File is a content-based file classification software that identifies and describes files based on their contents. It detects files with matching content and provides a description of the file to the user.
The original file command was only available in binary form until Ian Darwin created his reimplementation of the command. This implementation, including the magic file, was originally written by Ian Darwin and is currently maintained by a team of developers led by Christos Zoulas. File is widely used across different BSD distributions such as FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Darwin/Mac OS X, among others. It is also used in numerous Linux distributions.
The Apache httpd server mod_mime_magic module relies on the file command's innards to improve file type guessing reliability under Apache HTTPD. All these features make File a useful tool for users looking to identify the content of their files on a variety of platforms.
Version 5.03: N/A