(Last updated: 08/05/26)
TrID - File IdentifierTrID is an utility designed to identify file types from their binary signatures. While there are similar utilities with hard coded logic, TrID has no fixed rules. Instead, it's extensible and can be trained to recognize new formats in a fast and automatic way. TrID has many uses: identify what kind of file was sent to you via e-mail, aid in forensic analysis, support in file recovery, etc.
TrID uses a database of definitions which describe
recurring patterns for supported file types. As this is subject to
very frequent update, it's made available as a separate package.
Just download both TrID and this archive and unpack in the same folder. The database of definitions is constantly expanding; the more that are available, the more accurate an analysis of an unknown file can be. You can help! Use the program to both recognize unknown file types and develop new definitions that can be added to the library. See the TrIDScan page for information about how you can help. Just run the TrIDScan module against a number of files of a given type. The program will do the rest. Because TrID uses an expandable database it will never be out of date. As new file types become available you can run the scan module against them and help keep the program up to date. Other people around the world will be doing the same thing making the database a dynamic and living thing. If you have special file formats that only you use, you can also add them to your local database, making their identification easier. To get you started, the current library of definitions is up to 21323 file types and growing fast. TrID is simple to use. Just run TrID and point it to the file to be analyzed. The file will be read and compared with the definitions in the database. Results are presented in order of highest probability.
Wildcards can be used to scan groups of files, entire folders, etc. In addition, using the switch -ae will instruct TrID to add the guessed extensions to the filenames. This come handy, for example, when working with files recovered by data rescue softwares. For example:
At this point, the files in the c:\temp folder will look like:
FILE0001.CHK.bav Instead, the switch -ce will just change the file extension to the new one; if the file has no extension, the new one will be added. For example:
IAmASoundFile.dat -> IAmASoundFile.wav
TrID can get a file list from a file, with the -f switch.
It's possible to tell TrID to show some more information about every match
(such as the mime type, who created that definition, how many files were scanned, etc.);
and it's also possible to limit the number of results shown.
When starting, TrID will check for the TrIDDefs.TRD definitions package in the current directory. If not found, it will search on the some folder where TrID is installed. Eventually, it's possible to specify a particular defs file with the switch -d filespec. To force TrID to wait for a key after showing the results, the -w switch is provided. To speed up the process of getting the latest updated definitions, it's possible to use the --update switch (or the TrIDUpdate Python script, for older versions). It first compare the MD5 digest of the current TRD file and the one available online, so if the file isn't changed it's very quick. For example:
It's also possible to create a CSV file with the results, ready to be parsed by another app, imported in a spreadsheet, etc:
DownloadTrID is free for personal / non commercial use.
Older versions still available, for older/non supported platforms.
If you like TrID, you may consider a little donation!
Bitcoin: 1Mark1tF6QGj112F5d3fQALGf41YfzXEK3
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TrID's Definitions DB changes log 