Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 16, 2026

NZB

NZB is an XML-based file format for retrieving posts from NNTP (Usenet) servers. The format was conceived by the developers of the Newzbin.com Usenet Index. NZB is effective when used with search-capable websites. These websites create NZB files out of what is needed to be downloaded. Using this concept, headers would not be downloaded hence the NZB method is quicker and more bandwidth-efficient than traditional methods.

Last revised
Jul 16, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
365 w
Citations
13
Source
Wikipedia ↗
NZB file format
Filename extension
.nzb1
Internet media type
application/x-nzb
Developed byNewzBin2
Latest release
1.1
November 10, 2009 (2009-11-10)
Type of formatUsenet extender
Extended fromXML
Open format?yes
WebsiteNZB file specification3

NZB is an XML-based file format for retrieving posts from NNTP (Usenet) servers.4 The format was conceived by the developers of the Newzbin.com Usenet Index.56 NZB is effective when used with search-capable websites.7 These websites create NZB files out of what is needed to be downloaded.8 Using this concept, headers would not be downloaded hence the NZB method is quicker and more bandwidth-efficient than traditional methods.9

Each Usenet message has a unique identifier called the "Message-ID".10 When a large file is posted to a Usenet newsgroup, it is usually divided into multiple messages (called segments or parts) each having its own Message-ID.11 An NZB-capable Usenet client will read all needed Message-IDs from the NZB file, download them and decode the messages back into a binary file (usually using yEnc or Uuencode).12

File format example

The following is an example of an NZB 1.1 file.13 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1" ?>
<!DOCTYPE nzb PUBLIC "-//newzBin//DTD NZB 1.1//EN" "http://www.newzbin.com/DTD/nzb/nzb-1.1.dtd">
<nzb xmlns="http://www.newzbin.com/DTD/2003/nzb">
 <head>
   <meta type="title">Your File!</meta>
   <meta type="tag">Example</meta>
 </head>
 <file poster="Joe Bloggs <bloggs@nowhere.example>;" date="1071674882" subject="Here's your file!  abc-mr2a.r01 (1/2)">
   <groups>
     <group>alt.binaries.newzbin</group>
     <group>alt.binaries.mojo</group>
   </groups>
   <segments>
     <segment bytes="102394" number="1">123456789abcdef@news.newzbin.example.com</segment>
     <segment bytes="4501" number="2">987654321fedbca@news.newzbin.example.com</segment>
   </segments>
 </file>
</nzb>
See also

See also

References

References

  1. ".nzb file extension :: all about the .nzb file type". www.cryer.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  2. "NZB explained". 2013-02-09. Archived from the original on 2013-02-09. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  3. "NBDocs - NZBSpecification". 2004-04-23. Archived from the original on 2004-04-23. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  4. "NZB Files Explained in Plain English". Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  5. "nzb 0.1 Released « nzb". Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  6. "Power-Post-2000-A&A". powerpost.free.fr. 2004-03-21. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  7. "Tutorial: What is NZB? What are NZB files?". Binaries4all Usenet Tutorials. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  8. "What is an NZB File? (with picture)". wiseGEEK. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  9. "Select download folder when using NZB?". NewsLeecher Forums. 2004-09-11. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  10. "Handleiding: Wat zijn NZB-bestanden? Wat is NZB?". binaries4all.nl. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  11. "NBDocs - What Is An NZB File". 2004-05-04. Archived from the original on 2004-05-04. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  12. "nzb - Browse /nzb/0.1". SourceForge.net. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  13. "WWW::Newzbin - Interface to Newzbin.com's Usenet index". metacpan.org. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
External links