Overview

Quick answer

• What it is: A Rust-based Windows shell extension that renders high-quality archive thumbnails.
• Supported archives: .cbz/.cbr/.cb7, ZIP/RAR/7z
• Image formats: JPEG/PNG/GIF/BMP/TIFF/ICO + WebP + AVIF
• Windows APIs: IThumbnailProvider, IInitializeWithStream
• Best for: Comic book archives and image-heavy ZIP/RAR/7z files

CBXShell is a modern Windows shell extension that renders high-quality thumbnails for comic book archives (.cbz, .cbr, .cb7) and common ZIP/RAR/7z archives that contain images.

It is a Rust reimplementation of the original C++ CBXShell project by T800 Productions, focused on Windows 11 compatibility, modern image formats, and memory safety.

Highlights

• Native Windows thumbnail handler via IThumbnailProvider
• Stream-based archive processing with IInitializeWithStream
• WebP and AVIF decode support
• High-quality resizing with fast_image_resize
• Configurable sorting and handler management via the manager app