How to open a .rds file
Quick, free ways to open RDS on any system.
A .rds file is a R Serialized Data File. If double-clicking does nothing, your computer simply does not have an app that reads RDS yet. Here is how to fix that on each operating system, using free software wherever possible.
Open a .rds file step by step
- Confirm the file really is a .rds. Drop it into the WhatFileType file identifier, which reads its signature without uploading anything.
- On Windows, open it with R / RStudio or Python (pyreadr).
- On Mac, use R / RStudio or Python (pyreadr).
- On Linux, try R / RStudio or Python (pyreadr).
- Still stuck? Convert the .rds to csv, which opens more widely.
Best apps to open .rds files
Windows
- R / RStudio
- Python (pyreadr)
macOS
- R / RStudio
- Python (pyreadr)
Linux
- R / RStudio
- Python (pyreadr)
!
Before you open it: Mostly safe: it is serialized data. Loading an .RData file can however replace objects in your R session, and maliciously crafted serialized objects are a known risk in any language, so load files only from sources you trust.
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I open my .rds file?
Almost always because no installed app understands RDS. Install one of the apps above, or convert the file to a format your existing software already reads.
How do I open an .rds file?
In R: x <- readRDS("file.rds"). In Python, the pyreadr package reads both .rds and .RData without an R installation.
What is the difference between .rds and .RData?
.rds (saveRDS) stores one object without its name, so you assign it on load. .RData/.rda (save) stores several named objects that load straight into your environment.