Name
file
Synopsis
file [options
]files
Classify the named files
according to the
type of data they contain. file
checks the magic
file (/etc/magic
) to identify some file types.
Options
-
-b
Brief mode: don’t print filenames.
-
-c
Check the format of the magic file (
files
argument is invalid with-c
). Usually used with-m
.-
-F
separator
Print
separator
between file and type, instead of a colon.-
-f
file
Read the names of files to be checked from
file
.-
-i
Print the MIME type of the file instead of a human-readable description.
-
-k
Don’t stop after the first match.
-
-L
Follow symbolic links. By default, symbolic links are not followed.
-
-m
file
Search for file types in
file
instead of/etc/magic
.-
-N
Don’t pad filenames for alignment.
-
-v
Print the version.
-
-z
Attempt checking of compressed files.
Many file types are understood. Output lists each filename, followed by a brief classification such as:
Apple QuickTime movie file (moov) ASCII text data directory gzip compressed data empty PDF document, version 1.4 Mach-O executable ppc sticky symbolic link to private/tmp
Example
List all PDF Version 1.1 files:
$ file * | grep "PDF document, version 1.1"
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