How do I open a .DB-SHM file?

Drop a .DB-SHM file onto Analyser at https://analyser.valjdakosta.com/ and it is identified directly in your browser - no upload, no account and no software to install. 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. (.sql dumps are listed under Developer / data.) Microsoft Access (MDB, ACCDB) now opens in a full table viewer - see Access database above. Concordance .dcb databases from the LexisNexis litigation review suite are identified from their bytes, and told apart from the other formats that reuse the same extension (compiled game data, speech-recognition dictionaries).

Can I open a .DB-SHM file online for free?

Yes. Analyser is a free online .DB-SHM identifier that runs entirely in your browser - your .DB-SHM file never leaves your device, so there is nothing to upload and no software to install. It even works offline once installed.

.DB-SHM file - what it is and how to identify it online

Analyse a .DB-SHM file

Home › Formats › .DB-SHMID

What is a .DB-SHM file?

A .db-shm file is the shared-memory WAL index for a SQLite database stored as .db, coordinating concurrent access to its write-ahead log. Same format as .sqlite-shm.

Did you know: Both WAL sidecars (-wal and -shm) exist only while a database uses WAL journalling mode, and disappear on a clean shutdown.
The -shm file tracks which logged pages each reader should see, so several programs can read a busy .db at once without locking each other out.
It holds no database rows - only bookkeeping about the -wal log - so it never needs to be backed up.
If the matching -wal is gone the -shm is meaningless, and SQLite simply discards it.
What Analyser reads: 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. (.sql dumps are listed under Developer / data.) Microsoft Access (MDB, ACCDB) now opens in a full table viewer - see Access database above. Concordance .dcb databases from the LexisNexis litigation review suite are identified from their bytes, and told apart from the other formats that reuse the same extension (compiled game data, speech-recognition dictionaries).
Depth of analysis: .DB-SHM 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 .DB-SHM file: Drag a .DB-SHM 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.
Related formats: .SQLite · .SQLite3 · .DB · .DB3 · .SQLite-WAL · .SQLite-SHM · .DB-WAL · .DB3-WAL · .DB3-SHM · .SQLite3-WAL · .SQLite3-SHM · .DCB. See all supported file types.