Extract text from MEGA saved sessions (MDSX)
To convert MDSX saved sessions to another format, you need MEGA or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "Bioinformatics Session File" file type, you need software like MEGA or a similar tool.
A .MDSX file is a MEGA Saved Session created by Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis (MEGA), a widely used bioinformatics software suite for analyzing DNA and protein sequences. Researchers use MEGA to align genetic sequences, infer phylogenetic trees, and estimate rates of molecular evolution. The .MDSX file saves the exact state of a researcher's workspace, allowing them to pause and resume complex computational tasks without starting over.
The primary disadvantage of the .MDSX format is its highly proprietary, hybrid structure. It is a mix of human-readable sequence data and compiled binary parameters. Because it acts as a software-specific memory dump, the file is entirely useless outside of the MEGA ecosystem. Standard online file converters will fail to parse the binary chunks, and competing bioinformatics platforms like Geneious or PAUP cannot import these sessions. Researchers usually need to convert this file to share raw data with colleagues or to publish their findings in scientific journals.
To make your data accessible, you must export the contents locked inside the .MDSX file into universal biological formats. Alignments should be converted to FASTA or .NEXUS files, which strips away the workspace settings but preserves the critical DNA/protein strings. Phylogenetic trees need to be exported to Newick (NWK) format, or rendered as PDF or SVG vector images for visual publication.
Because of its closed architecture, it is difficult to convert this file format, and often only the original software can properly read or export the data. Generic converters simply crash when handling .MDSX files. We can show the raw underlying text portions or internal content. If our analysis detects a supported embedded sequence, viewing or extracting the text may still be possible, providing a pragmatic workaround when you do not have MEGA installed.
Convert.Guru analyzes your MDSX file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted MDX files.
If you want to convert MDSX file to CSV, JSON, XML, YAML, YML, TOML, INI, CFG, CONF, DAT, DB or SQL, you can use MEGA or similar software from the "Bioinformatics Workspace Session Storage" 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 MDSX, try MEGA or another comparable tool in the "Bioinformatics Workspace Session Storage" 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 MDSX converter.