VGMTrans - Video Game Music Translator ·

VGMTrans is a cross-platform desktop app for detecting, inspecting, and converting sequenced video game music into standard formats like MIDI, SoundFont2 (SF2), and DLS.

Key features

• Scan files to find embedded music assets
• Inspect file structure with an interactive hex view
• Preview results with built-in playback
• Convert formats to MIDI / SF2 / DLS

Audio demo: https://vgmtrans.github.io/audiodemo/

<img width="900" alt="VGMTrans main window showing detected music files, analysis view, and playback controls" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/c6952d5a-924b-4004-9cb1-541b748b7609" /> <p><em>Note: data in screenshot is randomized.</em></p>

Download

Prebuilt binaries for Windows, macOS, and Linux:

• Official releases
• Latest preview build

Supported Formats

The following formats are supported with varying degrees of accuracy:

Arcade

• Capcom's sequence and instrument formats used in CPS-1 / CPS-2 / CPS-3 titles
• Konami's sequence and instrument formats used in Konami GX titles (and related hardware)
• Konami's sequence and instrument formats used in TMNT: Turtles in Time–era titles (and related hardware)

Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)

• Akihiko Mori's sequence and instrument format (.spc)
• ASCII Corporation, Shuichi Ukai's sequence and instrument format (.spc)
• Capcom's sequence and instrument format (.spc)
• Chunsoft's sequence and instrument format (.spc)
• Compile's sequence and instrument format (.spc)
• Graphic Research's sequence and instrument format (.spc)
• Heartbeat's sequence and instrument format used in Dragon Quest VI and III (.spc)
• Hudson's sequence and instrument format (.spc)
• Konami's sequence and instrument format (.spc)
• Namco's sequence and instrument format (.spc)
• Nintendo's sequence and instrument format known as N-SPC (.spc)
• Pandora Box's sequence and instrument format (.spc)
• Prism Kikaku's sequence and instrument format (.spc)
• Rare's sequence and instrument format (.spc)
• SquareSoft's sequence and instrument format (AKAO/SUZUKI/Itikiti) (.spc)

Sega Saturn

• Sega's sequence and instrument formats

PlayStation

• Heartbeat's sequence format used in Dragon Quest games (.seqq)
• Konami's sequence format known as KDT1
• Sony's sequence and instrument formats (.seq, .vab)
• SquareSoft's format known as AKAO – sequences and instruments
• SquareSoft's format used in games such as Final Fantasy Tactics (smds/dwds)
• Tamsoft's sequence and instrument formats (.tsq, .tvb)

PlayStation 2

• Sony's sequence and instrument formats (.bq, .hd, .bd)
• SquareSoft's sequence and instrument formats (.bgm, .wd)

Game Boy Advance

• Nintendo's sequence and instrument format known as MP2k

Nintendo DS

• Nintendo's sequence and instrument formats (SDAT)

Usage

Loading Files

Load files by dragging them into the application window or by choosing Scan File from the File menu. The program will scan a file for contained music files, which when found will appear under the "Detected Music Files" panel.

VGMTrans is able to unpack portable sound format files (psf) and related formats (psf2, ssf, etc). SNES formats generally must be loaded from spc or rsn files. Arcade formats are loaded via mame rom set zip files, which are catalogued in mame_roms.json.

Scanned Files

The Scanned Files panel lists all files that have been scanned by VGMTrans which yielded detected files. A scanned file can be removed by selecting it and pressing Delete or Backspace, or by selecting Remove from the File menu or right-click context menu. When removed, all detected files contained in the scanned file will also be removed.

Detected Music Files

Selecting files enables actions in the Convert menu and right-click context menu. Double-clicking a detected file will open it in an Analysis View. Detected Files can be removed by pressing Delete or Backspace, or by selecting Remove from the File menu or right-click context menu.

Collections

For some formats, when files representing musical sequences, instruments, and samples are all loaded, VGMTrans may associate these files together into a Collection. Collections are listed in the Collections panel at the bottom of the main window. Double-clicking a collection or selecting one and pressing Space Bar, choosing Play / Pause from the Preview menu, or clicking the green Play button will attempt to play back the sequence using its associated instrument data.

Conversion commands are available from the Convert menu or by right-clicking a collection.

Manual Collection Creation (advanced)

Sometimes VGMTrans cannot properly group detected files into Collections. In this event, the Create collection manually button at the bottom of the Collection panel can be used. The button opens a dialog to select a set of detected files for which to create a new Collection.

Analysis View

Double-clicking a detected file opens an interactive Analysis View. The Analysis View provides a visual breakdown of a file's structure as color-coded hexadecimal data. The accompanying File Structure panel on the right of the view provides a hierarchical list of all the elements within the file. Clicking an element, either in the Analysis View or the File Structure panel, highlights it and displays more information about the element in the status bar at the bottom of the main window. When enabled, the "Show Details" toggle button in the top right corner of the File Structure panel will display details for each element directly in the File Structure panel.

Batch Conversion

To convert files in batch, select multiple files of the same type (denoted by icon) in the Detected Music Files panel, then use the Convert menu or right-click the selection and choose a conversion action. Similarly, Collections can be converted in batch by selecting multiple.

Building

Please refer to BUILDING.md for compilation instructions.

Contributing

Pull requests are greatly appreciated. Check out our guidelines for contributing effectively.

Contributors

• Mike: The original author of the tool, worked on a lot of formats.
• loveemu: Creator of github project, worked on bugfixes/improvements.
• sykhro: Worked on the Qt port, CI whisperer, contributed improvements and general housekeeping.

View more contributors on GitHub.

Before GitHub:

• Sound Test: 774: Anonymous Japanese guy in 2ch BBS, worked on the HOSA format, analyzing the TriAcePS1 format and such.

Special Thanks

• Bregalad: Author of GBAMusRiper, great reference of MP2k interpretation.
• Nisto: Author of kdt-tool, thank you for your approval of porting to VGMTrans.
• Gnilda: for his/her dedicated research of SNES AKAO format. https://gnilda.cloudfree.jp/spc/
• @brr890 and @tssf: Contributed a lot of hints on PS1 AKAO format.

License

Licensed under the zlib License. See LICENSE.

This project bundles some third‑party components, each under its own license. You can review every license in the licenses/ folder of the source tree or, in the compiled app, via About → License.