# isBinaryFile Detects if a file is binary in Node.js. Similar to [Perl's `-B` switch](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/899206/how-does-perl-know-a-file-is-binary), in that: - it reads the first few thousand bytes of a file - checks for a `null` byte; if it's found, it's binary - flags non-ASCII characters. After a certain number of "weird" characters, the file is flagged as binary Much of the logic is pretty much ported from [ag](https://github.com/ggreer/the_silver_searcher). Note: if the file doesn't exist, is a directory, or is empty, the function returns `false`. ## Installation ``` npm install isbinaryfile ``` ## Usage ### isBinaryFile(filepath, callback) * `filepath`, a `string` indicating the path to the file. * `callback`, a `function` for the callback. It has two arguments: - `err`, the typical Node.js error argument - `result`, a `boolean` of `true` or `false`, depending on if the file is binary ### isBinaryFile(bytes, size, callback) * `bytes`, a `Buffer` of the file's contents. * `size`, an optional `number` indicating the file size. * `callback`, a `function` for the callback. It has two arguments: - `err`, the typical Node.js error argument - `result`, a `boolean` of `true` or `false`, depending on if the file is binary ### isBinaryFile.sync(filepath) * `filepath`, a `string` indicating the path to the file. ### isBinaryFile.sync(bytes, size) * `bytes`, a `Buffer` of the file's contents. * `size`, an `number` indicating the file size. Returns a `boolean` of `true` or `false`, depending on if the file is binary. ### Examples ```javascript var isBinaryFile = require("isbinaryfile"); fs.readFile("some_file", function(err, data) { fs.lstat("some_file", function(err, stat) { isBinaryFile(data, stat.size, function (err, result) { if (!err) { if (result) { console.log("It is!") } else { console.log("No.") } } }); }); }); isBinaryFile.sync("some_file"); // true or false var bytes = fs.readFileSync(("some_file")); var size = fs.lstatSync(("some_file").size; isBinaryFile.sync(bytes, size); // true or false ``` ## Testing Run `npm install` to install `mocha`, then run `npm test`.