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Detect the file type of a file, stream, or data

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Quick Overview

File-type is a Node.js package that detects the file type of a Buffer, Uint8Array, or ArrayBuffer. It supports a wide range of file formats and can determine the MIME type and file extension based on the file's content, not just its name.

Pros

  • Supports a large number of file types (100+)
  • Works with various input types (Buffer, Uint8Array, ArrayBuffer)
  • Actively maintained and regularly updated
  • Lightweight and has no dependencies

Cons

  • Limited to Node.js environment (not suitable for browser use)
  • May not detect all file types accurately, especially for less common formats
  • Requires the file content to be loaded into memory, which can be problematic for very large files

Code Examples

Example 1: Basic usage with a Buffer

import {fileTypeFromBuffer} from 'file-type';

const buffer = readFileSync('path/to/file');
const fileType = await fileTypeFromBuffer(buffer);

console.log(fileType);
// Output: { ext: 'png', mime: 'image/png' }

Example 2: Using with a stream

import {fileTypeFromStream} from 'file-type';

const stream = createReadStream('path/to/file');
const fileType = await fileTypeFromStream(stream);

console.log(fileType);
// Output: { ext: 'mp4', mime: 'video/mp4' }

Example 3: Checking for a specific file type

import {fileTypeFromBuffer} from 'file-type';

const buffer = readFileSync('path/to/file');
const fileType = await fileTypeFromBuffer(buffer);

if (fileType?.ext === 'pdf') {
    console.log('This is a PDF file');
} else {
    console.log('This is not a PDF file');
}

Getting Started

To use file-type in your project, follow these steps:

  1. Install the package:

    npm install file-type

  2. Import and use in your code:

    import {fileTypeFromBuffer} from 'file-type';

const buffer = readFileSync('path/to/file');
const fileType = await fileTypeFromBuffer(buffer);

console.log(fileType);

Remember to handle cases where fileType might be undefined if the file type is not recognized.

Competitor Comparisons

h2non logo

filetype

2,086

Fast, dependency-free Go package to infer binary file types based on the magic numbers header signature

Pros of filetype

  • Written in Go, offering potential performance benefits
  • Supports a wider range of file types (>150)
  • Provides both file extension and MIME type information

Cons of filetype

  • Less frequently updated compared to file-type
  • Smaller community and fewer contributors
  • May require additional setup for non-Go projects

Code Comparison

file-type (JavaScript):

import {fileTypeFromBuffer} from 'file-type';

const buffer = readChunk('path/to/file', 0, 4100);
const type = await fileTypeFromBuffer(buffer);
console.log(type);

filetype (Go):

import "github.com/h2non/filetype"

buf, _ := ioutil.ReadFile("path/to/file")
kind, _ := filetype.Match(buf)
fmt.Printf("File type: %s. MIME: %s\n", kind.Extension, kind.MIME.Value)

Both libraries provide similar functionality for detecting file types from binary data. file-type is more suitable for JavaScript/Node.js projects, while filetype is ideal for Go-based applications. The choice between them depends on the project's programming language and specific requirements for file type detection.

lovell logo

sharp

28,864

High performance Node.js image processing, the fastest module to resize JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF and TIFF images. Uses the libvips library.

Pros of sharp

  • Comprehensive image processing capabilities (resizing, cropping, format conversion)
  • High performance due to use of libvips library
  • Supports a wide range of image formats

Cons of sharp

  • Larger package size and more dependencies
  • Steeper learning curve for basic file type detection
  • Focused on image processing, not general file type detection

Code Comparison

sharp:

const sharp = require('sharp');

sharp('input.jpg')
  .metadata()
  .then(metadata => console.log(metadata.format));

file-type:

const FileType = require('file-type');

(async () => {
  const type = await FileType.fromFile('path/to/file');
  console.log(type.mime);
})();

Summary

sharp is a powerful image processing library with extensive features, while file-type is a lightweight utility focused on detecting file types. sharp excels in image manipulation tasks but may be overkill for simple file type detection. file-type is more suitable for quick and easy file type identification across various file formats, not limited to images. Choose sharp for comprehensive image processing needs and file-type for efficient, general-purpose file type detection.

broofa logo

mime

2,161

Mime types for JavaScript

Pros of mime

  • Broader MIME type support, including non-file types (e.g., application/json)
  • Lightweight and focused solely on MIME type detection
  • Easier to extend with custom MIME types

