Analyse a .SQLite3-WAL file

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What is a .SQLite3-WAL file?

A .sqlite3-wal file is the write-ahead log beside a .sqlite3 database, storing committed transactions before they are checkpointed into the main file.

Did you know
  • Deleting the -wal of an open database can lose the most recent changes, because they may not have been written back yet.
  • WAL mode boosts concurrency by appending changes to the .wal file instead of locking the whole database for each write.
  • If a program crashes mid-write, SQLite replays the .wal on next open to recover committed transactions intact.
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
.SQLite3-WAL 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 .SQLite3-WAL file
Drag a .SQLite3-WAL 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.