What is the RXDATA file format?
Files with the .rxdata extension store game data created in RPG Maker XP, a Windows application developed by Enterbrain (now Kadokawa) that allows the creation of role-playing games without the knowledge of programming languages. RPG Maker XP is a Japanese production, first released in 2004 with an English version following in 2005.
Under the hood, .rxdata files are binary objects serialized in Ruby's Marshal format (version 4.8), the serialization format used by the Ruby 1.8 runtime embedded in RPG Maker XP's RGSS scripting engine. A complete project ships roughly 15 standard .rxdata files - Actors.rxdata, Items.rxdata, Scripts.rxdata, and one MapXXX.rxdata per map, among others.
Games developed in RPG Maker XP support capabilities including:
- game graphics at resolutions up to 640×480 pixels,
- RGBA graphic files,
- the RGSS scripting system, powered by Ruby,
- the possibility of encoding files into protected game archives.
Game data is saved in .rxdata files and is not compatible with subsequent versions of RPG Maker. Later versions save data in .rvdata (RPG Maker VX) or .rvdata2 (RPG Maker VX Ace).
Games developed in RPG Maker XP also save the in-game state in .rxdata files. Specialized editors exist that allow modifications to saved game data, though these are not official tools from the developer. Current versions of RPG Maker do not provide backward compatibility with files created in RPG Maker XP.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWRXDATA files are pure data serialization - they contain no executable code directly. Scripts.rxdata contains Ruby script text (compressed), but this code only executes within the RGSS runtime when the game is launched. Merely opening or converting an RXDATA file carries no risk.
Format details
in a nutshellFULL NAMERPG Maker XP Data Fileaka RMXP Data File, Ruby Marshal Data
DEVELOPEREnterbrain, Inc. (now Kadokawa / Gotcha Gotcha Games)since 2004 (RPG Maker XP, first Japanese release; Western release 2005)
CATEGORYGame Files
MIME TYPEapplication/octet-stream
TYPEBinary serialized Ruby objects (Ruby Marshal format)
MAGIC BYTES · FILE SIGNATURE
OFFSET
0001
HEX
0408
ASCII
··
First two bytes are the Ruby Marshal version: 0x04 0x08 = version 4.8 (Ruby 1.8). All RXDATA files share this signature. A leading 0x78 0x9C indicates the data is additionally zlib-deflated (used for Scripts.rxdata script bodies).
Programs that open RXDATA files
Windows3 apps
RPG Maker XP
Paid Open the project folder containing RXDATA files. Use the Database editor (F9) to edit game data; the Script Editor (F11) for scripts.
rxdata-converter (CLI)
Free Command-line tool to convert RXDATA → JSON/XML/TXT for inspection or migration. Run: rxdata-converter input.rxdata output.json
rxdataeditor
Open-source Community GUI editor for RXDATA files; allows editing without RPG Maker XP. Technical details
deep spec| Serialization format | Ruby Marshal version 4.8 (tied to Ruby 1.8.x used by the RGSS runtime) |
| Magic bytes | 0x04 0x08 at offset 0 (Ruby Marshal version header) |
| Encoding | Binary |
| Byte order | Big-endian |
| Container | Ruby Marshal serialized object tree - arrays, hashes, symbols, strings, integers, custom class instances |
| Compression | None at file level; Scripts.rxdata stores each script body as an individually zlib DEFLATE-compressed string |
| Scripting runtime | RGSS (Ruby Game Scripting System) using Ruby 1.8.6 |
| Standard project files | ~15 fixed-name data files per project (Actors, Items, Skills, Weapons, Maps, Scripts, System, etc.) |
| Typical size | 1 KB - 5 MB per file; Scripts.rxdata may reach tens of MB |
| Associated OS | Windows |
| Compatibility | Incompatible with RPG Maker VX (RVDATA), VX Ace (RVDATA2), MV, and MZ |
| Superseded by | .rvdata (RPG Maker VX, 2007), then .rvdata2 (RPG Maker VX Ace, 2011) |
| Released | 2004 (RPG Maker XP, first Japanese release; Western release 2005) |
| Latest version | Ruby Marshal version 4.8 (Ruby 1.8.x era); format has not changed |
| Specification | ruby-doc.org |
RXDATA conversions
Possible
.RXDATA .JSONGUIDE
Yes, you can convert RXDATA to JSON; the fastest way is the free rxdata-converter tool (rxdata-converter…
How to convert
.RXDATA .RVDATA2GUIDE
Yes, but only as a manual migration. Export the .rxdata with rxdata-converter, then re-enter the data in a…
How to convert
.RXDATA .XMLGUIDE
Yes, you can convert RXDATA to XML, and the fastest way is rxdata-converter, which unmarshals the Ruby data…
How to convert
Community Q&A
asked by users
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Frequently asked questions
How do I open an RXDATA file?
RPG Maker XP is the native editor. To view raw data without it, use rxdata-converter to export to JSON/XML, or load in Ruby: Marshal.load(File.binread('file.rxdata')).
Can I edit RXDATA files without RPG Maker XP?
Yes - rxdataeditor (open-source, GitHub) provides a GUI; rxdata-converter exports to editable formats. Editing Script.rxdata scripts requires decompressing each script body with Zlib::Inflate first.
What version of RPG Maker uses RXDATA?
Only RPG Maker XP (2004). Its successors RPG Maker VX (2007) uses RVDATA and RPG Maker VX Ace (2011) uses RVDATA2.
How do I extract scripts from Scripts.rxdata?
Load with Marshal.load (Ruby), iterate the array, and call Zlib::Inflate.inflate(script[2]) on each entry. The rxdata-converter tool does this automatically.
RXDATA file is corrupted - how do I recover it?
Ruby Marshal provides no error correction. Restore from a backup (RPG Maker XP auto-creates backups as *.rxdata_). If the file header (04 08) is intact, a Ruby Marshal parser may recover partial data.
References
1Ruby Marshal documentationruby-doc.org
2RPG Maker XP product page (Gotcha Gotcha Games)www.rpgmakerweb.com
