Atlas Audio: NI Content Registration Extractor

The NI Content Registration extractor reads library identity metadata from Native Instruments .nicnt files. Each file represents a single installed library and contains the definitive product name, version, and unique identifier. It’s part of the Atlas Audio extractor pack.

Extension: .nicnt

Format Overview

NICNT files are the content registration manifests used by Native Instruments’ product ecosystem. Each tracked directory typically contains exactly one .nicnt file at the library root. The file has a binary header followed by embedded XML containing the ProductHints specification.

Binary Structure

Offset  Content
0x00    "/\ NI FC MTD  /\" magic (16 bytes)
0x40    Version string (UTF-16LE, e.g., "1.0.0" or "2.0.0")
0x100   XML payload begins ("<?xml version...")

The XML payload follows the NI ProductHints specification (currently spec="1.0.16").

XML Structure

<ProductHints spec="1.0.16">
  <Product version="1">
    <UPID>e60c4bff-e0bc-4cd8-840e-853fb02725c0</UPID>
    <Name>Hypha</Name>
    <Type>Content</Type>
    <NKSEnabled>true</NKSEnabled>
    <RelevantApps>...</RelevantApps>
  </Product>
</ProductHints>

What It Extracts

The extractor produces traits only (no edges). NICNT files are library identity documents — they don’t reference external files, but they define what a library is.

Trait	Source	Example
`library_name`	`<Name>` element	`Hypha`
`library_upid`	`<UPID>` element	`e60c4bff-e0bc-4cd8-840e-853fb02725c0`
`library_version`	`<Product version="">` attribute	`1`
`library_type`	`<Type>` element	`Content`
`library_nks_enabled`	`<NKSEnabled>` element	`true`

UPID

The UPID (Universal Product Identifier) is a UUID assigned by Native Instruments to each library. This is the same identifier used by komplete.db3 for product resolution. By extracting it from the .nicnt file, Atlas can associate libraries with their product ID without requiring a Native Instruments installation.

Library Name

The <Name> field is the canonical, human-readable library name (e.g., “Hypha”, “Rocksichord”, “Arkhis”). This is the authoritative name — it matches what appears in Native Access and Kontakt’s library browser.

Performance Notes

The file count is small (typically one per library, ~248 across a large collection). The XML payload starts at a fixed offset (~0x100) and is standard UTF-8 XML. Parsing cost is negligible.

Example Usage

# Scan a library directory
atlas scan ~/Libraries/NI/Hypha/

# View library identity
atlas info ~/Libraries/NI/Hypha/Hypha.nicnt

Use Cases

Library inventory — Enumerate all installed NI-compatible libraries with their canonical names
Product ID resolution — Map UPIDs to library names without requiring komplete.db3
Library completeness — Verify that each library directory has its registration file present
Migration tracking — When libraries move between drives, the NICNT file confirms identity regardless of path