MySQL file formats

MySQL uses a number of different file formats for the storage of information. This section covers the different file formats and how to read, write and understand the contents.

MySQL .frm File Format

Regardless of the storage engine you choose, every MySQL table you create is represented, on disk, by a .frm file, which describes the table’s format (i.e. the table definition). The file bears the same name as the table, with a .frm extension. The .frm format is the same on all platforms but in the description of the .frm format that follows, the examples come from tables created under the Linux operating system.

The .frm file associated with table1 can be located in the directory that represents the database (or schema) to which the table belongs. The datadir variable contains the name of this directory:

/mysql/datadir/database_name for windows.

where datadir is the path set in my.ini file of mysql


#Path to the database root

and “database_name" is the name of the database whose table's .frm files you want.

or you can find it out with the help of this mysql statement:


Also there are .frm files for the views of the database.