Shogi Analysis Shogi Analysis

Guide

How to open KIF files on your phone

Last updated: October 21, 2026

To open a KIF file (.kif) on your phone and analyze it, tap “Add games” in Shogi Analysis and then “Choose a file”, or share the file from your files app and choose “Shogi Analysis”. You can pick up to 50 games at a time, and both Shift_JIS and UTF-8 files are read automatically.

Steps

  1. Install Shogi Analysis — Get Shogi Analysis from the App Store or Google Play. No sign-up is needed.
  2. Save the KIF file on your phone — If you received the KIF file by email or in a browser, save it to your phone (on iPhone, to the Files app).
  3. Choose the file — On the Games tab in Shogi Analysis, tap “Add games”, then “Choose a file”, and select the KIF file. You can select several files at once (up to 50 games).
  4. Choose your name — The first time, you’re asked “Which player are you?”. Choose your player name. It’s remembered, so you won’t be asked again.
  5. Review the game — The game appears in your game list. Tap it to open Analysis and see the win-rate graph, best moves and lines.

You can also share the file to the app

  1. In the Files app on iPhone (or your files app on Android), press and hold the KIF file and tap Share.
  2. Choose “Shogi Analysis” from the list of apps, and the game record is imported.

If another shogi app can send game records as files, choose “Shogi Analysis” as the destination and it is imported the same way.

What is a KIF file?

KIF is a text format for shogi game records. After details such as the player names and the time control, each move is listed with its move number, the move and the time used. Because it’s plain text, you can open it in a notes app, but to play through it on a board or analyze it you need an app that reads game records.

KIF files from Kishin Analytics and similar sources are written in Shift_JIS, while KIF files from Lishogi and others are in UTF-8. Shogi Analysis detects the encoding from the file itself, so both are read as they are.

Supported formats

  • KIF (.kif, .kifu), KI2 (.ki2, .ki2u), CSA (.csa), JKF (.jkf) and USI / SFEN (.sfen)
  • Records with only a position and no moves (a board diagram or SFEN) can be added too. If the side to move has a mate in 15 or fewer moves, the position becomes a problem (mates up to 7 moves are tsume puzzles, and 9 or more are next move problems).
  • Handicap games are added to your list but not analyzed (they show “Not analyzed”).
  • Game records can’t be read from images.

If a file won’t import

  • Try exporting the game record again from the original app, or copy the text of the record and use “Paste from clipboard”.
  • If it still won’t import, please contact us and include the file.

Related guides

To learn more about Shogi Analysis, see the home page.