SCR File Format (.scr)
An SCR file is a byte-for-byte dump of a ZX Spectrum's display memory, always exactly 6,912 bytes, holding a fixed 256x192 pixel screen the way the Spectrum's own video hardware laid it out.
SCR at a glance#
| Full name | ZX-Spectrum SCREEN$ |
|---|---|
| File extension | .scr |
| Category | Image Files |
| Compression | Uncompressed |
| FileFlip support | FileFlip reads this format but does not write it |
What a .scr file can hold#
These are the things a SCR file either supports or does not, and they are what decides whether a conversion keeps everything or quietly drops something.
| Transparency (alpha channel) | No |
|---|---|
| Lossless compression | Yes |
| Embedded metadata | No |
| Colour profiles | No |
| Multiple images or pages | No |
Strengths and limitations of SCR#
What SCR does well
- Matches the ZX Spectrum's video memory byte for byte, so an emulator can load it straight into screen RAM with no parsing beyond a fixed 6,912-byte read
- Always the same fixed size, since a file is always exactly one full 256x192 Spectrum screen
Where SCR falls short
- Limited to the ZX Spectrum's own colour system, where every 8x8 pixel block can use only two colours out of its 15-colour palette
- Stores every byte uncompressed, so it's larger on disk than a modern format holding the same image needs to be
- Can only ever be exactly one 256x192 screen; there's no way to store any other resolution
Use SCR when working directly with ZX Spectrum software or emulators, since it's the format those tools load and save natively without any conversion.
Convert SCR to PNG to view or share a ZX Spectrum screen anywhere outside an emulator or Spectrum-specific tool.
How to open a .scr file#
A .scr file opens in the programs below, grouped by the platform you are on. If you would rather not install anything, FileFlip converts SCR into a format your machine already opens, and it does it in the browser tab rather than on a server.
| Platform | Programs that open it |
|---|---|
| Windows | ZX-Paintbrush, XnView MP |
| Linux | XnView MP |
| Web | FileFlip |
SCR questions people ask#
What is an SCR file?
An SCR file is a raw snapshot of a ZX Spectrum's screen memory, the exact bytes the Spectrum's hardware used to draw the display. It's always 6,912 bytes: 6,144 bytes of pixel data followed by 768 bytes of colour attribute data.
What programs open SCR files?
ZX Spectrum emulators load SCR files directly into screen memory, and general image viewers like XnView MP can open and convert them. Spectrum-specific paint tools such as ZX-Paintbrush also read and write the format natively.
Why are SCR files always exactly 6,912 bytes?
An SCR file is a direct dump of the ZX Spectrum's fixed-size display memory, which is always 6,912 bytes on real hardware, so the file size never changes regardless of what the screen shows.
Converting SCR files#
Convert SCR to another format
- SCR to AsciiDoc
- SCR to AVIF
- SCR to BBCode
- SCR to BibTeX
- SCR to BMP
- SCR to BMP2
- SCR to BMP3
- SCR to CBZ
- SCR to Djot
- SCR to DocBook
- SCR to DOCX
- SCR to DokuWiki
- SCR to EPUB
- SCR to FB2
- SCR to GIF
- SCR to GIF87
- SCR to Haddock
- SCR to HDR
- SCR to HTML
- SCR to ICML
- SCR to ICO
- SCR to ICON
- SCR to IPYNB
- SCR to Jira
See every SCR conversion (38 more)
FileFlip does not write .scr files, so nothing on the site converts into this format. It works as a source only.
Every conversion runs inside your browser. The file is read from your disk, the work happens on your own machine, and nothing is uploaded. How FileFlip works names the engine behind each family and how to verify that for yourself.