File Format Definition

Question

In linux, we have a utility called “file” that helps us determine the identity of the file. Is there any python module that can do the same job?

I do not prefer to use subprocess.Popen(['file', 'blah.blah']) because it is platform dependent. For example, windows do not have a “file” (although it can be downloaded).

Answer 1

Ignacio mentioned the Magic library, but you can also do this with the standard library if you are sure that the file name is enough to find out the file type (by extension):

 >>> import mimetypes >>> mimetypes.guess_type('__init__.py') ('text/x-python', None) 

See the Mimetypes module in the standard library. This, however, is not a substitute for actually controlling the contents of a file and determining its type.

Answer 2

magic

Do not forget the DLL .

Answer 3

There are standard imghdr and sndhdr for image and sound files, respectively.