files are not human-readable, you must convert them or use a compatible environment to view their contents: Mikrotik Configuration Backups
: A high-performance rewrite of the Python tools, useful for brute-forcing passwords on large wordlists. When to "Repack" vs. "Export"
But what happens when you need to extract something from a backup file, modify its contents, or repack it into a usable archive? Unlike plain-text .rsc exports, .backup files are not designed to be human-readable or directly editable. However, with the right approach and tools, you can open, inspect, and repack these files for a variety of legitimate purposes—from password recovery to configuration auditing and recovery.
The -e AES option specifies the aes-sha256 encryption algorithm, which is the current default. The rc4 algorithm is available only for compatibility with older RouterOS versions.