DEVICE File

What are DEVICE files and how to open them

Are you having problems opening a DEVICE 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 DEVICE files.

What is a DEVICE file?

A .DEVICE file is an Ardour Mackie Protocol Device file.

Ardour Mackie Protocol Device files store configuration details for extending support for control surfaces that use the Mackie Control Protocol (MCP) under the Ardour digital audio workstation. They describe the physical layout and feature set of a controller - how many faders, displays, meters, extenders, jog wheel, etc. - so Ardour can correctly drive it. These files are supplied by the Ardour project and appear under the "mcp" directory of its shared resources. Users create or copy these files when making a custom device profile to match their controller and possible extender units.

When Ardour communicates with a control surface via MCP, it reads one of these files to know what the surface supports. This includes global controls (play, stop, etc.), a master fader, whether the faders sense touch, whether there's a jog wheel, a timecode display, etc. If extenders are present, the file defines how many and where they are positioned relative to the master, so that MIDI ports, label layouts, and behavior (such as where the global controls or master fader appear) are set up correctly.

These files are XML documents whose root element is MackieProtocolDevice. Internal tags reflect device capabilities. A typical file begins with "<MackieProtocolDevice>" and contains fields like Name, Extenders, MasterPosition, Strips, MasterFader, TimecodeDisplay, TwoCharacterDisplay, TouchSenseFaders, GlobalControls, JogWheel, etc., with values ("yes" or "no", or numbers) to indicate whether and how each feature is present.

How to open DEVICE files

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

While we have not verified the apps ourselves yet, our users have suggested three different DEVICE openers which you will find listed below.

Last updated: October 22, 2026

Various apps that use files with this extension

These apps are known to open certain types of DEVICE files. Remember, different programs may use DEVICE files for different purposes, so you may need to try out a few of them to be able to open your specific file.

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File.org helps thousands of users every day, and we would love to hear from you if you have additional information about DEVICE file formats, example files, or compatible programs. Please use the links below or email us at submit@file.org to discuss further.