How to Open, Edit, and Convert CSH Files

This article describes the various formats that use the CSH file extension and how to open each in their respective programs.

What Is a CSH File?

A file with the CSH file extension could be a custom shapes file that lets you store and share shapes created within Photoshop.

The Cubase audio production software use this file extension, too, but for project files that contain information about audio data. Note that the audio files themselves aren't saved within a CSH file, just information about that data.

If your file is in neither of those formats, it's most likely a plain text C shell script.

How to Open a CSH File

CSH files can be opened with Adobe's Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, as well as with the free online image editor Photopea.

If double-clicking doesn't open the file in Photoshop, go to Window > Shapes, and then using the newly visible Shapes panel that pops out on the side, access its menu at the top right to find Import Shapes. The steps should be similar in Photoshop Elements.

Steinberg Cubase is used to open CSH files that are Cubase Waveform files. These files are normally produced when a project is saved, so you might see one stored along with Cubase project files that have the .CPR file extension.

A text editor, like Notepad++ or MacVim, or one from our Best Free Text Editors list, can open C shell script. Since these are text files, any program that can view text documents should be able to open them. This means you could even rename the .CSH file as a .TXT file and open it with the built-in Notepad application in Windows.

How to Convert a CSH File

The CSH format used by Adobe's products should remain in that format. There isn't any other software that can use that format. Plus, if the file could be converted to another format, it'd likely be done within Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, but neither supports saving it to another format.

Cubase files might be able to be saved to a new format, but we haven't tested it. It's likely that if it's possible, you can do so within the Cubase program. The ability to convert files is typically an option under the File menu or some type of Export option.

As for C shell scripts, you can surely convert them to another text-based format, but doing so would render them useless in the context they're supposed to be used in. For instance, converting CSH to a plain text TXT file would let you read the file's contents in a text editor, but any software that relies on the file having the .CSH extension would no longer know how to use it.

Still Can't Open the File?

It's possible that you're misreading the extension. Some files share a similar file extension to CSH files even though they don't open in the same way, like CSI, CSO, CSR, and CSV files.

There are likely many others file types that can be easily confused for CSH files. What you should do at this point, if your file isn't in any of the formats mentioned on this page, is research the file extension it's using so that you can, hopefully, learn more about the format and, ultimately, find the program(s) that can open it.