file-magic

library0.4.1pypypi✓ verified 35d ago

Python front end for libmagic(3) — uses ctypes to wrap libmagic for file type detection. Current version 0.4.1, last released 2016; requires libmagic (system library). Unmaintained; prefer `python-magic` for active development.

serialization

package ↗homepage ↗

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

tested against v0.4.1 · pip install

no network on importno background threads

Install × environment matrix

Each cell = how many times install + import succeeded across repeated harness runs. Partial = flaky.
glibc = Debian/Ubuntu slim · musl = Alpine Linux

musl

py 3.10–3.95 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 0.0s · import 0.000s · 17.8MB

glibc

py 3.10–3.95 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 1.5s · import 0.000s · 18MB

16MB installed

● package 16MB

Code

Verified usage

Verified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.

Top-level import; no submodule needed.

import magic

Basic usage: create a magic cookie, load magic database, detect file type.

import magic m = magic.open(magic.MAGIC_NONE) m.load() type_ = m.file('/path/to/file') # e.g., 'ASCII text' print(type_)

Debug

Known footguns

gotcha`file-magic` is unmaintained (last release 2016). Prefer `pip install python-magic` instead, which has a similar API and is actively maintained.

gotchaRequires system libmagic installed. If missing, get an OSError or ImportError.

gotchaOn Windows, libmagic is not preinstalled; need to bundle DLL or use alternative.

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Version history

Breaking-change detection hasn't run for this library yet.

Audit

Security & dependencies

CVE tracking and dependency tree are planned for a later release.

Agent activity

15 hits · last 30 days

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Resources

packagehttps://pypi.org/project/file-magic/ ↗

homepagehttps://https://darwinsys.com/file/ ↗