DATABASE File

What are DATABASE files and how to open them

Are you having problems opening a DATABASE file or are you simply curious about its contents? We're here to explain the properties of these files and provide you with software that can open or handle your DATABASE files.

What is a DATABASE file?

DATABASE files have multiple uses, and Serato Scratch Live Database is one of them. Read more about the other uses further down the page.

Serato Scratch Live Database

This format stores the track library metadata used by Serato Scratch Live's "Database V2" system. It is produced by Serato (formerly Serato Audio Research) as part of its music performance software. The file acts like a table of tracks, keeping information about each audio file - such as where it is located, what its filename is, what its title, artist, album, BPM (beats per minute) and playback history are. It supports the user in browsing the music collection and organizing it via "crates" or playlists, letting the software quickly find track files and collate their metadata to display in columns without re-reading each audio file all the time.

The software creates this file whenever music or video files are added to its library (including external drive sources), and also uses it whenever the collection is accessed. It is used internally by all Serato applications that share the same library, so structured and kept encrypted or binary to protect integrity. When corrupted, Serato can rebuild the database, but rebuilding will reset fields like "Date Added" to the creation date of the new file.

On disk, the file uses a Tag-Length-Value (TLV)-style binary format. Each track entry is contained in a tag (often called "otrk" for track). Sub-tags carry individual fields: "pfil" for file path, "tsng" for song title, "tart" for artist, "talb" for album, "tbpm" for BPM, "tkey" for musical key, "tlen" for duration, "tsiz" for file size, and so on. Tags have four-byte ASCII identifiers, followed by a four-byte big-endian length, then string data encoded in UTF-16 Big-Endian, or numeric data for some fields.

The file begins with a version tag (e.g. "vrsn…2.0/Serato Scratch LIVE Database") and includes the track-type tag "ttyp". Byte signatures in the header, such as the ASCII sequence starting with "vrsn…@.2...0./.S.e.r.a.t.o..." and "ttyp" at offset 80, help identify this format uniquely.

How to open DATABASE files

Important: Different programs may use files with the DATABASE file extension for different purposes, so unless you are sure which format your DATABASE file is, you may need to try a few different programs.

We have not yet verified any programs for Windows that work with this specific file format. If you know one, please use the 'Suggest a program' link below. Thanks!

Last updated: October 22, 2026

All known file formats using extension .DATABASE

While Serato Scratch Live Database is a popular type of DATABASE-file, we know of 2 different uses of the .DATABASE file extension. Different software may use files with the same extension for different types of data.

SQL Server Data Tools Database Info

We know that one DATABASE format is SQL Server Data Tools Database Info. We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

We have not yet verified any programs for Windows that work with this specific file format. If you know one, please use the 'Suggest a program' link below. Thanks!

Help us help others

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