Get File MIME Type from Command Line
I've gotten skilled at shell scripting over the years. I love a good GUI but knowing how to automate makes you a much more powerful engineer. Much of my scripting requires recursing over directories and processing a file if it meets a given criteria, which is often file extension or MIME type.
You can use the following shell command to get a file's MIME type:
file --mime-type -b Downloads/main.js
# text/plain
file --mime-type -b Downloads/logo.jpg
# image/jpeg
It's important to use the brief (-b) option in the command or you may receive an error message.
MIME type is used for validation and any number of other informational use cases. Luckily the file command and and a flag is all you need!
![Regular Expressions for the Rest of Us]()
Sooner or later you'll run across a regular expression. With their cryptic syntax, confusing documentation and massive learning curve, most developers settle for copying and pasting them from StackOverflow and hoping they work. But what if you could decode regular expressions and harness their power? In...
![Convert XML to JSON with JavaScript]()
If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I've been working on a super top secret mobile application using Appcelerator Titanium. The experience has been great: using JavaScript to create easy to write, easy to test, native mobile apps has been fun. My...
![Page Visibility API]()
One event that's always been lacking within the document is a signal for when the user is looking at a given tab, or another tab. When does the user switch off our site to look at something else? When do they come back?
![Redacted Font]()
Back when I created client websites, one of the many things that frustrated me was the initial design handoff. It would always go like this:
Work hard to incorporate client's ideas, dream up awesome design.
Create said design, using Lorem Ipsum text
Send initial design concept to the client...