Cons of mime

  • Less accurate for binary file type detection
  • Relies primarily on file extensions, which can be misleading
  • Doesn't provide detailed file information beyond MIME type

Code Comparison

mime:

import mime from 'mime';

const type = mime.getType('file.txt');
console.log(type); // 'text/plain'

file-type:

import {fileTypeFromFile} from 'file-type';

const type = await fileTypeFromFile('path/to/file.txt');
console.log(type); // { ext: 'txt', mime: 'text/plain' }

Summary

mime is a lightweight library focused on MIME type detection based primarily on file extensions. It offers broader MIME type support and is easier to extend but may be less accurate for binary files. file-type, on the other hand, provides more accurate file type detection by analyzing file contents, offering detailed information about various file formats. The choice between the two depends on the specific use case and the level of accuracy required for file type detection.

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README

file-type logo

Detect the file type of a file, stream, or data

The file type is detected by checking the magic number of the buffer.

This package is for detecting binary-based file formats, not text-based formats like .txt, .csv, .svg, etc.

We accept contributions for commonly used modern file formats, not historical or obscure ones. Open an issue first for discussion.

Install

npm install file-type

This package is an ESM package. Your project needs to be ESM too. Read more.

If you use it with Webpack, you need the latest Webpack version and ensure you configure it correctly for ESM.

Usage

Node.js

Determine file type from a file:

import {fileTypeFromFile} from 'file-type';

console.log(await fileTypeFromFile('Unicorn.png'));
//=> {ext: 'png', mime: 'image/png'}

Determine file type from a Uint8Array/ArrayBuffer, which may be a portion of the beginning of a file:

import {fileTypeFromBuffer} from 'file-type';
import {readChunk} from 'read-chunk';

const buffer = await readChunk('Unicorn.png', {length: 4100});

console.log(await fileTypeFromBuffer(buffer));
//=> {ext: 'png', mime: 'image/png'}

Determine file type from a stream:

import fs from 'node:fs';
import {fileTypeFromStream} from 'file-type';

const stream = fs.createReadStream('Unicorn.mp4');

console.log(await fileTypeFromStream(stream));
//=> {ext: 'mp4', mime: 'video/mp4'}

The stream method can also be used to read from a remote location:

import got from 'got';
import {fileTypeFromStream} from 'file-type';

const url = 'https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/Example.jpg';

const stream = got.stream(url);

console.log(await fileTypeFromStream(stream));
//=> {ext: 'jpg', mime: 'image/jpeg'}

Another stream example:

import stream from 'node:stream';
import fs from 'node:fs';
import crypto from 'node:crypto';
import {fileTypeStream} from 'file-type';

const read = fs.createReadStream('encrypted.enc');
const decipher = crypto.createDecipheriv(alg, key, iv);

const streamWithFileType = await fileTypeStream(stream.pipeline(read, decipher));

console.log(streamWithFileType.fileType);
//=> {ext: 'mov', mime: 'video/quicktime'}

const write = fs.createWriteStream(`decrypted.${streamWithFileType.fileType.ext}`);
streamWithFileType.pipe(write);

Browser

import {fileTypeFromStream} from 'file-type';

const url = 'https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/Example.jpg';

const response = await fetch(url);
const fileType = await fileTypeFromStream(response.body);

console.log(fileType);
//=> {ext: 'jpg', mime: 'image/jpeg'}

API

fileTypeFromBuffer(buffer)

Detect the file type of a Uint8Array, or ArrayBuffer.

The file type is detected by checking the magic number of the buffer.

If file access is available, it is recommended to use fileTypeFromFile() instead.

Returns a Promise for an object with the detected file type:

Or undefined when there is no match.

buffer

Type: Uint8Array | ArrayBuffer

A buffer representing file data. It works best if the buffer contains the entire file. It may work with a smaller portion as well.

fileTypeFromFile(filePath)

Detect the file type of a file path.

This is for Node.js only.

To read from a File, see fileTypeFromBlob().

The file type is detected by checking the magic number of the buffer.

Returns a Promise for an object with the detected file type:

Or undefined when there is no match.

filePath

Type: string

The file path to parse.

fileTypeFromStream(stream)

Detect the file type of a web ReadableStream.

If the engine is Node.js, this may also be a Node.js stream.Readable.

Direct support for Node.js streams will be dropped in the future, when Node.js streams can be converted to Web streams (see toWeb()).

