Turn DBF database tables into JSON. It is converted in your browser, so the file never leaves your device.
Drop DBF files here
or choose from your computer paste with Ctrl V
from Photos or Files
Ready · other file types work too0 bytes uploaded, ever
Drop DBF (dBase) files onto the box above, or click it to choose them. ToAny reads the file's contents to detect the type, so a wrong extension does not matter.
Press Convert. There is nothing else to set. The work happens in this tab.
Save the JSON, or download everything as one ZIP if you converted several files.
The DBF to JSON converter is part of this page and runs inside your browser. Your database tables are never sent to ToAny or to anyone else.
Nothing has to travel to a server and back, so the conversion starts the moment you press Convert, even on a slow connection.
No sign-up, no email address and no watermark. Add several files and download them together as a ZIP.
DBF limits field names to 10 characters and its text encoding differs between programs. JSON is what APIs and most programming languages read natively. DBF is at home in legacy database tables and the attribute tables of shapefiles; JSON is the usual choice for APIs and data exchanged between programs.
A DBF file is a single table. Its text is read with the code page recorded in the file, and the field names become the first row.
DBF is the table format of dBase, the first popular database for personal computers. It stores fixed-width records with typed fields, field names of at most 10 characters and a code page for text. Many dialects (FoxPro, Clipper) exist, and shapefiles still use it for their attributes.
Opens in Excel, LibreOffice, Access, GIS software and many accounting programs
DBF converterJSON represents data as nested objects and lists in plain text. It is the default language of web APIs. Unlike a spreadsheet it can be nested to any depth, which is also why turning it into rows and columns takes a decision about how to flatten it.
Opens in Any text editor, every programming language, browser developer tools
JSON converter| DBFdBASE table | JSONJSON data | |
|---|---|---|
| Stands for | dBase database file | JavaScript Object Notation |
| Type | Database table | Structured data (text) |
| Compression | None | None |
| Introduced | The early 1980s, by Ashton-Tate (dBase) | 2001, by Douglas Crockford |
| Opens in | Excel, LibreOffice, Access, GIS software and many accounting programs | Any text editor, every programming language, browser developer tools |
| Best for | Legacy database tables and the attribute tables of shapefiles | APIs and data exchanged between programs |
| File extension | .dbf | .json |
No. The DBF to JSON conversion runs inside your browser, on your own phone or computer. The file is not sent to ToAny or to anyone else.
The values are kept. Anything JSON has no way to express, such as formatting, formulas or nesting, is simplified or left out.
Yes. Add as many as you like, convert them together and download each result or all of them as one ZIP.
The steps are the same everywhere because ToAny runs in the web browser: open this page in a current version of Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox, add the DBF file, press Convert and save the JSON. There is nothing to install.
Yes. Binary data files up to 150 MB are accepted; a larger file is refused with a message. Beyond that the limit is your device's memory, since nothing is uploaded; a computer copes with large files better than a phone.