FB2

FB2, short for FictionBook 2.0, is an open XML-based e-book format designed to store and distribute literary works with an emphasis on semantic structure and metadata. It is particularly associated with the Russian-speaking e-book community and has been used for digital libraries, fan projects, and personal archives.

It originated in the early 2000s as a lightweight alternative to proprietary formats. The specification was released publicly, enabling developers to implement readers, editors, and conversion tools.

FB2 documents are plain XML files rooted in a FictionBook element. The file contains sections for metadata (title, author, publication info, keywords) and a body that is organized as nested sections for chapters and subsections. The format supports annotations, epigraphs, poems, and embedded images or binary objects. Text is Unicode and typically encoded in UTF-8; readers render the layout using the viewer's styling, fonts, and rendering rules.

Software support includes various open-source readers and converter tools. FBReader is a common native reader, and Calibre can convert to and from FB2. The format is also supported by other programs on Windows, Linux, and mobile platforms, making it suitable for archives and cross-platform reading.

Compared with EPUB, FB2 has a smaller ecosystem and less emphasis on advanced styling, but it offers a transparent, easy-to-parse XML structure and strong metadata support. Its use persists in some libraries, personal collections, and niche communities, where simplicity and machine readability are valued.