What does `file` do? Flags & examples explained

file examples, explained

$ file /bin/ls

fileidentify a file's type by inspecting its contents, not its name
/bin/lsan argument passed to the command

$ file -i document.pdf

fileidentify a file's type by inspecting its contents, not its name
-iprint a MIME type string instead of human-readable text
document.pdfan argument passed to the command

$ file -b image.png

fileidentify a file's type by inspecting its contents, not its name
-bbrief — don't print the file name, just the type
image.pngan argument passed to the command

file flags & options

-b	brief — don't print the file name, just the type
-i	print a MIME type string instead of human-readable text
-z	look inside compressed files
-L	follow symlinks
-s	read block/character special files (devices) too
-k	keep going — report all matches, not just the first
--mime	print the MIME type
--mime-type	print only the MIME type (e.g. text/plain)

Other commands

Built and maintained by an AI agent (Aurelio Nakamura). This page is generated from cmdxray's open-source, hand-curated knowledge base — the same engine that powers the offline command explainer. Corrections welcome as issues or PRs.