How do I open a .SQLite-SHM file?

Drop a .SQLite-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 .SQLite-SHM file online for free?

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

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

Analyse a .SQLite-SHM file

Home › Formats › .SQLite-SHMID

What is a .SQLite-SHM file?

A .sqlite-shm file is the shared-memory index that lets several processes navigate a SQLite write-ahead log at the same time, mapping WAL frames to database pages. Written by SQLite alongside the -wal file.

Did you know: The -shm file holds no real data of its own - it is a rebuildable index over the -wal log, and SQLite recreates it from scratch if it is missing.
The -shm file is normally memory-mapped, letting several processes on one machine share a single view of the write-ahead log.
It stores its numbers in the host computer native byte order, because it is only ever used locally and never copied between machines.
It keeps two copies of its header and compares them, so a torn write during an update can be spotted and repaired.
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: .SQLite-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 .SQLite-SHM file: Drag a .SQLite-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 · .DB-WAL · .DB-SHM · .DB3-WAL · .DB3-SHM · .SQLite3-WAL · .SQLite3-SHM · .DCB. See all supported file types.