Click the "Select File" button above, and choose your DS_STORE file.
You’ll see a preview, if available.
Click the "Convert file to..." button to extract text information.
Convert DS_STORE to another file type
To convert your DS_STORE file to another format, you need Apple Finder or other System software.
Convert a file to DS_STORE
To convert other file formats to the "Desktop Metadata File" file type, you need software like Apple Finder or a similar tool.
About DS_STORE files
A .DS_Store (Desktop Services Store) file is a hidden, proprietary binary system file created automatically by Apple Finder on macOS. Its primary purpose is to store custom attributes for the folder it resides in, such as icon positions, background images, and window view settings (List, Icon, or Column view). While useful on a Mac, these files become a significant nuisance when transferred to Windows or Linux systems, where they appear as useless clutter. A critical disadvantage is that they are often inadvertently uploaded to web servers or included in version control systems (like Git), where they can pose a security risk by exposing internal directory structures and file metadata to attackers. Because the format is binary and undocumented by Apple, you cannot open them in a standard text editor. Users typically need to convert .DS_Store data into readable TXT, JSON, or XML formats for forensic analysis, debugging, or simply to identify and delete them to clean up project directories.
Convert.Guru analyzes your DS_STORE file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted DS, _DS_STORE, ZIP, DS_STORE 2, PDF, JPG, DS_STORE1, TEST_DS_STORE, AI, DS STORE, DSSTORE, BIN and INDD files.
FAQ
If you want to convert DS_STORE file to PDF, INI, CFG, CONF, CONFIG, JSON, XML, YAML, YML, TOML, ENV or PROPERTIES, you can use Apple Finder or similar software from the "Folder View Settings Storage" 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 DS_STORE, try Apple Finder or another comparable tool in the "Folder View Settings Storage" category.
The DS_STORE Converter Story
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 DS_STORE converter.