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mimetype

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A Go package for media type and file extension detection, based on magic numbers

// repository documentation

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<h1 align="center">
  mimetype
</h1>

<h4 align="center">
  A package for detecting MIME types and extensions based on magic numbers
</h4>
<h6 align="center">
  Goroutine safe, extensible, no C bindings
</h6>

## Features
- fast and precise MIME type and file extension detection
- long list of [supported MIME types](supported_mimes.md)
- possibility to [extend](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/gabriel-vasile/mimetype#example-package-Extend) with other file formats
- common file formats are prioritized
- [text vs. binary files differentiation](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/gabriel-vasile/mimetype#example-package-TextVsBinary)
- no external dependencies
- safe for concurrent usage

## Install
```bash
go get github.com/gabriel-vasile/mimetype
```

## Usage
```go
mtype := mimetype.Detect([]byte)
// OR
mtype, err := mimetype.DetectReader(io.Reader)
// OR
mtype, err := mimetype.DetectFile("/path/to/file")
fmt.Println(mtype.String(), mtype.Extension())
```
See the [runnable Go Playground examples](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/gabriel-vasile/mimetype#pkg-overview).

Caution: only use libraries like **mimetype** as a last resort. Content type detection
using magic numbers is slow, inaccurate, and non-standard. Most of the times
protocols have methods for specifying such metadata; e.g., `Content-Type` header
in HTTP and SMTP.

## FAQ
Q: My file is in the list of [supported MIME types](supported_mimes.md) but
it is not correctly detected. What should I do?

A: Some file formats (often Microsoft Office documents) keep their signatures
towards the end of the file. Try increasing the number of bytes used for detection
with:
```go
mimetype.SetLimit(1024*1024) // Set limit to 1MB.
// or
mimetype.SetLimit(0) // No limit, whole file content used.
mimetype.DetectFile("file.doc")
```
If increasing the limit does not help, please
[open an issue](https://github.com/gabriel-vasile/mimetype/issues/new?assignees=&labels=&template=mismatched-mime-type-detected.md&title=).

## Tests
In addition to unit tests,
[mimetype_tests](https://github.com/gabriel-vasile/mimetype_tests) compares the
library with [libmagic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_(command))
for around 50 000 sample files. Check the latest comparison results
[here](https://github.com/gabriel-vasile/mimetype_tests/actions).

## Benchmarks
Benchmarks are performed when a PR is open. The results can be seen on the
[workflows page](https://github.com/gabriel-vasile/mimetype/actions/workflows/benchmark.yml).
Performance improvements are welcome but correctness is prioritized.

## Structure
**mimetype** uses a hierarchical structure to keep the MIME type detection logic.
This reduces the number of calls needed for detecting the file type. The reason
behind this choice is that there are file formats used as containers for other
file formats. For example, Microsoft Office files are just zip archives,
containing specific metadata files. Once a file has been identified as a
zip, there is no need to check if it is a text file, but it is worth checking if
it is an Microsoft Office file.

To prevent loading entire files into memory, when detecting from a
[reader](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/gabriel-vasile/mimetype#DetectReader)
or from a [file](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/gabriel-vasile/mimetype#DetectFile)
**mimetype** limits itself to reading only the header of the input.
<div align="center">
  <img alt="how project is structured" src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gabriel-vasile/mimetype/master/testdata/gif.gif" width="88%">
</div>

## Contributing
Contributions are never expected but very much welcome.
[mimetype_tests](https://github.com/gabriel-vasile/mimetype_tests/actions/workflows/test.yml)
shows which file formats are most often misidentified and can help prioritise.
When submitting a PR for detection of a new file format, please make sure to
add a record to the list of testcases in [mimetype_test.go](mimetype_test.go).
For complex files a record can be added in the [testdata](testdata) directory.
Code contributions must respect following rules:
 - code must be test covered
 - code must be formatted using the `gofmt` tool
 - exported names must be documented

**Important**: By submitting a pull request, you agree to allow the project
owner to license your work under the same license as that used by the project.

mimetype

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