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Detect MIME types from binary content using magic byte signatures.

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lib/magic_bytes.ex

defmodule MagicBytes do
@moduledoc """
Detect MIME types from binary content using magic byte signatures.
Only the leading bytes needed to identify the format are examined — 16 bytes
satisfies all built-in signatures.
iex> MagicBytes.from_binary(<<0xFF, 0xD8, 0xFF, 0xE0>>)
{:ok, "image/jpeg"}
iex> MagicBytes.from_binary(<<0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00>>)
{:error, :unknown}
## Guards
For each signature a corresponding guard macro is generated,
named `is_<mime_with_slashes_and_hyphens_as_underscores>`. These expand
to pure boolean expressions and can be used in `when` clauses or regular
code after `require MagicBytes`:
iex> require MagicBytes
iex> MagicBytes.is_image_jpeg(<<0xFF, 0xD8, 0xFF, 0xE0>>)
true
iex> require MagicBytes
iex> MagicBytes.is_application_pdf(<<?%, ?P, ?D, ?F, ?-, ?1, ?., ?7>>)
true
Guards are not generated for container-format signatures that require
inspecting bytes beyond a fixed prefix (WebP, WAV, AVI, AIFF, MP4,
HEIC, AVIF, QuickTime). Use `from_binary/1` for those.
## Custom signatures
Define a module with `use MagicBytes.DefineSignatures`, configure it once,
and all `from_*` functions will check your signatures first, falling back to
the built-ins automatically.
defmodule MyApp.Signatures do
use MagicBytes.DefineSignatures, guards: true
defsignature("application/x-cld", <<0xCA, 0xFE, 0xD0, 0x0D>>)
end
# config/config.exs
config :magic_bytes, extra_signatures: MyApp.Signatures
Passing `guards: true` generates guard macros on your module
(e.g. `MyApp.Signatures.is_application_x_cld/1`)
that can be used in `when` clauses after `require MyApp.Signatures`.
## Configuration
Set in `config/config.exs` (values are resolved at compile time):
| Key | Type | Default | Description |
|--------------------|--------------|---------|-------------|
| `:extra_signatures`| module | `nil` | Module with additional signatures |
| `:read_bytes` | pos_integer | `16` | Bytes read from input. Only needed if you define custom signatures whose prefix exceeds 16 bytes. |
| `:only` | list(String) | `nil` | When set, only these MIME types are returned; others become `{:error, :unknown}` |
| `:exclude` | list(String) | `[]` | MIME types to suppress; ignored when `:only` is set |
## Supported formats
| Category | MIME types |
|-------------|------------|
| Images | `image/jpeg`, `image/png`, `image/gif`, `image/webp`, `image/bmp`,
| `image/tiff`, `image/x-icon`, `image/vnd.adobe.photoshop`,
| `image/heic`, `image/avif`, `image/jp2`, `image/jxl`, `image/flif` |
| Audio | `audio/mpeg`, `audio/flac`, `audio/ogg`, `audio/wav`, `audio/aiff`, `audio/mp4` |
| Video | `video/mp4`, `video/quicktime`, `video/x-matroska`, `video/x-flv`, `video/x-msvideo` |
| Documents | `application/pdf`, `application/zip`, `application/x-cfb`, `application/rtf` |
| Archives | `application/x-rar-compressed`, `application/x-7z-compressed`, `application/gzip`,
| | `application/x-bzip2`, `application/x-xz`, `application/zstd`, `application/x-lz4` |
| Data | `application/vnd.apache.parquet`, `application/vnd.apache.arrow.file` |
| Executables | `application/x-elf`, `application/x-msdownload`, `application/x-mach-binary`,
| | `application/wasm`, `application/vnd.android.dex` |
| Fonts | `font/woff`, `font/woff2`, `font/otf`, `font/ttf` |
| Database | `application/x-sqlite3` |
"""
require MagicBytes.DefineSignatures
require MagicBytes.FileSignatures
alias MagicBytes.FileSignatures
@type mime_type :: String.t()
@type error :: {:error, :unreadable | :unknown}
@extra Application.compile_env(:magic_bytes, :extra_signatures, nil)
@only Application.compile_env(:magic_bytes, :only, nil)
@exclude Application.compile_env(:magic_bytes, :exclude, [])
@read_bytes Application.compile_env(:magic_bytes, :read_bytes, FileSignatures.required_bytes())
MagicBytes.DefineSignatures.generate_guards(MagicBytes.FileSignatures)
@doc """
Detects the MIME type of the file at `path` by reading its leading bytes.
