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Read MDB Files with mdb-tools

mdb-tools is a practical command-line toolkit for old Access databases, especially when you need repeatable exports or many files.

Updated: 2026-07-07

When mdb-tools is the right choice

  • You have many MDB files to export.
  • You need a scriptable workflow on macOS or Linux.
  • The file is too large for comfortable browser viewing.
  • You want schema output for a database migration.

Install mdb-tools

  1. 1.On macOS, install Homebrew if needed.
  2. 2.Run: brew install mdbtools
  3. 3.On Debian or Ubuntu, run: sudo apt install mdbtools
  4. 4.Check the install with: mdb-tables --help

List and export tables

  1. 1.List tables: mdb-tables -1 database.mdb
  2. 2.Inspect schema: mdb-schema database.mdb
  3. 3.Export a table: mdb-export database.mdb Customers > Customers.csv
  4. 4.Repeat for every table you need.

Batch export example

A simple shell loop can export every table in a file. Keep the original table names, then import the CSV files into SQLite, PostgreSQL, Python, or a spreadsheet.

  1. 1.Run: for table in $(mdb-tables -1 database.mdb); do mdb-export database.mdb "$table" > "$table.csv"; done
  2. 2.Check the generated CSV files.
  3. 3.Compare exported row counts with the source database when possible.

Limitations

  • ACCDB support can vary by tool version and file features.
  • Password-protected files are still a problem.
  • Forms, reports, macros, and VBA are outside the scope of mdb-tools.
  • Attachment and OLE data need special handling.

Ready to inspect your file?

Open MDB Viewer

Related guides

How to Convert MDB or ACCDB to CSV

CSV is the easiest bridge from Access databases to modern spreadsheets, scripts, and SQL databases. The main thing to remember is that each Access table becomes its own CSV file.

Export Access Data to SQLite or PostgreSQL

Moving from Access to SQLite or PostgreSQL is mostly a table export and validation job. The hard part is preserving relationships, data types, and application assumptions.