Extract text from VDF files
To convert your VDF file to another format, you need Steam or other Game software.
To convert other file formats to the "Configuration Data" file type, you need software like Steam or a similar tool.
The .vdf extension typically represents a Valve Data File, a proprietary data format developed by Valve Corporation for use within the Steam platform and the Source game engine. These files, often formatted in "KeyValues" syntax, serve critical roles ranging from storing user configuration and controller bindings to defining installation scripts and skin metadata. While many .vdf files are human-readable text similar to JSON or YAML, they use a specific nesting structure that standard parsers often fail to interpret. This proprietary lock-in makes it difficult to use the data outside the Steam ecosystem or integrate it into third-party applications without specialized libraries.
For developers, modders, or data analysts looking to manipulate this data, the most practical solution is converting .vdf to standard interchange formats. Converting to JSON or XML allows for immediate parsing with standard web and application tools. For general users simply trying to view the contents of a Steam configuration or installation script, converting to TXT ensures compatibility with any text editor. Note that less common variations exist, such as Gothic game archives or Avira virus definitions; identifying the source context is key before conversion.
Convert.Guru analyzes your VDF file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted CITK2SAVE, SAV, VCF, TXT, PDF, JPG, SGD, XML, DOCX, RAR, BIN, PAK and RDF 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 VDF converter.