Returns `{:error, :unreadable}` if the file cannot be opened.
## Examples
iex> MagicBytes.from_path("test/fixtures/fixture.jpg")
{:ok, "image/jpeg"}
iex> MagicBytes.from_path("test/fixtures/fixture.png")
{:ok, "image/png"}
iex> MagicBytes.from_path("test/fixtures/fixture.pdf")
{:ok, "application/pdf"}
iex> MagicBytes.from_path("/nonexistent/file.jpg")
{:error, :unreadable}
"""
@spec from_path(Path.t()) :: {:ok, mime_type()} | error()
def from_path(path) do
case File.open(path, [:read, :binary]) do
{:ok, file} ->
result = file |> IO.binread(@read_bytes) |> do_match()
File.close(file)
result
{:error, _} ->
{:error, :unreadable}
end
end
@doc """
Detects the MIME type from a binary.
Only the leading bytes are examined; passing the full file content is
fine but unnecessary.
## Examples
iex> MagicBytes.from_binary(<<0xFF, 0xD8, 0xFF, 0xE0>>)
{:ok, "image/jpeg"}
iex> MagicBytes.from_binary(<<0x89, "PNG", 0x0D, 0x0A, 0x1A, 0x0A>>)
{:ok, "image/png"}
iex> MagicBytes.from_binary(<<?%, ?P, ?D, ?F>>)
{:ok, "application/pdf"}
iex> MagicBytes.from_binary(<<0x1F, 0x8B>>)
{:ok, "application/gzip"}
iex> MagicBytes.from_binary(<<0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00>>)
{:error, :unknown}
"""
@spec from_binary(binary()) :: {:ok, mime_type()} | error()
def from_binary(data) when is_binary(data), do: do_match(data)
@doc """
Detects the MIME type from a stream of binaries.
Chunks are accumulated until enough bytes are available, then detection
runs on the combined header. The stream is not fully consumed.
Returns `{:error, :unreadable}` if the stream is empty.
## Examples
iex> MagicBytes.from_stream([<<0xFF, 0xD8, 0xFF, 0xE0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0>>])
{:ok, "image/jpeg"}
iex> MagicBytes.from_stream([<<0xFF, 0xD8>>, <<0xFF, 0xE0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0>>])
{:ok, "image/jpeg"}
iex> MagicBytes.from_stream([])
{:error, :unreadable}
"""
@spec from_stream(Enumerable.t()) :: {:ok, mime_type()} | error()
def from_stream(stream) do
Enum.reduce_while(stream, <<>>, fn chunk, acc ->
combined = acc <> chunk
if byte_size(combined) >= @read_bytes, do: {:halt, combined}, else: {:cont, combined}
end)
|> do_match()
end
defp do_match(<<>>), do: {:error, :unreadable}
if @extra do
defp do_match(data) do
case @extra.match(data) do
{:error, :unknown} -> data |> FileSignatures.match() |> filter_match()
result -> filter_match(result)
end
end
else
defp do_match(data), do: data |> FileSignatures.match() |> filter_match()
end
if @only do
defp filter_match({:ok, mime}) when mime in @only, do: {:ok, mime}
defp filter_match({:ok, _mime}), do: {:error, :unknown}
defp filter_match(result), do: result
else
if @exclude != [] do
defp filter_match({:ok, mime}) when mime in @exclude, do: {:error, :unknown}
end
defp filter_match(result), do: result
end
end