ZIM (file format)

{{Short description|Open file format that stores wiki content for offline usage}}

{{About|the open file format|the personal wiki software|Zim (software)}}

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{{More citations needed|date=September 2023}}

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File:Kiwix_for_Android_scr1.png on an Android-powered tablet shown the article from Wikipedia for Schools in offline usage]]

The ZIM file format is an open file format that stores website content for offline usage.{{Citation |title=openzim/zimit |date=2024-09-10 |url=https://github.com/openzim/zimit |access-date=2024-09-11 |publisher=openZIM}} The format is defined by the openZIM project, which also supports an open-source ZIM reader called Kiwix. The format is primarily used to store the contents of Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects, including articles, full-text search indices and auxiliary files.{{cite web |title=openZIM project wiki |url=https://openzim.org |access-date=4 April 2012}}{{Cite web |last=Truong |first=Kevin |date=2020-07-10 |title=You Can Download the Entirety of English Wikipedia to Browse Offline |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/you-can-download-the-entirely-of-english-wikipedia-to-browse-offline-using-kiwix/ |access-date=2023-07-27 |website=Vice |language=en}}

ZIM stands for "Zeno IMproved",{{cite web |title=Zeno File Format |url=https://openzim.org/Zeno_File_Format |publisher=openZIM.org |access-date=10 April 2012}}{{cite web |title=.ZIM File |url=http://filext.com/file-extension/ZIM |work=FILExt |access-date=10 April 2012}} as it replaced the earlier Zeno file format. Since 2021, the library defaults to Zstandard file compression{{cite web |title=Release 7.0.0 |website=GitHub |url=https://github.com/openzim/libzim/releases/tag/7.0.0 |access-date=9 August 2024}} and also supports LZMA2, as implemented by the XZ Utils library. The openZIM project is sponsored by Wikimedia CH and supported by the Wikimedia Foundation.