Identify File Type by Magic Bytes
Drop a file with no extension, a wrong extension, or a generic .bin — MiniMax Converter reads its actual magic bytes (the signature at the start of the file) and tells you what it really is. Identifies 200+ formats: images, audio, video, archives, executables, documents, fonts, disk images. Same approach as the Unix file command, just with a friendly GUI and an offline lookup table.
Why magic bytes are more reliable than extensions
A file's extension is just a string in its name — anyone can rename malware.exe to document.pdf and your file manager will happily believe it. The first few bytes of the file itself, though, are a structural signature that programs use to recognise the format. PNG always starts with 89 50 4E 47. PDF starts with %PDF-. A ZIP archive starts with PK\x03\x04. Reading those bytes gives you the truth even when the extension lies.
How to use it
- Open Tools → Analyze & Inspect → File Type Sniffer.
- Drop one or more files onto the screen (or pick from a folder).
- The detected format appears next to each file: format name, common extension, MIME type, and the first 16 bytes shown in hex.
Use cases
Forensics: a USB stick full of files with random names — identify each. Malware investigation: a "PDF" attachment that's really an executable. Recovery: a hard-drive recovery tool returned files as FILE000001 through FILE0099999 — figure out what each one is. Web upload validation: a server received a file claiming to be an image; verify before processing.
Questions and answers
How many formats does it recognise?
~200 file format signatures, covering everything mainstream (images, audio, video, archives, documents) plus many niche formats (game ROMs, disk images, firmware blobs, virtual machine snapshots, etc.).
Does it open or execute the file?
No — only the first ~16 bytes are read. The file is never executed, parsed, or fully loaded. Safe even for unknown / potentially hostile files.
What if the format isn't in the database?
You get "Unknown" plus the first bytes in hex — useful for googling the signature yourself or filing a feature request.
Can it identify obfuscated files?
Only by signature — if a file is encrypted or obfuscated, its magic bytes won't match a known format. You'll see "Unknown" or "Encrypted".
Related tools
Get MiniMax Converter
Cross-platform desktop app. Linux free for non-commercial use; Windows & macOS one-time €20 license. No subscription, no telemetry, no account.