MDB File Viewer
Open Microsoft Access .mdb and .accdb files on a Mac, without Access. See what is inside, then export the tables to CSV or SQLite.
A .mdb file arrives, and macOS has nothing to open it with
Microsoft has never shipped Access for the Mac. Double-click the file and the Finder offers you nothing useful. The usual answers are a Windows virtual machine, an Office licence you do not want, or a web converter that asks you to upload the database first.
That last one is often the part you cannot do. The file came from a client, a council, an old server, or someone who left three years ago. It is not yours to hand to a stranger’s server.
This opens it on your Mac instead.
What it does
- Opens
.mdband.accdb. The older Jet formats and the newer Access formats both work, including encrypted.accdbfiles. Enter the password and it opens. - Lists every table with its row and column counts. You see the shape of the database before you take anything out of it.
- Exports to CSV or SQLite. CSV with comma, semicolon or tab separators, UTF-8, with an optional BOM so Excel reads accents correctly. Or one SQLite file, ready to open in any SQL tool.
- Handles a whole folder. Drop in a stack of databases and each one exports into its own folder.
- Reports what happened. Exact row counts, anything skipped flagged clearly, and a summary saved beside the export as text, JSON and CSV.
Nothing leaves your Mac
- Read-only. The source database is opened and never written to. If an export goes wrong, the original is exactly as it was.
- Offline. No uploads, no account, no tracking, no analytics.
- One-time purchase. There is no subscription, and no licence server to check in with.
Requirements
| macOS | 12 Monterey or later |
|---|---|
| Hardware | Apple silicon and Intel |
| Formats in | .mdb, .accdb, .mde, .accde |
| Formats out | CSV, SQLite |
| Price | One-time purchase, no subscription |
Guides
- How to Open an MDB File on a Mac Four ways to open a Microsoft Access .mdb file on macOS, and what each one costs you in money, time and privacy.
- What Is an MDB File? An .mdb file is a Microsoft Access database. What is inside one, how it differs from .accdb, and why it will not open on a Mac.
- Microsoft Access for Mac Access has never had a Mac version. What the real alternatives are on macOS, and how to read the .mdb and .accdb files you already have.
- Open an ACCDB File on a Mac How to read a Microsoft Access .accdb database on macOS, including password-protected files, without installing Access or Windows.