Extract text from ControllerMate files (CMATE)
To convert CMATE files to another format, you need Apple Messages or other Settings software.
To convert other file formats to the "Binary Property List" file type, you need software like Apple Messages or a similar tool.
A .cmate file typically functions as an internal cache file for the Apple Messages app on macOS and iOS devices. Under the hood, these files are formatted as Apple binary property lists (bplist), allowing the system to rapidly store and retrieve metadata, recent contacts, and message states. A tiny fraction of .cmate files are also associated with ControllerMate, a legacy macOS application by OrderedBytes used to map complex keyboard and mouse macros to gaming controllers.
Because the vast majority of .cmate files are saved in Apple's proprietary binary format, they are notoriously difficult to open manually. If you attempt to open one in a standard text editor, you will see a garbled, unreadable wall of text. They are meant to be handled invisibly by the operating system, meaning everyday software and standard online document converters will completely fail to process them.
Users generally need to convert a .cmate file when they are trying to recover lost chat data, perform forensic analysis on iOS/macOS backups, or debug application behaviors. The most practical conversion targets are human-readable text formats like TXT, JSON, or XML-based PLIST. Since our analysis engine can detect the embedded Apple binary property list signature, we can often decode the data and reveal the hidden text content that standard tools ignore.
Convert.Guru analyzes your CMATE file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
If you want to convert CMATE file to INI, CFG, CONF, CONFIG, JSON, XML, YAML, YML, TOML, ENV, PROPERTIES or RC, you can use Apple Messages or similar software from the "Application Cache & Settings" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert ZSHRC, CONF, RCFILE, GITCONFIG, RC, PLIST, BASHRC, CONFIG, PROFILE, INI, PREFS or CFG files to CMATE, try Apple Messages or another comparable tool in the "Application Cache & Settings" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our CMATE converter.