Extract text from Master files (MASTER)
To convert MASTER Files to another format, you need Xcode or other Developer software.
To convert other file formats to the "Configuration & Template File" file type, you need software like Xcode or a similar tool.
A .master file typically represents one of three distinct formats: an Apple PLIST configuration file (often used by Apple Notification Center, Xcode, or Apple Mail), a Git branch reference log, or an ASP.NET Master Page template. These files store system preferences, repository version history, or structural web page layouts.
Depending on the exact type, different software is required to handle these files. Apple configurations are managed by Xcode, Git files are read internally by the Git command-line engine, and ASP.NET files are designed for Microsoft Visual Studio.
The main disadvantage of .master files is their rigid dependency on their host ecosystems. ASP.NET Master Pages are practically useless without a running Microsoft IIS server environment and backend C# or VB.NET code. Meanwhile, Apple .master configuration files are frequently encoded in a proprietary binary plist format, making them appear as unreadable gibberish if you try to open them in a standard text editor.
Converting a .master file to standard text formats like TXT, XML, or HTML is often necessary to extract raw code or readable settings. Keep in mind that converting an ASP.NET Master Page to HTML strips away all server-side rendering logic, leaving only the static structural markup.
Because .master files span multiple completely unrelated systems, standard online converters fail to process them correctly. convert.guru can inspect the internal data to detect if the file is a binary plist, raw text, or XML-based web layout. Just drag and drop your file to identify the format, view its internal contents, and convert it when possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your MASTER file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted LT, BTM, DYLIB and PHD files.
If you want to convert MASTER file to PHD, HTML, HTM, CSS, JS, PHP, ASP, ASPX, JSP, JSPX, PY or RB, you can use Xcode or similar software from the "Configuration & Web Layout Templates" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert RSS, CSS, CGI, SITEMAP, PL, WEBMANIFEST, JSON, JS, XML, HTML, ICO or HTM files to MASTER, try Xcode or another comparable tool in the "Configuration & Web Layout Templates" 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 MASTER converter.