DAT File Formats

Reference for the DAT file formats supported by the DAT Verifier and DAT Filter.

Logiqx XML Format

The primary supported format is the Logiqx XML format used by CLRMamePro, RomVault, and other ROM management tools. Files typically have a .dat or .xml extension.

Structure

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE datafile PUBLIC "-//Logiqx//DTD ROM Management Datafile//EN"
  "http://www.logiqx.com/Dats/datafile.dtd">
<datafile>
  <header>
    <name>Example DAT</name>
    <description>Example DAT description</description>
    <version>20240101</version>
    <author>Author Name</author>
    <homepage>https://example.com</homepage>
  </header>
  <game name="Game Title (Region)">
    <description>Game Title (Region)</description>
    <rom name="game.rom" size="262144" crc="AABBCCDD" md5="..." sha1="..." />
  </game>
</datafile>

Key Elements

Element	Description
`<header>`	Metadata about the DAT file itself
`<game>`	One entry per game/ROM set
`<rom>`	Individual ROM file with checksum attributes
`<disk>`	CHD disk image entry (used in MAME DATs)

ROM Attributes

Attribute	Description
`name`	ROM file name
`size`	File size in bytes
`crc`	CRC32 checksum (8 hex digits)
`md5`	MD5 checksum (32 hex digits, optional)
`sha1`	SHA-1 checksum (40 hex digits, optional)
`status`	ROM status: `good`, `baddump`, or `nodump`

MAME XML Format

MAME’s native XML output (from mame -listxml) is also supported by the MAME tools.

Structure

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<mame build="0.264">
  <machine name="pacman" sourcefile="pacman/pacman.cpp" sampleof="pacman">
    <description>Pac-Man (Midway)</description>
    <rom name="pacman.6e" size="4096" crc="c1e6ab10" sha1="..." />
    <rom name="pacman.6f" size="4096" crc="1a6fb2d4" sha1="..." />
    <sample name="credit" />
    <disk name="disc1" sha1="..." />
  </machine>
</mame>

Machine Attributes

Attribute	Description
`name`	Machine short name (used as ZIP filename)
`cloneof`	Parent machine name (for clone sets)
`romof`	ROM parent name
`sampleof`	Parent machine for shared audio samples

ROM Element Attributes

Attribute	Description
`name`	ROM file name inside the ZIP
`size`	File size in bytes
`crc`	CRC32 checksum
`sha1`	SHA-1 checksum
`merge`	Merge target (ROM is provided by parent)
`status`	`good`, `baddump`, or `nodump`
`optional`	Whether this ROM is optional (`yes`/`no`)

No-Intro DAT Files

No-Intro provides DAT files for cartridge-based systems using the Logiqx XML format. These DATs use standardized naming conventions:

Game Title (Region) (Revision)

Examples:

Super Mario Bros. (World)
Legend of Zelda, The (USA) (Rev 1)
Sonic the Hedgehog (Europe)

TOSEC DAT Files

TOSEC DAT files also use the Logiqx XML format with a different naming convention:

Game Title (Year)(Publisher)(Region)(Language)

Both No-Intro and TOSEC DATs are supported for verification.

DAT Sources

Source	Focus	URL
No-Intro	Cartridge-based systems	https://no-intro.org/
Redump	Disc-based systems	http://redump.org/
TOSEC	Multi-platform preservation	https://www.tosecdev.org/
MAME	Arcade machines	https://www.mamedev.org/
Progretto-SNAPS	MAME extras and DATs	https://www.progettosnaps.net/