file Alternatives
file is described as 'Standard Unix program for recognizing the type of data contained in a computer file using magic numbers' and is an app. There are eight alternatives to file for Windows, Linux, Web-based and Mac. The best file alternative is TrID. It's not free, so if you're looking for a free alternative, you could try TrIDNet or xdg-utils. Other great apps like file are Toolsley File Identifier, FileCHK, HexBrowser and DROID.
- Free • Open Source
- 8 TrID alternatives
Allows to detect file type by recognition of binary signatures. Database with signatures can be downloaded from author site or trained by user with program named TrIDScan(see at author site).
License model
- Free Personal • Proprietary
Country of Origin
Italy
EU
Platforms
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
TRIDNet is the GUI version of TrID, probably more practical to use than the CLI version, especially for those not very familiar with the command line prompt.
License model
- Free • Proprietary
Platforms
- Windows
DiscontinuedTrIDNet v1.95 - 26/01/16. As from 2021 Feb it does work fine on Windows 10
TrIDNet Features
xdg-utils is a set of tools that allows applications to easily integrate with the desktop environment of the user, regardless of the specific desktop environment that the user runs.
License model
- Free • Open Source
Country of Origin
United States
Platforms
- Linux
Identify files based on the libmagic database in your browser. HTML5/JS port of the "file" tool. No downloads, no installation and no uploads!.
License model
- Free • Proprietary
Country of Origin
United States
Platforms
- Online
License model
- Free • Open Source
Platforms
- Windows
HexBrowser is a tool that identifies file types. It does not care about the file extension, but opens each file to look for signatures so it can determine the exact type of a file. It now recognizes more than 800 different file formats.
License model
- Free • Proprietary
Platforms
- Windows
DROID (Digital Record and Object Identification) is a software tool developed by The National Archives to perform automated batch identification of file formats. Developed by its Digital Preservation Department as part of its broader digital preservation activities, DROID is...
License model
- Free • Open Source
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
DROID Features
JHOVE is a file format identification, validation and characterisation tool. It is implemented as a Java application and is usable on any Unix, Windows, or OS X platform with appropriate Java installation.
License model
- Free • Open Source
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
JHOVE Features