Extract text from WINMD files
To convert your WINMD file to another format, you need Visual Studio or other Developer software.
To convert other file formats to the "API Definition File" file type, you need software like Visual Studio or a similar tool.
A .winmd file is a Windows Runtime Metadata file, used primarily by Microsoft to describe the structure of Windows APIs to developers. These files act as a bridge, allowing languages like C#, C++, and JavaScript to understand the classes, methods, and interfaces available in the Windows Runtime (WinRT) system. Technically, they follow the ECMA-335 standard - the same format used by NET assemblies (DLL and EXE) - but they typically contain only type definitions (metadata) without the executable code.
The main problem users face with .winmd files is their opacity. Because they are binary files, trying to open them in a text editor like Notepad results in unreadable gibberish. Developers often need to "convert" these files to verify API signatures, debug version mismatches, or generate documentation, but the data is locked inside the binary CLI structure. Furthermore, these files are often version-locked to specific Windows SDKs, causing compatibility friction during builds.
To make the content useful, the best approach is to "convert" or decompile the .winmd file into a human-readable format. For auditing code or viewing API contracts, converting to C# Source Code (.CS) via a decompiler is the standard workflow. For low-level analysis of the metadata tables, converting to Intermediate Language (.IL) is ideal. While you cannot convert a .winmd directly to a standard document format like DOCX, tools can extract the metadata structure into XML or JSON for reporting purposes. To view the file immediately, use a tool like ILSpy or JetBrains dotPeek.
Convert.Guru analyzes your WINMD file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted DLL, SLN, CONFIG and PRI files.
If you want to convert WINMD file to JS, TS, PY, JAVA, CPP, C, CS, PHP, RB, GO, RS or SWIFT, you can use Visual Studio or similar software from the "Windows API Metadata Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SH, PY, KT, PS1, SWIFT, LUA, PL, JAVA, SCALA, JS, VBS or TS files to WINMD, try Visual Studio or another comparable tool in the "Windows API 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 WINMD converter.