What is the SRM file format?
An .srm file is a raw binary dump of the battery-backed SRAM from a Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) game cartridge. When a game supports in-cartridge saves, the SNES writes player progress to a small SRAM chip powered by a coin-cell battery. SNES emulators replicate this behaviour by writing the same raw memory contents to an .srm file on disk.
The format has no header, no metadata, and no magic bytes - it is a flat, contiguous dump of the cartridge SRAM region starting at its lowest address. File size is determined by the SRAM size declared in the SNES ROM header at offset 0x28: the most common sizes are 2 KB, 8 KB, and 32 KB. The internal layout is entirely game-specific; each title structures its own save slots, checksums, and variables within the raw memory space.
The .srm extension was standardised by early SNES emulators, chiefly Snes9x (circa 1996), and is now universal: ZSNES, bsnes, ares, and RetroArch with the Snes9x or bsnes core all use the identical raw format. Physical cartridge backup devices such as the Retrode and INLretro read and write the same raw SRAM, enabling direct transfer between original hardware and emulators without conversion.
Some games use .sav instead of .srm, but the raw-dump format is identical - only the extension differs by emulator convention. Paired .sfc or .smc ROM images share the same base filename as their .srm save file.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWSRM files are passive data files with no executable code. The only risk is downloading fake 'SRM converters' that are adware - the file itself is harmless.
Format details
in a nutshell- Spiceworks Help Desk Backup - Spiceworks IT management software uses .srm for database backup files, unrelated to gaming.
- SecureRM Secure Delete Report - SecureRM file-shredding utility stores deletion logs with .srm extension.
Programs that open SRM files
Windows3 apps
ZSNES
Open-source Loads .srm automatically with the matching ROM name. NOTE: original ZSNES last released January 2007; Super ZSNES (full rewrite, April 2026) available at zsnes.com. 
Snes9x
Open-source Place the .srm file in the same folder as the .sfc/.smc ROM with the identical base filename, then load the ROM in Snes9x - it auto-loads the save. 
RetroArch (Snes9x core)
Open-source Load the SNES ROM via RetroArch; the Snes9x or bsnes core will auto-load an SRM from the saves directory. 
macOS2 apps
OpenEmu
Open-source Import your ROM into OpenEmu; to use an existing .srm, place it in OpenEmu's Save States folder matching the game. OpenEmu manages saves internally.
RetroArch (Snes9x core)
Open-source Same as Windows - place the .srm in the saves directory and load the matching ROM. 
Linux2 apps
RetroArch (Snes9x or bsnes core)
Open-source Load the ROM in RetroArch; SRM is auto-loaded from the configured saves directory. Technical details
deep spec| Encoding | Binary (raw SRAM memory dump) |
| Byte order | Little-endian (mirrors SNES 65C816 CPU native byte order) |
| Container | None - flat raw binary with no header, no directory, and no metadata |
| Magic bytes | None - no signature; file is identified by extension and expected size |
| Compression | None - raw memory dump with no additional encoding |
| Encryption | None - save data is stored as-is from SRAM |
| Typical size | 2 KB, 8 KB, or 32 KB (power-of-two sizes determined by the cartridge SRAM chip) |
| Size source | SRAM size field at offset 0x28 in the SNES ROM header; emulators may zero-pad to the nearest power of 2 |
| Internal layout | Entirely game-specific - no universal fields or structure; each title defines its own save slots and checksums within the raw SRAM |
| Save checksums | Game-defined and stored within the SRAM data itself; no file-level integrity mechanism |
| Cross-emulator compatibility | Snes9x, ZSNES, bsnes, ares, and RetroArch (Snes9x/bsnes core) all use the identical raw format |
| Physical hardware transfer | Retrode and INLretro cartridge backup devices read/write the same raw SRAM - no conversion needed between hardware and emulator |
| Extension standardised by | Snes9x (circa 1996); universally adopted across SNES emulators since |
| Released | 1996 (Snes9x, early emulator implementations) |
| Latest version | N/A - format is a static raw dump; no versioning |
| Specification | snes.nesdev.org |
SRM conversions
Community Q&A
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