How does Linux detect mime type?

Question

I have a PDF file with extension .pdf. If I remove .pdf - the file is still recognized as PDF file ($ file sample - output sample: PDF document, version 1.4.)

What is the mechanism of filetype detection in Linux? Windows uses file suffix. I know that there are mime types. Does all popular file formats contain their mimetype in HEX code?

You mean "How does `file` ...?" not "How does Linux ...?" – user253751 Sep 13 '15 at 02:38 — user253751, Sep 13 '15 at 02:38

score 5 · Accepted Answer · edited Sep 13 '15 at 00:19

5

The detection is done through libmagic which looks for specific byte sequences with magic numbers.

edited Sep 13 '15 at 00:19

don_crissti

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answered Sep 13 '15 at 00:08

Jesusaur

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How does Linux detect mime type?

1 Answers1