Open a PKPASS File on Windows

Drop a .pkpass file below to see the full pass, including its barcode, in your browser. The file is read on your PC and is never uploaded.

What problem this solves

Airlines, event organisers and shops often send tickets as a .pkpass attachment. This is the Apple Wallet pass format. On an iPhone you tap it and it opens. On a Windows PC, double-clicking it usually gets you a “How do you want to open this file?” prompt, because Windows has no built-in app for passes.

That is a problem if you have no iPhone, if your phone battery is dead, or if you simply want a paper copy of your boarding pass. This page opens the pass in your browser and lays it out the way it is meant to look, with the barcode shown large enough to scan. You can then save it as an image and print it. Check the barcode with your phone before you rely on it at a gate.

What you need to provide

• The .pkpass file itself. It is usually an email attachment or a download in your Downloads folder. If it is still in an email, save the attachment to your PC first.
• A modern browser on Windows, such as Edge, Chrome or Firefox.

You do not need an iPhone, an Apple account, a sign-up or any installed software, and the viewer is free. The file stays on your computer. It is unzipped and read inside the browser tab.

Steps

1. Find the file. Look in your Downloads folder or save it from the email. If Windows asks which app to use, close that prompt.
2. Open this page in your browser.
3. Drag the .pkpass file onto the upload area, or click Choose a .pkpass file and select it.
4. Check the front of the pass. You will see the pass style (boarding pass, event ticket, coupon, store card or generic), its colours, logo and strip images, and the header, primary, secondary and auxiliary fields. For a boarding pass these are typically things like flight, gate, seat and boarding time.
5. Check the back of the pass. The back-of-pass fields often hold terms, contact details or extra booking information. The relevant date and the expiration date are shown if the pass includes them.
6. To print or keep a copy, save the pass as a PNG. Open the PNG in an image viewer or your browser, and print it from there.
7. Before you rely on the printout, test the barcode. Point your phone’s camera or a barcode scanner app at the printed page and confirm that it reads.

Print the barcode large and sharp. Avoid print settings that shrink the image to a small corner of the page.

What the result is good for

• Printing a boarding pass or ticket when you have no iPhone or don’t want to depend on your phone at the gate.
• Checking the details before you travel. You can read the seat, time, gate, booking reference and the back-of-pass notes without a phone.
• Keeping a record. A saved PNG is easy to store with your travel documents or receipts.
• Showing the pass on another device. The PNG can be opened on any phone or tablet. Whether the issuer accepts a code shown that way is up to them.
• Inspecting or debugging a pass. If you build passes, the raw pass.json view shows exactly what the file contains next to how it renders.

Treat the image like the ticket itself. Anyone who has a copy of the barcode can present it.

When it works poorly

Be aware of these limits before you rely on it:

• It does not add the pass to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. You get a view and an image, not a wallet entry. That means no lock-screen reminders and no automatic updates.
• The image does not update. Some passes are updated by the issuer after you receive them, for example after a gate or time change. A PNG you saved earlier will not show those changes. Check the airline’s app, website or departure boards for current information.
• Some issuers may not accept paper or screenshots. Some airlines, venues and events may only accept their own printed document or their own app. Check the issuer’s rules. If you want a paper boarding pass, the airline’s own check-in print option is often the safer choice.
• NFC passes don’t work from an image. Some loyalty cards and passes may be meant to be tapped on a reader. A picture can’t do that.
• A pass that renders isn’t proof that it’s valid. The viewer shows what is in the file. Only the issuer’s scanner decides whether the pass is accepted, expired or cancelled.
• The look may differ slightly from Wallet. The layout follows the pass’s own style, fields and colours, but it may not match an iPhone screen pixel for pixel.
• Damaged or non-pass files can’t be shown. If the file isn’t a valid pass archive, orpass.json is missing or broken, there is nothing to render.
• Multi-pass bundles. Some issuers send several passes bundled as one .pkpasses file. The viewer opens these too and lists the passes inside so you can pick one.

How it differs from other ways to open a .pkpass on Windows

Renaming it to .zip and unzipping it. A .pkpass file is a standard ZIP archive. If you make file extensions visible in File Explorer (Windows 11: View → Show → File name extensions; Windows 10: the View tab → File name extensions), you can rename ticket.pkpass to ticket.zip and useExtract All. Inside you will typically find:

• pass.json, which holds the pass content
• manifest.json and signature
• images such as icon.png, logo.png and sometimes strip.png,thumbnail.png or background.png

This is useful for a quick look, but it has a big gap for anyone who wants to use the pass:there is no barcode image in the file. The barcode is stored only as text in pass.json, together with its format (QR, PDF417, Aztec or Code 128). Wallet apps draw it from that text when the pass opens. After unzipping you have a long string of characters, not something a gate scanner can read. Field labels and values are also scattered through JSON rather than laid out as a pass.

This viewer does the same unzipping but then draws the barcode large enough to scan (check it with your phone before you rely on it at a gate) and lays out the fields. The rawpass.json view is still there if you want to see what’s underneath.

Installing a desktop app. Some programs that open passes are installed on your PC. This viewer runs in a browser tab, so there is nothing to install or remove afterwards.

Uploading it to an online converter. Many web tools upload your file to their server. A pass often contains your name, booking reference and barcode. This viewer processes the file inside your browser and does not send it anywhere.

Sending it to a phone. If you have an iPhone, you can usually email the file to yourself and open it there to add it to Apple Wallet. On Android, see how toopen a pkpass file on Android. This viewer is for when you want to see or print the pass on the computer itself. Back to the PKPASS viewer.