file man page on SmartOS

Man page or keyword search:  
man Server   16655 pages
apropos Keyword Search (all sections)
Output format
SmartOS logo
[printable version]

FILE(1)								       FILE(1)

NAME
       file - determine file type

SYNOPSIS
       /usr/bin/file [-bdh] [-m mfile] [-M Mfile] [-f ffile] file...

       /usr/bin/file [-bdh] [-m mfile] [-M Mfile] -f ffile

       /usr/bin/file -i [-bh] [-f ffile] file...

       /usr/bin/file -i [-bh] -f ffile

       /usr/bin/file -c [-d] [-m mfile] [-M Mfile]

       /usr/xpg4/bin/file [-bdh] [-m mfile] [-M Mfile] [-f ffile] file...

       /usr/xpg4/bin/file [-bdh] [-m mfile] [-M Mfile] -f ffile

       /usr/xpg4/bin/file -i [-bh] [-f ffile] file...

       /usr/xpg4/bin/file -i [-bh] -f ffile

       /usr/xpg4/bin/file -c [-d] [-m mfile] [-M Mfile]

DESCRIPTION
       The  file  utility  performs a series of tests on each file supplied by
       file and, optionally, on each file listed in ffile  in  an  attempt  to
       classify	 it. If the file is not a regular file, its file type is iden‐
       tified.	The file types directory, FIFO, block special,	and  character
       special	are  identified as such. If the file is a regular file and the
       file is zero-length, it is identified as an empty file.

       If file appears to be a text file, file examines the  first  512	 bytes
       and  tries to determine its programming language. If file is a symbolic
       link, by default the link is followed and file tests the file to	 which
       the symbolic link refers.

       If  file	 is  a	relocatable object, executable, or shared object, file
       prints out information about the file's	execution  requirements.  This
       information  includes  the machine class, byte-ordering, static/dynamic
       linkage, and any software or hardware capability requirements. If  file
       is  a runtime linking configuration file, file prints information about
       the target platform, including the machine class and byte-ordering.

       By  default,  file  will	 try  to  use	the   localized	  magic	  file
       /usr/lib/locale/locale/LC_MESSAGES/magic,  if  it  exists,  to identify
       files that have a magic number. For example, in	the  Japanese  locale,
       file  will try to use /usr/lib/locale/ja/LC_MESSAGES/magic. If a local‐
       ized magic file does not exist, file will utilize /etc/magic.  A	 magic
       number  is  a  numeric or string constant that indicates the file type.
       See magic(4) for an explanation of the format of /etc/magic.

       If file does not exist, cannot be read, or its file status could not be
       determined, it is not considered an error that affects the exit status.
       The output will indicate that the file was processed, but that its type
       could not be determined.

OPTIONS
       The following options are supported:

       -b
		   Be brief, do not print leading filename.

       -c
		   Checks  the	magic  file  for format errors. For reasons of
		   efficiency, this validation is normally not carried out.

       -d
		   Applies  any	  position-sensitive   and   context-sensitive
		   default system tests to the file.

       -f ffile
		   ffile contains a list of the files to be examined.

       -h
		   When a symbolic link is encountered, this option identifies
		   the file as a symbolic link. If -h  is  not	specified  and
		   file is a symbolic link that refers to a non-existent file,
		   the file utility identifies the file as a symbolic link, as
		   if -h had been specified.

       -i
		   If  a  file is a regular file, this option does not attempt
		   to classify the type of file further,  but  identifies  the
		   file as a "regular file".

       -m mfile

		   /usr/bin/file
					 Uses  mfile  as  an  alternate	 magic
					 file, instead of /etc/magic.

		   /usr/xpg4/bin/file
					 Specifies the name of a file contain‐
					 ing position-sensitive tests that are
					 applied to a file in order  to	 clas‐
					 sify  it  (see	 magic(4)).  If the -m
					 option is specified without  specify‐
					 ing  the  -d option or the -M option,
					 position-sensitive   default	system
					 tests are applied after the position-
					 sensitive tests specified by  the  -m
					 option.

       -M Mfile
		   Specifies  the name of a file containing position-sensitive
		   tests that are applied to a file in order  to  classify  it
		   (see	 magic(4)). No position-sensitive default system tests
		   nor context-sensitive  default  system  tests  are  applied
		   unless the -d option is also specified.

       If  the	-M  option  is specified with the -d option, the -m option, or
       both, or if the -m option is specified with the -d option, the concate‐
       nation  of  the	position-sensitive tests specified by these options is
       applied in the order specified by the appearance of these options.

OPERANDS
       The following operands are supported:

       file
	       A path name of a file to be tested.

USAGE
       See largefile(5) for the description  of	 the  behavior	of  file  when
       encountering files greater than or equal to 2 Gbyte ( 2^31 bytes).

EXAMPLES
       Example 1 Determining if an Argument is a Binary Executable Files

       The  following  example determine if an argument is a binary executable
       file:

	 file "$1" | grep −Fq executable &&
		   printf "%s is executable.\n" "$1"

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
       See environ(5) for descriptions of the following environment  variables
       that affect the execution of file: LANG, LC_ALL, LC_CTYPE, LC_MESSAGES,
       and NLSPATH.

EXIT STATUS
       The following exit values are returned:

       0
	     Successful completion.

       >0
	     An error occurred.

FILES
       /etc/magic
		     file's magic number file

ATTRIBUTES
       See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:

       ┌────────────────────┬─────────────────┐
       │  ATTRIBUTE TYPE    │ ATTRIBUTE VALUE │
       ├────────────────────┼─────────────────┤
       │CSI		    │ Enabled	      │
       ├────────────────────┼─────────────────┤
       │Interface Stability │ Standard	      │
       └────────────────────┴─────────────────┘

SEE ALSO
       crle(1), elfdump(1), ls(1), magic(4), attributes(5), environ(5), large‐
       file(5), standards(5)

				 Apr 11, 2014			       FILE(1)
[top]

List of man pages available for SmartOS

Copyright (c) for man pages and the logo by the respective OS vendor.

For those who want to learn more, the polarhome community provides shell access and support.

[legal] [privacy] [GNU] [policy] [cookies] [netiquette] [sponsors] [FAQ]
Tweet
Polarhome, production since 1999.
Member of Polarhome portal.
Based on Fawad Halim's script.
....................................................................
Vote for polarhome
Free Shell Accounts :: the biggest list on the net