The file type is detected by checking the magic number of the buffer.

Returns a Promise for an object with the detected file type:

Or undefined when there is no match.

stream

Type: Web ReadableStream or Node.js stream.Readable

A readable stream representing file data.

fileTypeFromBlob(blob)

Detect the file type of a Blob,

[!TIP]

A File object is a Blob and can be passed in here.

It will stream the underlying Blob, and required a ReadableStreamBYOBReader which require Node.js ≥ 20.

The file type is detected by checking the magic number of the blob.

Returns a Promise for an object with the detected file type:

Or undefined when there is no match.

import {fileTypeFromBlob} from 'file-type';

const blob = new Blob(['<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" ?>'], {
	type: 'text/plain',
	endings: 'native'
});

console.log(await fileTypeFromBlob(blob));
//=> {ext: 'txt', mime: 'text/plain'}

blob

Type: Blob

fileTypeFromTokenizer(tokenizer)

Detect the file type from an ITokenizer source.

This method is used internally, but can also be used for a special "tokenizer" reader.

A tokenizer propagates the internal read functions, allowing alternative transport mechanisms, to access files, to be implemented and used.

Returns a Promise for an object with the detected file type:

Or undefined when there is no match.

An example is @tokenizer/http, which requests data using HTTP-range-requests. A difference with a conventional stream and the tokenizer, is that it can ignore (seek, fast-forward) in the stream. For example, you may only need and read the first 6 bytes, and the last 128 bytes, which may be an advantage in case reading the entire file would take longer.

import {makeTokenizer} from '@tokenizer/http';
import {fileTypeFromTokenizer} from 'file-type';

const audioTrackUrl = 'https://test-audio.netlify.com/Various%20Artists%20-%202009%20-%20netBloc%20Vol%2024_%20tiuqottigeloot%20%5BMP3-V2%5D/01%20-%20Diablo%20Swing%20Orchestra%20-%20Heroines.mp3';

const httpTokenizer = await makeTokenizer(audioTrackUrl);
const fileType = await fileTypeFromTokenizer(httpTokenizer);

console.log(fileType);
//=> {ext: 'mp3', mime: 'audio/mpeg'}

Or use @tokenizer/s3 to determine the file type of a file stored on Amazon S3:

import S3 from 'aws-sdk/clients/s3';
import {makeTokenizer} from '@tokenizer/s3';
import {fileTypeFromTokenizer} from 'file-type';

// Initialize the S3 client
const s3 = new S3();

// Initialize the S3 tokenizer.
const s3Tokenizer = await makeTokenizer(s3, {
	Bucket: 'affectlab',
	Key: '1min_35sec.mp4'
});

// Figure out what kind of file it is.
const fileType = await fileTypeFromTokenizer(s3Tokenizer);
console.log(fileType);

Note that only the minimum amount of data required to determine the file type is read (okay, just a bit extra to prevent too many fragmented reads).

tokenizer

Type: ITokenizer

A file source implementing the tokenizer interface.

fileTypeStream(webStream, options?)

Returns a Promise which resolves to the original readable stream argument, but with an added fileType property, which is an object like the one returned from fileTypeFromFile().

This method can be handy to put in between a stream, but it comes with a price. Internally stream() builds up a buffer of sampleSize bytes, used as a sample, to determine the file type. The sample size impacts the file detection resolution. A smaller sample size will result in lower probability of the best file type detection.

Note: When using Node.js, a stream.Readable may be provided as well.

readableStream

Type: stream.Readable

options

Type: object

sampleSize

Type: number
Default: 4100

The sample size in bytes.

Example

import got from 'got';
import {fileTypeStream} from 'file-type';

const url = 'https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/Example.jpg';

const stream1 = got.stream(url);
const stream2 = await fileTypeStream(stream1, {sampleSize: 1024});

if (stream2.fileType?.mime === 'image/jpeg') {
	// stream2 can be used to stream the JPEG image (from the very beginning of the stream)
}

readableStream

Type: stream.Readable

The input stream.

supportedExtensions

Returns a Set<string> of supported file extensions.

supportedMimeTypes

Returns a Set<string> of supported MIME types.

Custom detectors

A custom detector is a function that allows specifying custom detection mechanisms.

An iterable of detectors can be provided via the fileTypeOptions argument for the FileTypeParser constructor. In Node.js, you should use NodeFileTypeParser, which extends FileTypeParser and provides access to Node.js specific functions.

