What is a .SQL file?
A .sql file is a plain-text set of database commands, used to back up or rebuild a database.
- Did you know
- SQL, the query language these files use, was created at IBM in the 1970s.
- SQL began at IBM as SEQUEL, short for Structured English Query Language, and was renamed for trademark reasons.
- It became an ANSI standard in 1986 and an ISO standard in 1987, then spread to every major database vendor.
- As databases
- Open SQLite databases (.sqlite/.db/.sqlite3) and read their full schema in-browser - every table with its columns and row counts, views, indexes, triggers, the CREATE-statement DDL, and a sample of the largest table. Reads the WAL-mode sidecars too: the Write-Ahead Log (-wal) - page size, salts, frame and committed-transaction counts, and the pages it changed - and the shared-memory index (-shm) - valid frame count, database size and checkpoint progress. Also parses .sql dumps (dialect, tables, columns, INSERT counts) and identifies Microsoft Access (MDB, ACCDB).
- As developer / data
- Identify and read metadata from developer and data files: JWT tokens (header + claims + expiry), WebAssembly, Java class files, NumPy/Safetensors/GGUF model files, source maps, SQL dumps, Visual Studio/.NET projects, Terraform, Protobuf, GraphQL, SARIF, Python bytecode, and Apple property lists (XML + binary). Jupyter notebooks (IPYNB) and HAR captures now open in a full viewer - see Notebooks & data above.
- Depth of analysis
- .SQL is an identification-grade format: Analyser recognises it from its bytes and decodes the header metadata it carries, rather than opening it in a full viewer. Formats that do get a full viewer are marked "Full" on the formats page.
- Open a .SQL file
- Drag a .SQL file onto the Analyser home page (or tap to pick one). It is identified entirely in your browser - nothing is uploaded, there is no account, and it works offline once installed.