A
file signature is data used to identify or verify the content of a file. Such signatures are also known as ''
magic numbers'' or ''magic bytes'' and are usually appended at the beginning of the file.
Many
file formats are not intended to be read as text. If such a file is accidentally viewed as a text file, its contents will be unintelligible. However, some file signatures can be recognizable when interpreted as text. In the table below, the column "ISO 8859-1" shows how the file signature appears when interpreted as text in the common
ISO 8859-1 encoding, with unprintable characters represented as the
control code abbreviation or symbol, or
codepage 1252 character where available, or a box otherwise. In some cases the space character is shown as ␠.
See also
*
List of filename extensions - alternative for file type identification and parsing
*
List of file formats
This is a list of file formats used by computers, organized by type. Filename extension is usually noted in parentheses if they differ from the file format's name or abbreviation. Many operating systems do not limit filenames to one extension s ...
*
Magic number (programming)
*
Substitute character (for the
1Ah (^Z) "end-of-file" marker used in many signatures)
*
file (command)
References
External links
Gary Kessler's list of file signatures*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20100502014229/http://docsrv.sco.com:507/en/man/html.C/compress.C.html Man page for compress, uncompress, and zcat on SCO Open ServerPublic Database of File SignaturesComplete list of magic numbers with sample filesthe original libmagic data files with thousands of entriesas used by
file (command)
{{DEFAULTSORT:File signatures
*
Computing-related lists