The .mat extension names both Unity material assets and MATLAB data files. Since version 7.3, MAT-files can hold individual variables larger than two gigabytes, lifting the limit of the older format. MAT-files are made by MathWorks’ MATLAB and store named variables and matrices that can be reloaded into a later session. Analyser handles .MAT alongside related formats such as .UNITY, .PREFAB, .ASSET and more.

How do I open a .MAT file?

Drop a .MAT file onto Analyser at https://analyser.valjdakosta.com/ and it opens directly in your browser - no upload, no account and no software to install. Open Unity game-engine assets in the browser. Unity serialises scenes (.unity), prefabs, Animator Controllers (.controller), animation clips (.anim), materials (.mat), physics materials (.physicsMaterial2D) and other assets (.asset) as a YAML object stream, with a .meta importer record (carrying the asset GUID) beside every file. Analyser splits the object documents and reads each - a scene's GameObjects and component-type breakdown (Transform, SpriteRenderer, colliders, scripts), an animation's sample rate and curves, a controller's layers and states, a material's friction and bounciness, and a .meta's GUID and importer.

Can I open a .MAT file online for free?

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

.MAT file - what it is and how to open it online

Analyse a .MAT file

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What is a .MAT file?

The .mat extension names both Unity material assets and MATLAB data files.

MATLAB MAT-file

What it is: A MathWorks MATLAB / GNU Octave MAT-file - a binary container of variables, arrays and matrices (Level 5, or the HDF5-based v7.3). Analyser identifies it and reads the header.
How to tell it apart: A MAT-file begins with the ASCII text MATLAB.
Did you know: A modern MATLAB v7.3 .mat file is secretly an HDF5 container - the same scientific data format used across NASA Earth-science missions and countless research datasets.
The v7.3 format was introduced specifically so a single variable could exceed 2 GB, a size the older MAT-file format simply could not store.
Because a v7.3 file is really HDF5, tools such as Python's h5py can read a .mat with no MATLAB licence at all.

Unity material

What it is: A Unity engine material asset - a YAML document describing a shader and its properties. Analyser splits the object stream and reads the material.
How to tell it apart: A Unity material is text beginning with %YAML.
Did you know: With Unity's default Force Text serialisation a .mat is plain YAML, so material changes diff and merge in Git just like source code.
Unity's YAML is a custom high-performance subset of the full YAML specification, not a general YAML parser, tuned for loading game assets quickly.
A .mat points at its shader and textures by GUID, an id Unity resolves through the hidden .meta file it keeps beside every asset.

Did you know: Analyser handles .MAT alongside related formats such as .UNITY, .PREFAB, .ASSET and more.
Open a .MAT file: Drag a .MAT file onto the Analyser home page (or tap to pick one). It opens entirely in your browser - nothing is uploaded, there is no account, and it works offline once installed.
Related formats: .UNITY · .PREFAB · .ASSET · .CONTROLLER · .ANIM · .META · .physicsMaterial2D · .physicMaterial · .CUBEMAP · .SPRITEATLAS · .MIXER · .overrideController. See all supported file types.