Extract text from Metadata files (META)
To convert META Metadata to another format, you need Unity or other Developer software.
To convert other file formats to the "Metadata Configuration File" file type, you need software like Unity or a similar tool.
A .meta file is a sidecar data file used to store metadata for another file or asset. The most common use case is within the Unity game engine. Unity automatically generates a .meta file for every single asset and folder in a project directory. This file contains a unique GUID and specific import settings. Another widespread use case is game configuration files in the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine, heavily utilized by Grand Theft Auto V modders to store vehicle, weapon, and environment parameters. Other platforms like Zimbra and Telegram also generate .meta files for email metadata or temporary download tracking.
The main disadvantage of .meta files is that they lack a standardized structure. Because the extension simply stands for "metadata," the internal format depends entirely on the software that created it. It could be YAML, XML, JSON, or a proprietary binary format. This makes them incredibly frustrating to work with outside of their native environment. Furthermore, they are deeply tied to specific programs. If you manually delete or corrupt a Unity .meta file, the engine loses the link to that asset, completely breaking your project. If you incorrectly format a GTA V .meta file, the game will crash on startup.
Converting a .meta file to standard document formats like DOCX or PDF is rarely useful because the data is intended for machine reading, not human presentation. However, game modders frequently need to convert compiled binary .meta files into editable XML to tweak game stats, and developers often need to extract JSON data from Zimbra backups. Standard online converters fail here because they do not understand the specific game engine or database structures. We can inspect the file, reveal the hidden text or raw hex data, and if our analysis detects a supported underlying format like XML, JSON, or plain text, viewing or converting the contents may still be possible without needing the original game engine installed.
Convert.Guru analyzes your META file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted PREFAB, ASSET, METADATA, ANIM, EDDS, MAT, UNITY, PNG, RPF, EMF, COM, PVR and UNITYPACKAGE files.
If you want to convert META file to MP4, AVI, MOV, WMV, FLV, WEBM, MKV, M4V, 3GP, OGV, ASF or RM, you can use Unity or similar software from the "Asset Metadata Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert MTS, MOV, RMVB, DIVX, RM, H264, TS, WMV, VOB, MP4, XVID or AVI files to META, try Unity or another comparable tool in the "Asset Metadata 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 META converter.