Extract text from MSS files
To convert your MSS file to another format, you need Mindustry or other Game software.
To convert other file formats to the "Game Data File" file type, you need software like Mindustry or a similar tool.
The .mss extension is a classic example of a "filename collision," shared by completely unrelated software ecosystems. Most commonly (55%), it is a Mindustry Game Save generated by Mindustry, an open-source sandbox tower-defense game. These files store your campaign progress, unit positions, and factory layouts in a compressed, binary format. The primary friction here is that because they are binary blobs, you cannot simply open them in a text editor to tweak your resources or map stats; doing so will likely corrupt the save. Users typically look to "convert" these merely to manage backups (wrapping them in ZIP) or to extract map data, which requires specialized save editors rather than standard file converters.
However, in professional environments, an .mss file is often a Materials Testing Method file used by MTS TestWorks. These files contain critical engineering data - like tensile or compression test results - often structured within a Microsoft Compound File container. The major disadvantage here is proprietary lock-in; engineers frequently need this raw data in Microsoft Excel (XLSX) or CSV format for analysis, but the source file requires the expensive TestWorks suite to view properly. Other variations include MuseScore Style Files (XML-based settings for music notation) and legacy CartoCSS stylesheets used by Mapbox.
For the game saves, conversion is rarely the goal - preservation is. For the MTS and MuseScore variants, the goal is interoperability.
Convert.Guru analyzes your MSS file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted MPP, MSCX, MSCZ, QZTP, CY and ASO files.
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 MSS converter.