Extract text from Save or index files (IS1)
To convert IS1 Data files to another format, you need M3 Sakura or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "Emulator Save / Database Index" file type, you need software like M3 Sakura or a similar tool.
The .IS1 file extension represents either a Real-Time Save File for the M3 Sakura Nintendo DS flashcart or a Data Index File used by Synergex Synergy/DE. As an M3 Sakura save state, it captures the exact active RAM memory of a game at a specific moment in 'Slot 1'. This is a highly proprietary, hardware-dependent binary format. It presents a major disadvantage: it only works with specific M3 Sakura firmware. You cannot easily convert an .IS1 directly to a standard SAV file used by emulators like DeSmuME because it contains raw hardware memory dumps rather than structured in-game battery save data.
Alternatively, as a Synergy/DE Index, the .IS1 file stores keys and pointers to accelerate database queries. The strict limitation here is that it is completely useless without its corresponding data file (usually ISM or ISD) and requires a proprietary database driver to read.
Standard online converters routinely fail to process .IS1 files because they lack universal standards and are essentially raw binary data dumps. Because this is a closed, proprietary format, only the original hardware or software can accurately read the data. If our analysis detects supported underlying or embedded text data, partial viewing or extraction may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your IS1 file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
If you want to convert IS1 file to CSV, JSON, XML, YAML, YML, TOML, INI, CFG, CONF, DAT, DB or SQL, you can use M3 Sakura or similar software from the "Save State or DB Index" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DBF, XML, SQLITE, XLSX, SQL, TSV, ACCDB, YAML, MDB, CSV, ODS or JSON files to IS1, try M3 Sakura or another comparable tool in the "Save State or DB Index" 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 IS1 converter.