The ZIM file format is an

open file format An open file format is a file format for storing digital data, defined by an openly published specification usually maintained by a standards organization, and which can be used and implemented by anyone. An open file format is licensed with a ...

that stores website content for

offline In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity, and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed as "on li ...

usage. The format is defined by the openZIM project, which also supports an

open-source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...

ZIM reader called

Kiwix Kiwix is a free and open-source offline web browser created by Emmanuel Engelhart and Renaud Gaudin in 2007. It was first launched to allow offline access to Wikipedia, but has since expanded to include other projects from the Wikimedia Foundati ...

. The format is primarily used to store the contents of

Wikipedia Wikipedia is a free content, free Online content, online encyclopedia that is written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and the wiki software MediaWiki. Founded by Jimmy Wales and La ...

and other

Wikimedia projects The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (WMF) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in San Francisco, California, and registered there as foundation (United States law), a charitable foundation. It is the host of Wikipedia, th ...

, including articles,

full-text search In Document retrieval, text retrieval, full-text search refers to techniques for searching a single computer-stored document or a collection in a full-text database. Full-text search is distinguished from searches based on metadata or on parts of ...

indices and auxiliary files. ZIM stands for "Zeno IMproved", as it replaced the earlier Zeno file format. Since 2021, the library defaults to

Zstandard Zstandard is a lossless compression, lossless data compression algorithm developed by Yann Collet at Facebook. Zstd is the corresponding reference implementation in C (programming language), C, released as open-source software on 31 August 201 ...

file compression and also supports LZMA2, as implemented by the

XZ Utils XZ Utils (previously LZMA Utils) is a set of free software command-line lossless data compressors, including the programs lzma and xz, for Unix-like operating systems and, from version 5.0 onwards, Microsoft Windows. For compression/decompre ...

library. The openZIM project is sponsored by Wikimedia CH and supported by the

Wikimedia Foundation The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (WMF) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in San Francisco, California, and registered there as foundation (United States law), a charitable foundation. It is the host of Wikipedia, th ...

References

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External links

Official documentation about ZIM file format

Official documentation: ZIM file example

Official website of the openZIM project

The reference collection of ZIM files
Archive formats Wikipedia Open formats

See also

References

External links