Access to SQLite Converter

A Python utility to convert Microsoft Access databases (.accdb, .mdb) to SQLite format on MS Windows systems.

Features

• Lightweight executable (~13 MB) - Optimized build without heavy dependencies
• Converts Microsoft Access databases (.accdb, .mdb) to SQLite format
• Handles both Access 2003 (.mdb) and Access 2007+ (.accdb) formats
• Processes tables in chunks to handle large databases efficiently
• Preserves table structure and data types
• Command-line interface with multiple options
• Automatic Access ODBC driver detection with helpful error messages
• Robust error handling with partial conversion support
• Thread-safe cancellation in GUI mode
• Detailed conversion summaries showing successful and failed tables

Installation

Install the required dependencies:

pip install pyodbc

For the Python scripts (optional pandas-based legacy version):

pip install pyodbc pandas

GUI Version

A graphical user interface version is available as an executable file for easy use without Python installation:

Download

Download Executable

The GUI version provides the same functionality with a user-friendly interface for drag-and-drop conversion.

Usage

Basic Conversion

python access2sqlite.py database.accdb

This will create database.sqlite in the same directory.

Custom Output Path

python access2sqlite.py database.accdb --output converted.sqlite

Memory-Efficient Conversion for Large Databases

python access2sqlite.py database.accdb --chunk-size 500

Show Database Information

python access2sqlite.py database.accdb --info

This displays table names and record counts without converting.

Verbose Logging

python access2sqlite.py database.accdb --verbose

Command-Line Options

• --output, -o - Specify output SQLite file path (default: same as input with .sqlite extension)
• --chunk-size, -c - Number of rows to process at once (default: 1000)
• --info, -i - Show database information without converting
• --verbose, -v - Enable verbose logging

Requirements

• Python 3.6+
• pyodbc (for Access database connectivity)
• pandas (for data processing)
• sqlite3 (built into Python)

Error Handling

The converter includes comprehensive error handling for:

• Missing Access database files
• Invalid file formats
• Database connection issues
• Table conversion failures
• Missing Microsoft Access ODBC drivers (with helpful installation instructions)
• Resource cleanup on errors (connections properly closed)

Partial Conversion Support: If some tables fail to convert, the tool will:

• Continue converting remaining tables
• Keep the partial SQLite database
• Log a detailed summary showing which tables succeeded and which failed
• Report specific error messages for each failed table

Notes

• The converter requires Microsoft Access Database Engine to be installed on Windows for pyodbc to work with Access files
  • The tool will detect if the driver is missing and provide download instructions
  • Download from: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=54920
• Large databases are processed in chunks to prevent memory issues
• All tables in the Access database are converted automatically
• The converter preserves data types and table structure as much as possible
• Tables with an ID column are paginated efficiently; tables without ID columns are read in full
• SQL syntax is optimized for Microsoft Access compatibility (uses TOP instead of LIMIT)