The detectors are called before the default detections in the provided order.

Custom detectors can be used to add new FileTypeResults or to modify return behaviour of existing FileTypeResult detections.

If the detector returns undefined, there are 2 possible scenarios:

  1. The detector has not read from the tokenizer, it will be proceeded with the next available detector.
  2. The detector has read from the tokenizer (tokenizer.position has been increased). In that case no further detectors will be executed and the final conclusion is that file-type returns undefined. Note that this an exceptional scenario, as the detector takes the opportunity from any other detector to determine the file type.

Example detector array which can be extended and provided to each public method via the fileTypeOptions argument:

import {FileTypeParser} from 'file-type'; // or `NodeFileTypeParser` in Node.js

const customDetectors = [
	async tokenizer => {
		const unicornHeader = [85, 78, 73, 67, 79, 82, 78]; // 'UNICORN' as decimal string

		const buffer = new Uint8Array(7);
		await tokenizer.peekBuffer(buffer, {length: unicornHeader.length, mayBeLess: true});

		if (unicornHeader.every((value, index) => value === buffer[index])) {
			return {ext: 'unicorn', mime: 'application/unicorn'};
		}

		return undefined;
	},
];

const buffer = new Uint8Array(new TextEncoder().encode('UNICORN'));
const parser = new FileTypeParser({customDetectors}); // `NodeFileTypeParser({customDetectors})` in Node.js
const fileType = await parser.fromBuffer(buffer);
console.log(fileType);

Abort signal

Some async operations can be aborted by passing an AbortSignal to the FileTypeParser constructor.

import {FileTypeParser} from 'file-type'; // or `NodeFileTypeParser` in Node.js

const abortController = new AbortController()

const parser = new FileTypeParser({abortSignal: abortController.signal});

const promise = parser.fromStream(blob.stream());

abortController.abort(); // Abort file-type reading from the Blob stream.

