What is the PSX file format?
A .psx file is a binary image of a Sony PlayStation 1 (PS1) memory card or individual save game block. The PlayStation memory card is a 128 KB storage device divided into 15 addressable game-save blocks of 8 KB each, with block 0 reserved as a directory. A .psx file may represent the full 128 KB card image (exactly 131,072 bytes) or a single-game save slot exported by a memory card manager utility.
Two variants are common: a full memory card image starting with the ASCII string MC at offset 0, and a single-save export whose header format varies by the tool that created it. The directory block contains an 8-byte XOR checksum per entry as specified in Sony's original hardware documentation. Some game titles apply an additional XOR obfuscation layer over their save blocks, though this is game-specific and not part of the container format itself.
The .psx format is specific to the original PlayStation hardware and is not compatible with PS2 or PS3 save formats. On modern systems, .psx files are used primarily with PS1 emulators such as DuckStation, ePSXe, or RetroArch running the Beetle PSX core. Memory card editors such as MemcardRex can read, write, and convert .psx files to other emulator formats such as .MCR.
Hardware enthusiasts can also use memory card adapters to write .psx images back to original PlayStation memory cards.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWBinary game save data; no executable content. Safe to handle. Download only from trusted emulator-related sources.
Format details
in a nutshell- Dirty Little Helper Chat File - Defunct cheat-database utility (DOS-era) that used .psx for its cheat/chat data files; rarely encountered today.
Programs that open PSX files
Windows3 apps
DuckStation
Open-source Load PSX memory card via Settings > Memory Cards; supports .psx/.mcr/.srm formats. 
macOS1 app
Linux2 apps
RetroArch (Beetle PSX core)
Open-source Load PS1 content with Beetle PSX core; configure memory card save path. Technical details
deep spec| Format type | Binary PS1 memory card image or single-save block |
| Encoding | Binary |
| Byte order | Little-endian |
| Obfuscation | XOR obfuscation on some game-specific save blocks (not part of the container format) |
| Full card image size | Exactly 131,072 bytes (128 KB) |
| Save slot capacity | 15 addressable blocks of 8 KB each; block 0 is the directory |
| Integrity checking | 8-byte XOR checksum per directory entry (Sony hardware specification) |
| Platform compatibility | PlayStation 1 only; incompatible with PS2 and PS3 save formats |
| Variants | Full 128 KB memory card image (starts with 'MC' at offset 0); single-save block export (header varies by tool) |
| Magic bytes (full image) | ASCII 'MC' at offset 0 |
| Hardware generation | PlayStation 1 (launched December 1994) |
| Released | 1994 (PlayStation launch) |
PSX conversions
Community Q&A
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