Free online DBF to SQL converter

What the DBF format is

DBF, also called dBASE format, stores one table containing field definitions and records. Each field has a name, type, and width; common types include character, numeric, logical, and date fields. Long memo text is often stored in a separate .dbt or .fpt file.

dBASE, FoxPro, Visual FoxPro, Clipper, accounting systems, inventory programs, point-of-sale software, and cadastral applications use DBF tables. A DBF file beside a shapefile usually contains the geographic feature attributes rather than the geometry.

A DBF table normally contains rows and columns only. Relationships, triggers, stored procedures, permissions, and application-specific indexes are generally stored elsewhere or do not exist, so converting one DBF file cannot recreate them.

What the SQL format is

SQL is a database language, not one universal file format. A file with the .sql extension is usually a plain-text script containing statements such as CREATE TABLE, INSERT INTO, and transaction commands. A database engine executes those statements to create and populate tables.

SQL scripts are easy to inspect, edit, version, transfer, and archive. They can recreate DBF records in a relational database, where users can apply queries, indexes, constraints, and relationships. SQL dialects are not interchangeable: SQLite, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server differ in identifier quoting, date literals, Boolean values, data types, and auto-increment syntax.

How to convert a DBF file to SQL

Use the converter on 101convert.com

1. Open the DBF conversion tool on 101convert.com.
2. Upload the .dbf file and select SQL as the output format.
3. Start the conversion and download the generated .sql file.
4. Open the script in a text editor and verify the table definition, character data, row count, and SQL dialect before importing it.

This method requires no installed software and suits a non-sensitive, one-off conversion. Do not upload confidential records unless the service’s handling and retention policies meet your requirements. If the table uses memo fields, supply the associated .dbt or .fpt file when the converter supports companion files; converting only the DBF can omit the memo contents.

Convert with GDAL and SQLite

GDAL is useful for command-line workflows and DBF files from GIS systems. Install GDAL and the SQLite command-line program, then import the table into a SQLite database:

ogr2ogr -f SQLite data.sqlite data.dbf -nln records

Export the imported table as a SQLite SQL dump:

sqlite3 data.sqlite '.dump records' > data.sql

Test the result with:

sqlite3 target.sqlite < data.sql

The resulting file is a SQLite-specific dump. It may require editing before use with MySQL, PostgreSQL, or SQL Server. If the source uses a legacy code page and the installed GDAL XBase driver supports its encoding option, specify the actual encoding, for example:

ogr2ogr -oo ENCODING=CP1252 -f SQLite data.sqlite data.dbf -nln records

Replace CP1252 with the code page used by the source application; an incorrect value changes accented characters and other non-ASCII text.

Quality and compatibility checks

• Encoding: DBF files may use OEM, Windows, or regional code pages, and the stored declaration may be missing or unreliable. Check names, addresses, and accented text after conversion.
• Memo data: Long text can reside in .dbt or .fpt sidecar files. Keep the files together and confirm that memo columns contain their full text.
• Deleted records: DBF applications often mark rows as deleted before physically removing them. Readers may exclude or retain those rows; compare the converted count with the source application.
• Dates and empty values: DBF dates commonly use YYYYMMDD. Blank numeric fields, invalid dates, and deletion flags need explicit handling during import.
• Identifiers: Older DBF variants commonly limit field names to ten characters. Names containing spaces, punctuation, reserved words, or duplicates may need quoting or renaming in SQL.
• Numeric precision: DBF numeric fields specify width and decimal places. Use a suitable SQL DECIMAL definition for financial or fixed-precision values instead of automatically using floating point.
• Schema loss: A single DBF conversion does not infer relationships, primary keys, foreign keys, indexes, permissions, or application rules. Define these separately after identifying suitable key fields.
• Dialect: Check the generated CREATE TABLE, quoting, date syntax, Boolean representation, and auto-increment behavior against the destination engine. Test the script on a copy before loading the complete dataset.