COB Converter
FileFlip converts COB files into 14 other formats entirely inside your browser, using Assimp compiled to WebAssembly. The COB file is never uploaded to a server: it is read off your disk, converted on your own machine, and saved back by the browser. There is no file-size limit and no account to create.
How do I convert a COB file?#
- Drop your COB file onto the converter at the top of this page, or click it to pick one from your computer.
- Choose the format you want out of it. FileFlip downloads the engine that conversion needs, once, and your browser caches it.
- Conversion starts the moment you pick the format, and the result is yours to download. The work happens in this tab, so nothing is uploaded and nothing is queued.
Is it safe to convert COB files online?#
Yes, because nothing is uploaded. FileFlip converts COB files inside the browser tab you already have open, using WebAssembly builds of the same engines a desktop converter would install. Your file is read from your own disk into the page's memory, and no request carrying it is ever made.
You do not have to take that on trust. Open your browser's network panel, run a conversion, and you will see the engine come down and your file go nowhere. There is no upload, no server-side copy, no retention window, and no account tied to what you converted.
How FileFlip works lists every engine, its version and its download size, and shows how to check for yourself that nothing leaves your machine.
What happens to a COB file#
FileFlip converts COB into 14 formats with Assimp, all of it inside the browser tab. Each conversion below names the engine it uses, what it downloads, and exactly what that conversion keeps or drops.
| Category | 3D Models |
|---|---|
| File extension | .cob |
| FileFlip support | Read only, so it is a source rather than a target |
| Conversions available | 14 |
| Engines | Assimp |
| Downloaded to your browser | 11.2 MB on the first conversion, then cached |
What is a COB file?#
A COB file holds a single object exported from Caligari trueSpace, its mesh, materials and scene-graph data stored as a sequence of tagged chunks such as PolH for geometry and Mat1 for materials, in either an ASCII or a binary encoding.
There's little reason to author new COB files; it matters for opening objects saved by a copy of trueSpace.
Convert COB to OBJ or FBX to bring a trueSpace-era object into a modeller that's still maintained.
The COB file format reference covers the specification, the programs that open one, and what each conversion keeps or drops.
COB questions people ask#
What is a COB file?
A COB file is a Caligari trueSpace object: a mesh with its materials and scene-graph data stored as tagged chunks. It's distinct from Truevision's COB video codec and from unrelated database or COBOL files that share the same extension.
Can I still open a COB file in trueSpace?
Only if you have a working copy. Caligari trueSpace was discontinued in 2009 after Microsoft's brief ownership of the company, and it hasn't been sold or supported since, so opening a COB file today usually means a converter or a library like Assimp rather than the original application.
What's the difference between COB and SCN files from trueSpace?
COB holds a single object; SCN is the same chunk format holding an assembled scene of multiple objects, lights and cameras. They're read by the same parser and differ only in what they contain.