GrimDawnArzExtractor

# Grim Dawn ARZ Extractor

A small tool for pulling individual ".dbr" files out of Grim Dawn's binary ".arz" database container,

without unpacking the whole archive.

# Why this exists

The stock `AssetManager` can only unpack the entire `database.arz` at once — several GB on disk, minutes of waiting —

with no way to grab a single file. This is especially painful when updating/diffing mods: to check or fix one `.dbr` after a game patch,

you'd otherwise have to re-extract the whole database every time.

This tool reads the `.arz` directly and pulls out only what you need, in a couple of seconds, with no multi-gigabyte side effects.

# What's included / what isn't

- No game files are bundled — the tool only reads whatever

archive you point it at.

- Zero dependencies to install — the LZ4 decompressor is

implemented inside the tool itself, no `pip install` needed.

- Read-only: it extracts `.dbr` files, it does not rebuild or

repack `.arz` archives.

- Everything lives in one file: `grim_dawn_arz_extractor.py`.

# Requirements

You need Python 3 installed (get it from

(https://www.python.org/downloads/) — during setup, check

"Add python.exe to PATH"). `tkinter` is included in the standard

Windows installer, so there's nothing extra to install — no

`pip install` needed at all, the tool has zero dependencies.

## Running it

Double-click `grim_dawn_arz_extractor.py`, or run it from a command

python grim_dawn_arz_extractor.py

If double-clicking opens the file in a text editor instead of

running it, right-click the file → "Open with" → choose

`python.exe` (or `pythonw.exe`, which runs the tool without a

background console window popping up alongside the GUI — the

tidier option if you have it).

# How to use it

1. Open .arz… — pick an archive (e.g. `database.arz` from a mod

or the game itself).

2. Search path — start typing part of a file path or name (e.g.

`relic` or `charinfo`) — the list below filters live as you type.

3. Select one or more entries (`Ctrl`/`Shift`-click for multiple, or

double-click one entry to extract it immediately).

4. Output folder… — choose where to save.

5. Extract selected.

Files are saved with their original relative folder structure

preserved (`records/items/...` etc.) — handy for dropping the result

straight into a mod's file tree.

# Where the format comes from

The overall `.arz` layout (header → record table → string table,

LZ4-compressed record data) was first documented publicly back in

2014 in a ZenHAX article (author: atom0s, project `grimarz`). It

was used as a starting reference here — every field was

independently re-verified against real archives, including a full

byte-for-byte comparison of extracted output against `ArchiveTool

-database`.

Do whatever you want with this: use it, modify it, redistribute it,

fork it. No warranty of any kind — it only reads files, it never

touches your game or mod installation.