bash: file: command not foundHow do I fix this error on a Debian or Ubuntu Linux system? How can I install file command on Linux cloud?
Introduction: The file command determines file type on Linux and Unix-like systems. The file command tests each argument in an attempt to classify it. There are three sets of criteria, performed in this order: filesystem tests, magic tests, and language tests. The first test that succeeds causes the file type to be printed. For example, one can use the file command to find out whether the given file is a shell or Perl script.
Fix bash: file: command not found error
Type the following command to find out if /bin/ls is a shell script or not?
file /bin/ls
Sample outputs:
bash: file: command not found
Try to locate the file with type command/command command:
$ type -a file
$ command -v file
Display your PATH settings on Linux with help of echo command:
$ echo "$PATH"
Debian / Ubuntu Linux file command not found
Getting rid of “-bash: file: command not found” is easy. All you have to do is search for file package as follows using the apt command:
apt info file
Package: file Version: 1:5.35-4+deb10u1 Priority: standard Section: utils Maintainer: Christoph Biedl Installed-Size: 105 kB Depends: libc6 (>= 2.4), libmagic1 (= 1:5.35-4+deb10u1), zlib1g (>= 1:1.1.4) Homepage: https://www.darwinsys.com/file/ Download-Size: 66.4 kB APT-Sources: http://security.debian.org/debian-security buster/updates/main amd64 Packages Description: Recognize the type of data in a file using "magic" numbers The file command is "a file type guesser", a command-line tool that tells you in words what kind of data a file contains. . This package contains the file program itself. N: There is 1 additional record. Please use the '-a' switch to see it
How to install file on a Debian or Ubuntu Linux
Run the following apt command/apt-get command:
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt install file
Now error “bash: file: command not” must disappear from your system.
How do I use file command?
The syntax is:
file /path/to/file
file [options] /path/to/file
Examples
file /bin/ls
file /usr/sbin/adduser
file bin/mk.newsletter
Do not prepend filenames to output lines:
file -b /bin/date
Sample outputs:
ELF 64-bit LSB pie executable, x86-64, version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked, interpreter /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2, BuildID[sha1]=731c2a7a56b2d07e67ac99b4960ec700b3faad68, for GNU/Linux 3.2.0, stripped
How to look inside compressed file
file -z file.zip
Getting help
Type the following command
man file
file --help
Sample help:
Usage: file [OPTION...] [FILE...] Determine type of FILEs. --help display this help and exit -v, --version output version information and exit -m, --magic-file LIST use LIST as a colon-separated list of magic number files -z, --uncompress try to look inside compressed files -Z, --uncompress-noreport only print the contents of compressed files -b, --brief do not prepend filenames to output lines -c, --checking-printout print the parsed form of the magic file, use in conjunction with -m to debug a new magic file before installing it -e, --exclude TEST exclude TEST from the list of test to be performed for file. Valid tests are: apptype, ascii, cdf, compress, elf, encoding, soft, tar, json, text, tokens -f, --files-from FILE read the filenames to be examined from FILE -F, --separator STRING use string as separator instead of `:' -i, --mime output MIME type strings (--mime-type and --mime-encoding) --apple output the Apple CREATOR/TYPE --extension output a slash-separated list of extensions --mime-type output the MIME type --mime-encoding output the MIME encoding -k, --keep-going don't stop at the first match -l, --list list magic strength -L, --dereference follow symlinks (default if POSIXLY_CORRECT is set) -h, --no-dereference don't follow symlinks (default if POSIXLY_CORRECT is not set) (default) -n, --no-buffer do not buffer output -N, --no-pad do not pad output -0, --print0 terminate filenames with ASCII NUL -p, --preserve-date preserve access times on files -P, --parameter set file engine parameter limits indir 15 recursion limit for indirection name 30 use limit for name/use magic elf_notes 256 max ELF notes processed elf_phnum 128 max ELF prog sections processed elf_shnum 32768 max ELF sections processed -r, --raw don't translate unprintable chars to \ooo -s, --special-files treat special (block/char devices) files as ordinary ones -C, --compile compile file specified by -m -d, --debug print debugging messages
Conclusion
You learned how to install and use file command on a Debian or Ubuntu Linux system when you get an error “bash: file: command not”. You can download file command here.
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