Module files 

This module contains the definition of RFile, the file abstraction used by this lib to decode/encode files.

There is an additional type: Unknown. This type is used as a wildcard, so you can get the raw data of any non-supported file type and manipulate it yourself in a safe way.

For more information about specific file types, including their binary format spec, please check their respective documentation.

Core Abstractions

RFile

The RFile struct is the central abstraction for all files in rpfm_lib. It can represent:

• Files within PackFiles (or any Container)
• Files on the filesystem
• Files in memory only

Key features:

• Lazy Loading: Files can be loaded on-demand to reduce memory usage
• Type Detection: Automatically identifies file types based on path and content
• Caching: Supports caching decoded data or raw bytes
• Metadata: Tracks path, timestamp, container name, and file type

File States

Files can be in one of three internal states:

• OnDisk: Data not yet loaded (lazy loading)
• Cached: Raw bytes loaded but not decoded
• Decoded: Fully parsed into a type-specific structure

Decoding/Encoding

All file types implement the Decodeable and Encodeable traits:

• Decodeable: Parse binary data into structured format
• Encodeable: Serialize structured format back to binary

Extra data can be passed via DecodeableExtraData and EncodeableExtraData to provide context like schemas, game info, or file names.

Known file types

File Type	Decoding Supported	Encoding Supported
Anim	Limited	Limited
AnimFragmentBattle	Limited	Limited
AnimPack	Yes	Yes
AnimsTable	Yes	Yes
Atlas	Yes	Yes
Audio	No	No
BMD	Limited	Limited
BMD_Vegetation	Limited	Limited
CS2_Collision	Limited	Limited
CS2_Parsed	Limited	Limited
Dat	Limited	Limited
DB	Yes	Yes
ESF	Limited	Limited
Font	Limited	Limited
GroupFormations	Limited	Limited
HLSL_Compiled	Limited	Limited
Image	Limited	Limited
Loc	Yes	Yes
MatchedCombat	Yes	Yes
Pack	Yes	Yes
PortraitSettings	Yes	Yes
RigidModel	No	No
SoundBank	No	No
SoundBankDatabase	Limited	Limited
SoundEvents	Limited	Limited
Text	Yes	Yes
TileDatabase	Yes	Yes
UIC	No	No
UnitVariant	Yes	Yes
Video	Yes	Yes
VMD	Yes	Yes
WSModel	Yes	Yes

Example Usage

use rpfm_lib::files::{RFile, Decodeable, db::DB, DecodeableExtraData, table::Table};
use rpfm_lib::schema::Schema;
use std::path::Path;

// Load a DB table from disk
let schema = Schema::load(Path::new("path/to/schema.ron"), None).unwrap();
let mut extra = DecodeableExtraData::default();
extra.set_schema(Some(&schema));
extra.set_table_name(Some("units_tables"));

let rfile = RFile::from_disk(Path::new("units"), &extra).unwrap();

// Access the decoded data
if let Some(db) = rfile.decoded().and_then(|d| d.db()) {
    println!("Table has {} rows", db.table().len());
}

Modules

anim

Animation file handler with partial support.

anim_fragment_battle

Animation fragment battle file format support.

animpack

AnimPack container file format support.

anims_table

Animation table file format support.

atlas

Atlas texture coordinate mapping file format support.

audio

Audio file passthrough handler.

bmd

Battle Map Definition (BMD) file format support.

bmd_vegetation

BMD Vegetation file format support.

cs2_collision

CS2 Collision file format support.

cs2_parsed

CS2 Parsed file format support.

dat

DAT audio configuration file format support.

db

Database table files for Total War game data.

esf

This module provides support for reading and writing ESF (Empire Save File) files.

font

CUF (Creative Assembly Unicode Font) file format support.

group_formations

This module contains the implementation of the Group Formations file format for Total War games.

hlsl_compiled

HLSL compiled shader file format support (FASTBIN0/DXBC).

image

Image file handling with DDS conversion support.

loc

Localisation table files for Total War games.

matched_combat

This module contains the implementation of the Matched Combat file format for Total War games.

pack

PackFile (.pack) container format for Total War games.

portrait_settings

Portrait settings for unit and character portraits.

rigidmodel

RigidModel file format support for Total War games.

sound_bank

Wwise SoundBank (.bnk) file support.

sound_bank_database

Sound bank database for older Total War games.

sound_events

Sound events configuration for older Total War games.

table

Table data structures and encoding/decoding for Total War game data.

text

Plain text file handling with encoding detection and format recognition.

tile_database

Tile database files for Total War terrain systems.

uic

UI Component (UIC) files for Total War games.

unit_variant

This is a module to read/write binary UnitVariant files.

unknown

Wildcard handler for unsupported or unrecognized file types.

video

CA_VP8 are a custom version of a VP8 video by CA. These files contain only video data, no audio.

Structs

DecodeableExtraData

Additional context data for Decodeable::decode() operations.

EncodeableExtraData

Additional context data for Encodeable::encode() operations.

RFile

Central file abstraction for rpfm_lib.

Enums

ContainerPath

This enum represents a Path inside a Container.

FileType

Known file types in Total War games.

RFileDecoded

This enum allow us to store any kind of decoded file type on a common place.

Traits

Container

Interface for working with container-like files.

Decodeable

Generic trait for decoding binary data into structured types.

Encodeable

Generic trait for encoding structured types into binary data.