’t open them on its own
Neither iOS nor Android includes a comic reader. The Files app on an iPhone can’t preview a .cbz or .cbr, and on Android a file manager treats it as a plain archive at best, offering to unpack hundreds of loose images into a folder. You can look at those one by one in a photo viewer, but you lose the page order, your place and any sensible way to turn pages. To read the comic as a comic you need a reader app that understands the format.
Opening comic files on iPhone and iPad
- Install TritonPanels from the App Store. It needs iOS or iPadOS 17 or later.
- Open Connect Storage and tap Import from Device. The system file picker opens, so you can choose comics from On My iPhone, iCloud Drive or any storage provider that appears in the Files app. You can select several files at once.
- Or connect Dropbox or OneDrive and browse your folders from inside the app. Google Drive comics are chosen through the Files app — see reading comics from Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive.
- From another app, use Open in TritonPanels in the share sheet.
- From a Mac or PC, drop files into TritonPanels’ own folder in the Files app or Finder, and they are imported automatically.
Imported comics are copied into the app’s library, so they open quickly and stay readable without a connection.
Opening comic files on Android
- Install TritonPanels from Google Play. It needs Android 7.0 or later.
- Open Connect Storage and tap Import from Device. The system file picker reaches your Downloads folder and any storage app you have installed.
- Or connect Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive from the same screen.
- Opening a comic from a file manager or a browser download also offers TritonPanels.
Android storage providers often report a comic as a generic file with no useful type, or lose the extension altogether. TritonPanels reads the first bytes of the file to work out what it really is, so a comic usually still imports when its name has been mangled on the way.
When a CBR file won’t open: RAR5
RAR has two versions in common use. Older archives are RAR4; archives made with recent versions of WinRAR default to RAR5. TritonPanels reads RAR4 but cannot extract RAR5, so a RAR5 CBR fails to import with a message that it may be corrupted, password-protected or built with an unsupported RAR variant. There is no way to tell the two apart by the file name.
Fix: on a computer, extract the CBR into a folder, then compress the images back into a ZIP file and rename it from .zip to .cbz. Nothing is lost — the images inside are exactly the same, and CBZ is the most widely supported comic format there is. How to convert CBR to CBZ has the steps for Windows, macOS and the command line.
The same fix works for .cba archives, as long as you have a tool that can extract ACE. A CB7 no longer needs converting: TritonPanels 2.0 opens it directly.
Other reasons a comic won’t open
- It is only partly downloaded. A comic that stopped downloading part-way has a damaged end. Download it again and compare the size with the original.
- It is password-protected or encrypted. Extract it with the password on a computer and re-save it as a CBZ.
- It is copy-protected. Comics bought inside another company’s app are usually locked to that app. TritonPanels reads files you own outright; it cannot open DRM-protected purchases.
- It is a text ebook. A reflowable EPUB is a novel-style book, not a comic. See reading PDF and EPUB comics for which EPUBs work.
- One page shows an error. If a single page reports that its image format can’t be displayed on this device, that page is in a format your phone lacks, such as JPEG XL on Android. Re-save that page as JPEG or PNG on a computer.
Covers, series and issue numbers
When an archive contains ComicInfo.xml, TritonPanels reads the series, number, writer, publisher and other details from it and uses them to group, sort and search your library. When there is no metadata, it falls back to the filename: an issue number written as #003 or Issue 003 and a year in brackets are picked up, so Fantastic Comics #003 (1940).cbz still lands in the right series in the right place. ComicInfo.xml explained covers the fields and how to add them.
Frequently asked questions
Is a CBZ file just a ZIP file?
Yes. A CBZ is a ZIP archive of page images with the extension changed to .cbz. You can rename a ZIP of comic pages to .cbz and any comic reader will open it.
Can I rename a CBR file to CBZ?
Renaming does not convert anything: a real RAR archive is still a RAR archive with a new name. To turn a CBR into a CBZ, extract the images and compress them into a new ZIP. Some files sold as CBR are really ZIP archives with the wrong extension, and TritonPanels opens those anyway because it checks the contents rather than trusting the name.
Why does my CBR file not open on my phone?
The most common reason is that it was compressed as RAR5, which TritonPanels cannot read. Re-save it as a CBZ. A file that is password-protected, corrupted or only partly downloaded will not open either.
Can TritonPanels open CB7 files now?
Yes. Version 2.0 reads CB7 (7-Zip) comics directly, along with CBT and compressed TAR comics and image-based EPUB. CBA (ACE) archives and RAR5 CBR files still need converting to CBZ.
Can I read comics I bought in another store’s app?
Only if the store lets you download DRM-free files. TritonPanels reads comic files that you own; it cannot open copy-protected purchases that are locked to another company’s app.
Read your comics with TritonPanels
A comic and manga reader for iPhone, iPad and Android. CBZ, CBR, CB7, CBT, PDF and image-based EPUB from your device, your cloud, a network share or your own Komga, Kavita or OPDS server — single page, spreads, continuous scroll or Panel by Panel. No ads, no account. 14-day free trial, then a monthly or yearly subscription.
Your own files: TritonPanels reads comics you already have. It does not sell, host or supply comics, and it cannot open copy-protected (DRM) purchases that are locked to another store’s app. Komga, Kavita, Calibre, Dropbox and the other names on this page belong to their owners, who do not endorse TritonPanels.