Free online TXT to NFO converter

Release archives, media packages, and some NFO viewers require descriptive files to use the .nfo extension rather than .txt. For a plain-text source, conversion usually changes the filename extension while preserving the text, encoding, and line endings.

What the TXT format is

.txt identifies generic plain text: characters, spaces, tabs, and line breaks without rich-text styling, images, or document layout. Notepad, TextEdit in plain-text mode, Linux text editors, command-line tools, scripts, and programming applications use TXT files for notes, logs, instructions, configuration snippets, source code, and exported data.

The extension does not identify the character encoding. A TXT file may contain ASCII, UTF-8, UTF-16, Windows-1252, or another encoding, and it may use different line-ending conventions. Software may need to detect or be told the correct encoding.

What the NFO format is

In the text-file context, an .nfo file is a plain-text information file commonly distributed with software, media, or release archives. It can contain descriptions, requirements, installation instructions, credits, file lists, release notes, contact details, and ASCII artwork.

Text NFO has no universal internal structure or required binary metadata. Its main distinction from TXT is the .nfo extension and the conventions of the program or archive that reads it. Its small size, easy editing, and compatibility with fixed-width ASCII artwork are practical advantages. Some NFO viewers assume a legacy OEM code page such as CP437, while newer software may expect UTF-8.

How to convert a TXT file

Use 101convert.com when you want to convert the file without installing software:

1. Open the TXT-to-NFO converter on 101convert.com.
2. Select the source .txt file and start the conversion.
3. Download the resulting .nfo file.
4. Open it in the intended NFO viewer and check characters, line breaks, and artwork alignment.

For confidential notes, credentials, configuration data, or release material that should not be uploaded, convert the file locally instead.

Rename the file locally when it already contains the correct plain-text content and the receiving program supports its encoding. In Windows File Explorer, enable View → Show → File name extensions, then rename description.txt to description.nfo and confirm the extension change. At a command prompt, use ren description.txt description.nfo. On macOS or Linux, use mv description.txt description.nfo.

Renaming changes only the filename; it preserves the original bytes, encoding, byte-order mark, line endings, and spacing. Showing extensions prevents an incorrect name such as description.nfo.txt.

Save a new NFO file from a text editor when the source encoding needs correction or the content needs editing. Open the file in Notepad, Notepad++, Kate, Gedit, Visual Studio Code, or another plain-text editor. Choose File → Save As, enter a name ending in .nfo, select plain text or All files (*.*) if necessary, and choose the encoding before saving.

Use UTF-8 for modern viewers and non-English text when the destination supports it. If a legacy viewer or ASCII artwork requires a specific code page, save using that code page instead. Notepad++ provides encoding and character-set controls for testing alternatives; an NFO-focused editor can preview fixed-width artwork but does not perform a different kind of conversion.

Compatibility and quality limitations

Changing the extension does not add metadata, create ASCII artwork, translate characters, repair damaged text, or impose a required NFO layout. If an archive or application specifies field names, section order, or a filename, follow those requirements manually.

Use a monospaced font when checking artwork, and preserve spaces, tabs, line breaks, and line width. CP437 or another OEM encoding may preserve classic box-drawing characters that appear incorrectly under UTF-8 or Windows-1252; the wrong encoding can also corrupt accented letters. Test the finished file in the target viewer.

Do not save a source from Word, Pages, or another word processor as DOCX, RTF, or HTML and merely rename it. Those formats contain document structure that an NFO viewer may display as markup or unreadable data. If the source is rich text, first extract or copy its content into a plain-text editor, then save it as .nfo.