We generalize the Bowen–Franks groups for topological Markov shifts to general subshifts as the Ext-groups for the associated C *-algebras. The generalized Bowen–Franks groups for subshifts are shown to be invariant under flow equivalence and, hence, invariant under topological conjugacy. They are regarded as the indices of Fredholm operators related to extensions of the associated C *-algebras so that they are described in terms of symbolic dynamical systems. In particular, the group for a sofic subshift is determined by the adjacency matrix of its left Krieger cover graph. The Bowen–Franks groups for some non sofic subshifts are calculated, proving that certain subshifts with the same topological entropy are not flow equivalent.