How to Determine File Type in Linux using file command - The Tech Influences

Linux file command helps to determine the type of file and its data, the command does not take into account the file extension and instead runs a series of tests to discover the type of file data

If you do not understand then you can see the example for better understanding

Example:- 1

Provides a brief description of the command output file and data type. For example, using the file command to test a text file:

 

[root@red-hat test]# file file.txt
file.txt: ASCII text
[root@red-hat test]#

Example:-2 - Test multiple files

To test multiple files at once, append the file names to the end of the file command:

 

[root@red-hat test]# file file.txt index.html sample.png
file.txt:   ASCII text
index.html: HTML document, UTF-8 Unicode text, with CRLF line terminators
sample.png: PNG image data, 438 x 300, 8-bit/color RGBA, non-interlaced
[root@red-hat test]#

Example:-3 - Test all files in a Directory

 

[root@red-hat test]# file *
Desktop:    directory
Documents:  directory
Downloads:  directory
file.txt:   ASCII text
index.html: HTML document, UTF-8 Unicode text, with CRLF line terminators
Music:      directory
Pictures:   directory
Public:     directory
sample.png: PNG image data, 438 x 300, 8-bit/color RGBA, non-interlaced
Templates:  directory
Videos:     directory
[root@red-hat test]#

Example:-4

To test the contents of that directory, add the path to the directory containing wildcard characters: for example, to test the contents of the example directory, use:

 

[root@red-hat test]# file test/*
test/file1.txt:  empty
test/file.txt:   ASCII text
test/index.html: HTML document, UTF-8 Unicode text, with CRLF line terminators
test/sample.png: PNG image data, 438 x 300, 8-bit/color RGBA, non-interlaced
[root@red-hat test]#

Example:-5 - Test files in a Range

The file command lets you test a subset of files in a directory using regex-style ranges. Select a range by enclosing the values ​​in parentheses. For example, to test files and directories with names in the range [g-z]

 

 

[root@red-hat test]# file [g-z]*
index.html: HTML document, UTF-8 Unicode text, with CRLF line terminators
sample.png: PNG image data, 438 x 300, 8-bit/color RGBA, non-interlaced
test:       directory
[root@red-hat test]#

Example:-6 - Test files in a Multiple Range

The file command lets you test a subset of files in a directory using regex-style ranges. Select a range by enclosing the values ​​in parentheses. For example, to test files and directories with names in the range [g-z]

[root@red-hat test]# file [g-z]* [A-Z]*
index.html: HTML document, UTF-8 Unicode text, with CRLF line terminators
sample.png: PNG image data, 438 x 300, 8-bit/color RGBA, non-interlaced
test:       directory
Desktop:    directory
Documents:  directory
Downloads:  directory
Music:      directory
Pictures:   directory
Public:     directory
Templates:  directory
Videos:     directory
[root@red-hat test]#

Example:-7 - Test Special Files

[root@red-hat test]# file /dev/sr1
/dev/sr1: block special (11/1)
[root@red-hat test]#