About Detect File Type
Attempts to guess the MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) type of the data based on 'magic bytes'. Currently supports the following file types: 123d, 7z, B64, abcdp, accda, accdb, accde, accdu, ace, ai, aif, aifc, alz, amr, arj, arw, au, auf, avi, axf, bash, bct, bin, bitlocker, bk!, bmp, bplist, bz2, cab, cat, cer, chi, chm, chw, class, com, cr2, crl, crt, crw, crx, db, dbx, deb, der, dex, dll, dmf, dmg, dmp, doc, docx, dot, drv, dwg, dwt, dylib, edb, elf, eot, eps, epub, evt, evtx, exe, f4v, fdb, flac, flv, fon, gif, gpg, gz, hbin, hdr, heic, heif, hqx, ichat, ico, ipmeta, iso, jar, job, jpe, jpeg, jpg, jxr, keychain, kgb, lnk, luac, lzo, lzop, m4a, m4v, mda, mdb, mdbackup, mde, mdi, mdinfo, mdt, midi, mkv, mov, mp3, mp4, mpg, mpo, mrw, msg, msi, nib, o, ocx, ogg, ogm, ogv, ogx, ole2, one, opus, ost, otf, p7b, p7c, p7m, p7s, pab, pdf, pf, pfa, pgd, phar, php, php-s, php3, php4, php5, php7, phps, pht, phtml, pkr, pl, plist, pm, png, pod, pot, ppa, pps, ppt, pptx, prx, ps, psa, psb, psd, psp, pst, pwl, py, pyc, pyd, pyo, pyw, pyz, qtz, raf, rar, rb, registry, rgs, rsa, rtf, scr, sdw, sh, skr, sml, so, sqlite, strings, swf, swz, sys, t, tar, tar.z, tcp, tga, thm, tif, torrent, ttf, txt, udp, utf16le, utf32le, vbx, vhd, vmdk, vsd, vxd, wallet, wasm, wav, wcm, webbookmark, webhistory, webm, webp, wmv, woff, woff2, wp, wp5, wp6, wpd, wpp, xcf, xla, xls, xlsx, xz, zip, zlib.
Input: binary bytes (text input uses UTF-8; a file retains its original bytes). Output: text.
Format reference: Detect File Type background and specification
Example
Use “Try example” to load this public sample and its settings, then run it.
Settings used in this example
| Parameter | Example value | Input and choices |
|---|---|---|
| Images | true | On or off |
| Video | true | On or off |
| Audio | true | On or off |
| Documents | true | On or off |
| Applications | true | On or off |
| Archives | true | On or off |
| Miscellaneous | true | On or off |
Result
The example demonstrates the configured operation. Generated values, timestamps or formatting may vary between runs.
Parameters
| Parameter | Default value | Input and choices |
|---|---|---|
| Images | true | On or off |
| Video | true | On or off |
| Audio | true | On or off |
| Documents | true | On or off |
| Applications | true | On or off |
| Archives | true | On or off |
| Miscellaneous | true | On or off |
Before interpreting the result
File signatures and heuristics are clues, not definitive classification. Retain an original copy and compare exact bytes when investigating a file. A parser failure can also indicate truncated or unsupported data.
How to use this page
- Paste your input or open a local file.
- Adjust tool options if needed, then choose Run tool.
- Copy the result or download the original output bytes.
Inputs and results are not added to the public catalogue or saved in the URL. Processing happens in your browser; HTTP Request and DNS over HTTPS send the requests you explicitly run. Files up to 128 MiB can be opened; decompression and image tools may have smaller processing limits. Large results have a shortened preview. Text and HTML downloads use UTF-8; binary downloads preserve output bytes. Pasted text follows browser newline handling; open a file when exact input bytes matter.