.nip files: back up and share NVIDIA profiles

What is in a .nip file

A .nip is an XML file. Here is the 2-setting sample we use for testing, which NPI imported without a warning. LAB · CLI · F25

<ArrayOfProfile>
<Profile>
  <ProfileName>NPI Lab Sample</ProfileName>
  <Executeables>
    <string>npilab.exe</string>
  </Executeables>
  <Settings>
    <ProfileSetting>
      <SettingNameInfo>Frame Rate Limiter V3</SettingNameInfo>
      <SettingID>277041154</SettingID> 0x10835002 Frame Rate Limiter V3
      <SettingValue>141</SettingValue>
      <ValueType>Dword</ValueType>
    </ProfileSetting>
  </Settings>
</Profile>
</ArrayOfProfile>

• ProfileName is the key: on import NPI matches profiles by name, ignoring case.
• Executeables is spelled that way in the file on purpose; keep the spelling if you ever read one yourself. Each string is an exe name.
• SettingID is the setting’s ID as a decimal number. 277041154 is 0x10835002, Frame Rate Limiter V3. SettingValue is decimal too: 141 is 0x0000008D, 141 FPS. Text values are stored as text and binary ones as Base64. CODE · NPI 2994194
• ExecutableFindFiles appears in files written by NPI 3.0.1.16 or newer. It keeps NPI’s “FindFile” rule for matching one install of a game. Older readers ignore it. LAB · CLI · F24

Check any .nip before you import it

Drop a file here to see every profile, executable and setting in plain English, with risky values flagged. Nothing is uploaded.

The full tool, with a compare mode and a raw view, is NIP Studio. Treat a shared .nip as unreviewed code: no file is safe just because it came from a popular video.

Back up your profiles (export)

Click Export in NPI. The dialog “Export Profiles” offers five options. LAB · UI · F16

The full-database backup (NVIDIA text format)

The last card writes a plain-text file with every profile and value in the driver. It is useful for comparing databases. Importing it is a different matter: “Import (replace) all driver profiles” replaces the whole database. CODE · NPI 2994194

Restore or import a .nip

Three ways, from most to least control:

1. Import button. The dialog “Import Profiles” asks: “Replace imported profile(s)”, “Merge imported profile(s)”, or “Import (replace) all driver profiles”. LAB · UI · F16
2. Double-click or drag and drop. NPI imports the file; a small Replace or Merge prompt appears only when a profile in the file already exists. CODE · NPI 2994194
3. Command line. nvidiaProfileInspector.exe file.nip imports and exits, and -silentImport imports with no window at all. Both showed “Profile(s) imported successfully!” or nothing in our lab. LAB · CLI · F21 See the command line page.

After an import, re-select the profile or press Refresh before judging what changed: NPI can keep showing the previous profile name while the rows show the imported one. LAB · UI · F27

Merge or Replace?

Replace resets the target profile first, then sets exactly what the file contains. Merge keeps everything already there and overwrites only the settings, and adds only the executables, that the file lists. CODE · NPI 2994194 The lab cannot show the difference in its demo database, so the table below applies the code’s rules to our two sample files: a profile that has a 141 FPS cap and a power mode, and a file that sets only a 90 FPS cap.

Sharing a profile

Export the current profile only, so the file holds just what you changed. Name the file after the game and note your driver version. Do not send profiles you did not change. Our tested recipe files will be on the games page.

When an import fails

An unknown-ID import showed the plain success message in demo mode, so a success message alone does not prove every setting was applied. LAB · CLI · F37 Messages are listed on the errors page.

Old 2.4 files in 3.0 (and back)

A 2.4-style file with no ExecutableFindFiles element imported into NPI 3.0.2.1. LAB · CLI · F37 Going back from a 3.x file to 2.x works unless the file contains a Qword value.

All our browser tools, including NIP Studio, are on the tools hub.

Undo an import

Import your pre-import backup with Replace, or press Defaults on the affected profile. Reset NPI settings to default shows every undo level.