MBD File Format

The MBD (Moebius Beyond Document) format is the internal file format for the Moebius Beyond Ultimate ASCII art editor.

File Extension

.mbd

Format

Gzip-compressed JSON structure, UTF-8 encoded.

Structure

Version 1

The file contains a gzip-compressed JSON structure with the following format:

{
    "format": "moebius-beyond-document",
    "version": "1",
    "metadata": {
        "created": "2025-01-01T12:00:00.000Z",
        "modified": "2025-01-01T12:00:00.000Z",
        "application": "MoebiusBeyond",
        "applicationVersion": "3.3.0"
    },
    "document": {
        "columns": 80,
        "rows": 25,
        "title": "",
        "author": "",
        "group": "",
        "date": "",
        "comments": "",
        "filesize": 0,
        "palette": [
            { "r": 0, "g": 0, "b": 0 },
            { "r": 0, "g": 0, "b": 170 },
            { "r": 0, "g": 170, "b": 0 },
            { "r": 0, "g": 170, "b": 170 },
            { "r": 170, "g": 0, "b": 0 },
            { "r": 170, "g": 0, "b": 170 },
            { "r": 170, "g": 85, "b": 0 },
            { "r": 170, "g": 170, "b": 170 },
            { "r": 85, "g": 85, "b": 85 },
            { "r": 85, "g": 85, "b": 255 },
            { "r": 85, "g": 255, "b": 85 },
            { "r": 85, "g": 255, "b": 255 },
            { "r": 255, "g": 85, "b": 85 },
            { "r": 255, "g": 85, "b": 255 },
            { "r": 255, "g": 255, "b": 85 },
            { "r": 255, "g": 255, "b": 255 }
        ],
        "font_name": "IBM VGA",
        "font_bytes": null,
        "font_height": 16,
        "use_9px_font": false,
        "ice_colors": true,
        "data": [
            { "code": 32, "fg": 7, "bg": 0 },
            { "code": 65, "fg": 15, "bg": 1 }
        ]
    }
}

Field Descriptions

Root Level

• format: Always "moebius-beyond-document"
• version: Format version string
• metadata: File creation and modification info
• document: All document data

Metadata Fields

• created: ISO 8601 timestamp when file was first created
• modified: ISO 8601 timestamp when file was last modified
• application: Application name that created the file
• applicationVersion: Version of the application that created the file

Document Fields

• columns, rows: Canvas dimensions (integers)
• title, author, group, date, comments: SAUCE metadata (strings)
• filesize: Original file size in bytes (integer, for SAUCE compatibility)
• palette: Array of RGB color objects with r, g, b properties (0-255)
• font_name: Font identifier string
• font_bytes: Binary font data (base64 encoded string) or null for built-in fonts
• font_height: Font height in pixels (integer, e.g., 8, 14, 16)
• use_9px_font: Boolean flag for 9-pixel font height
• ice_colors: Boolean flag for ice color support
• data: Array of character objects, each with:
  • code: Character code (integer 0-255)
  • fg: Foreground color index (integer 0-15 or higher for extended palettes)
  • bg: Background color index (integer 0-15 or higher for extended palettes)

Future Versions

Future versions will add new fields while maintaining backward compatibility. The version field allows parsers to handle different format versions appropriately.