Extract text from Linux Preseed files (SEED)
To convert SEED Preseed files to another format, you need ObsPy or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "Scientific Data & System Configuration" file type, you need software like ObsPy or a similar tool.
The .seed file extension primarily represents two distinct formats: a Linux Preseed configuration file or a Standard for the Exchange of Earthquake Data (SEED) file. Linux Preseed files are plain text documents used by the Debian Installer to automate the OS installation process by pre-answering setup prompts. SEED files, managed by the FDSN, are complex binary files containing seismogram data and instrument metadata. You can process Preseed files with text editors, while SEED data requires specialized scientific software like ObsPy or legacy rdseed tools.
Both formats present significant challenges. Preseed files use a strict, unforgiving syntax that causes unattended installations to fail silently if misconfigured. SEED files are an aging, highly complex binary format utilizing dynamic "blockettes" that no standard web browser or general-purpose data tool can read. Because SEED is effectively a closed ecosystem format for geophysicists, standard online converters fail to process it. Users typically need to extract the raw text from Preseed files into standard TXT or CONF formats, or convert waveform SEED data into CSV, SAC (Seismic Analysis Code), or modern .MSEED (miniSEED) files for broader analysis.
Because SEED data files are difficult to open or convert without dedicated Python scripts or seismic parsers, you need a pragmatic workaround. Often, only the original scientific software can properly read or export the data.
Convert.Guru analyzes your SEED file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted PDF and KEY files.
If you want to convert SEED file to KEY, EXE, MSI, APP, DMG, DEB, RPM, PKG, RUN, SH, BAT or CMD, you can use ObsPy or similar software from the "System Config & Earthquake Data" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert JAR, APP, SCR, IPA, COM, AAB, PS1, DMG, VBS, EXE, XAPK or MSI files to SEED, try ObsPy or another comparable tool in the "System Config & Earthquake Data" 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 SEED converter.