Scratch File Format (0.x)

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This article or section documents an outdated version of Scratch (version 0.x). For this article in Scratch 1.4, see Scratch File Format (1.4). For this article in Scratch 2.0, see Scratch File Format (2.0).

The Scratch 0.x file format is the file format used to store exported Scratch 0.x projects. Projects have the extension .scratch.

Overview

When a project file was saved, it was stored as serialized Squeak Smalltalk objects instead of readable code. .scratch files were saved using Squeak’s ImageSegment serialization mechanism, meaning it preserves a snapshot of live objects from memory and writes them directly to disk. It was discontinued upon the release of 1.0^[1] due to not having a code format, as they consist of binary serialized Squeak Smalltalk objects rather than textual source code.

How to save an .scratch file

One must hover over the save button or click the 3 lined paper button with a project open, and then click it. You will be greeted with a window saying "save project as". There is also a "new filename" textbox, as this is required. Put in the desired name for the new project.

How to load an .scratch file

1.0, 1.1, 1.2.x, 1.3.x and 1.4

Note: blocks made obsolete in the later versions of scratch during development such as beep :: sound will become Obsolete!, as they will not work.

Open the offline scratch editor
Check to see if the scratch offline editor version is before 2.0
Download a .scratch file. You can find projects that use the file format here
Open your operating system file manager app
Find the file that has the extension .scratch
Drag and drop the file onto the editor

Internal Structure

A .scratch file has the following general structure:

Serialized Morphic objects (visual interface elements)
Sprites (SpriteMorph Eg: Sprite1 and )
The Stage (StageMorph Eg: )
Scripts (ScriptMorph)
Individual blocks (BlockMorph subclasses)
Costumes (Form objects)
Sounds (SoundBuffer objects)
Variables and lists
UI layout and block positioning data

Every element in a .scratch file is stored in interconnected Smalltalk objects with references to one another preserved exactly as they existed in memory at the time they were saved.

Gallery

The save as window back in 22Dec04
The save button back in Scratch 11Oct03
The save button being hovered over back in Scratch 22Dec04

References

↑ If you drag and drop a .scratch file onto a later Squeak version of Scratch such as 1.4, it will read the file and load it. However, if it contains blocks made obsolete in later versions, they will not work.
The red blocks in the picture are obsolete blocks that failed to load when imported from a .scratch file. Another example can be found here.

[1] If you drag and drop a .scratch file onto a later Squeak version of Scratch such as 1.4, it will read the file and load it. However, if it contains blocks made obsolete in later versions, they will not work.
The red blocks in the picture are obsolete blocks that failed to load when imported from a .scratch file. Another example can be found here.

[1]

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