Recently one of my friends downloaded an app and found out that it contained a file with a .db extension. She did not know how to open the file and asked my help. Since I have dealt with .db files previously, I was able to quickly point out to her how to open a .db file.
The .db file could also be a Windows thumbnail cache file which stores thumbnail images for Windows Explorer’s thumbnail view. The Windows thumbnail cache file will always have a name called thumbs.db.
Additionally, .db files are database files created in the popular lightweight database SQLite. The .db files can be created by several applications including Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera and other apps to store information. To open files with .db extensions which are not named thumbs.db, you will need to download the SQLite Database Browser.
- img source: ecsoft2.org
The SQLite Database Browser can be downloaded from http://sqlitebrowser.org/. Once you download and extract the software, double-click on the executable name SQLite Database Browser. After that follow the steps given below.
Step 1: Click on File -> Open and select the .db file you want to open.
Step 2: If the file is a proper SQLite Database, you will be able to view the database tables and structure in the SQLite Database Browser as shown above.
- img source: kieferconsulting.com
Sometimes when you open a .db file, you might see an error saying that the file is not an SQLite Database. In those cases, you can try and open the file in a text editor to view it’s contents. If you are running windows, you can also try to open the file with Microsoft Access. Remember that thumbs.db is not a database file and cannot be opened using the above software.
In the future, you can use a software called OpenWith to Identify and open unknown file extensions.
In the past, we have also covered several ways to open other unknown extensions like how to open RM file, how to open RMVB files, how open ISO files, how to open Torrent files, how to open VOB files, how open AMR files, how to open RAR files, how to open NFO files, how to open PLS files, how to open data files, how to open DAT files, how to open WBMP files and many more how to open file tutorials.