How to open a .sas7bdat file (Windows, Mac, Linux)

Q: Why can't I open my .sas7bdat file?

Usually your computer lacks an app that understands SAS Dataset. Install one of the apps listed here, or convert the file to a more common format.

A .sas7bdat file is a SAS Data Set File. If double-clicking does nothing, your computer simply does not have an app that reads SAS Dataset yet. Here is how to fix that on each operating system, using free software wherever possible.

Open a .sas7bdat file step by step

Confirm the file really is a .sas7bdat. Drop it into the WhatFileType file identifier, which reads its signature without uploading anything.
On Windows, open it with SAS or Python (pandas.read_sas).
On Mac, use Python (pandas) or R (haven).
On Linux, try Python (pandas) or R (haven).
Still stuck? Convert the .sas7bdat to csv, which opens more widely.

Best apps to open .sas7bdat files

Windows

SAS
Python (pandas.read_sas)
R (haven)
SAS Universal Viewer

macOS

Python (pandas)
R (haven)

Linux

Python (pandas)
R (haven)

Before you open it: Safe. A .sas7bdat file is a data table; it does not execute.

Frequently asked questions

Why can't I open my .sas7bdat file?

Almost always because no installed app understands SAS Dataset. Install one of the apps above, or convert the file to a format your existing software already reads.

How do I open a .sas7bdat file without SAS?

pandas.read_sas() in Python or haven::read_sas() in R open most files free of charge. SAS also offers the no-cost SAS Universal Viewer on Windows for looking without converting.

Why is my .sas7bdat file unreadable outside SAS?

It is probably compressed (BINARY/CHAR compression) or encrypted, options the reverse-engineered readers only partly support. Export from SAS to CSV or XPT in that case.