Supported file types

  • 3g2 - Multimedia container format defined by the 3GPP2 for 3G CDMA2000 multimedia services
  • 3gp - Multimedia container format defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) for 3G UMTS multimedia services
  • 3mf - 3D Manufacturing Format
  • 7z - 7-Zip archive
  • Z - Unix Compressed File
  • aac - Advanced Audio Coding
  • ac3 - ATSC A/52 Audio File
  • ace - ACE archive
  • ai - Adobe Illustrator Artwork
  • aif - Audio Interchange file
  • alias - macOS Alias file
  • amr - Adaptive Multi-Rate audio codec
  • ape - Monkey's Audio
  • apng - Animated Portable Network Graphics
  • ar - Archive file
  • arj - Archive file
  • arrow - Columnar format for tables of data
  • arw - Sony Alpha Raw image file
  • asar - Archive format primarily used to enclose Electron applications
  • asf - Advanced Systems Format
  • avi - Audio Video Interleave file
  • avif - AV1 Image File Format
  • avro - Object container file developed by Apache Avro
  • blend - Blender project
  • bmp - Bitmap image file
  • bpg - Better Portable Graphics file
  • bz2 - Archive file
  • cab - Cabinet file
  • cfb - Compound File Binary Format
  • chm - Microsoft Compiled HTML Help
  • class - Java class file
  • cpio - Cpio archive
  • cr2 - Canon Raw image file (v2)
  • cr3 - Canon Raw image file (v3)
  • crx - Google Chrome extension
  • cur - Icon file
  • dcm - DICOM Image File
  • deb - Debian package
  • dmg - Apple Disk Image
  • dng - Adobe Digital Negative image file
  • docx - Microsoft Word document
  • dsf - Sony DSD Stream File (DSF)
  • dwg - Autodesk CAD file
  • elf - Unix Executable and Linkable Format
  • eot - Embedded OpenType font
  • eps - Encapsulated PostScript
  • epub - E-book file
  • exe - Executable file
  • f4a - Audio-only ISO base media file format used by Adobe Flash Player
  • f4b - Audiobook and podcast ISO base media file format used by Adobe Flash Player
  • f4p - ISO base media file format protected by Adobe Access DRM used by Adobe Flash Player
  • f4v - ISO base media file format used by Adobe Flash Player
  • fbx - Filmbox is a proprietary file format used to provide interoperability between digital content creation apps.
  • flac - Free Lossless Audio Codec
  • flif - Free Lossless Image Format
  • flv - Flash video
  • gif - Graphics Interchange Format
  • glb - GL Transmission Format
  • gz - Archive file
  • heic - High Efficiency Image File Format
  • icc - ICC Profile
  • icns - Apple Icon image
  • ico - Windows icon file
  • ics - iCalendar
  • indd - Adobe InDesign document
  • it - Audio module format: Impulse Tracker
  • j2c - JPEG 2000
  • jls - Lossless/near-lossless compression standard for continuous-tone images
  • jp2 - JPEG 2000
  • jpg - Joint Photographic Experts Group image
  • jpm - JPEG 2000
  • jpx - JPEG 2000
  • jxl - JPEG XL image format
  • jxr - Joint Photographic Experts Group extended range
  • ktx - OpenGL and OpenGL ES textures
  • lnk - Microsoft Windows file shortcut
  • lz - Archive file
  • lzh - LZH archive
  • m4a - Audio-only MPEG-4 files
  • m4b - Audiobook and podcast MPEG-4 files, which also contain metadata including chapter markers, images, and hyperlinks
  • m4p - MPEG-4 files with audio streams encrypted by FairPlay Digital Rights Management as were sold through the iTunes Store
  • m4v - Video container format developed by Apple, which is very similar to the MP4 format
  • macho - Mach-O binary format
  • mid - Musical Instrument Digital Interface file
  • mie - Dedicated meta information format which supports storage of binary as well as textual meta information
  • mj2 - Motion JPEG 2000
  • mkv - Matroska video file
  • mobi - Mobipocket
  • mov - QuickTime video file
  • mp1 - MPEG-1 Audio Layer I
  • mp2 - MPEG-1 Audio Layer II
  • mp3 - Audio file
  • mp4 - MPEG-4 Part 14 video file
  • mpc - Musepack (SV7 & SV8)
  • mpg - MPEG-1 file
  • mts - MPEG-2 Transport Stream, both raw and Blu-ray Disc Audio-Video (BDAV) versions
  • mxf - Material Exchange Format
  • nef - Nikon Electronic Format image file
  • nes - Nintendo NES ROM
  • odp - OpenDocument for presentations
  • ods - OpenDocument for spreadsheets
  • odt - OpenDocument for word processing
  • oga - Audio file
  • ogg - Audio file
  • ogm - Audio file
  • ogv - Audio file
  • ogx - Audio file
  • opus - Audio file
  • orf - Olympus Raw image file
  • otf - OpenType font
  • parquet - Apache Parquet
  • pcap - Libpcap File Format
  • pdf - Portable Document Format
  • pgp - Pretty Good Privacy
  • png - Portable Network Graphics
  • pptx - Microsoft Powerpoint document
  • ps - Postscript
  • psd - Adobe Photoshop document
  • pst - Personal Storage Table file
  • qcp - Tagged and chunked data
  • raf - Fujifilm RAW image file
  • rar - Archive file
  • rpm - Red Hat Package Manager file
  • rtf - Rich Text Format
  • rw2 - Panasonic RAW image file
  • s3m - Audio module format: ScreamTracker 3
  • shp - Geospatial vector data format
  • skp - SketchUp
  • spx - Audio file
  • sqlite - SQLite file
  • stl - Standard Tesselated Geometry File Format (ASCII only)
  • swf - Adobe Flash Player file
  • tar - Tarball archive file
  • tif - Tagged Image file
  • ttf - TrueType font
  • vcf - vCard
  • voc - Creative Voice File
  • vsdx - Microsoft Visio File
  • vtt - WebVTT File (for video captions)
  • wasm - WebAssembly intermediate compiled format
  • wav - Waveform Audio file
  • webm - Web video file
  • webp - Web Picture format
  • woff - Web Open Font Format
  • woff2 - Web Open Font Format
  • wv - WavPack
  • xcf - eXperimental Computing Facility
  • xlsx - Microsoft Excel document
  • xm - Audio module format: FastTracker 2
  • xml - eXtensible Markup Language
  • xpi - XPInstall file
  • xz - Compressed file
  • zip - Archive file
  • zst - Archive file

Pull requests are welcome for additional commonly used file types.

The following file types will not be accepted:

tokenizer

Type: ITokenizer

Usable as source of the examined file.

fileType

Type: FileTypeResult

An object having an ext (extension) and mime (mime type) property.

Detected by the standard detections or a previous custom detection. Undefined if no matching fileTypeResult could be found.

Related

Maintainers

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