.cab File — Windows Cabinet Archive

CAB (Cabinet) is Microsoft's native archive format used primarily for software installation packages and Windows system files. CAB files use MSZIP, LZX, or Quantum compression algorithms and support spanning across multiple cabinet files for distribution on multiple disks. The format was introduced with Windows 95 and is deeply integrated into the Windows operating system — Windows setup files, driver packages, Windows updates, and Office installation media all use CAB archives. CAB files support digital signatures for integrity verification, multi-file spanning for large distributions, and certificate storage. The format is created and extracted using the makecab and expand command-line tools built into Windows. Windows component cleanup, system file checker (sfc /scannow), and DISM all work with CAB files for system maintenance and repair. Device driver packages (.inf installations) distribute their files in CAB archives. While CAB is primarily a Windows technology, 7-Zip and other cross-platform archivers can extract CAB files. The format remains relevant for Windows system administration, driver distribution, and enterprise software deployment through System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM).