File X-Ray: Inspect File Details and Metadata Online Free

Files Carry More Than Their Contents

Size, type, modification dates and hidden metadata all describe a file beyond its visible data. Inspecting files with an x-ray tool surfaces those details before you open or send anything.

Knowing a file's true type prevents surprise failures.

ChooseTools inspects files locally in your browser.

How to Inspect a File

From double-click uncertainty to full picture:

Select a file and view its size, detected type, format hints and metadata. Confirm the extension matches reality before distribution.

Inspection is fully local — nothing leaves your device.

Type Detection Beyond the Extension

Extensions lie while magic bytes do not.

The tool examines signatures to report true format regardless of renaming.

Renamed attachments no longer slip through.

Metadata Realities and Privacy

Photos carry location and device tags; documents carry author names and timestamps.

Seeing metadata surfaces what a file would reveal when shared.

Informed sharing beats guessed exposure.

Before You Send Anything

Verify size for mail limits, type for systems and metadata for exposure in one glance.

Preflight checks prevent embarrassing or blocking issues.

Confidence travels with every attachment.

Private Inspection of Sensitive Files

Examining a file locally means its metadata never becomes a lookup record.

No upload, no account, no watermark — across platforms.

Inspection without interception.

File Work in the Suite

Pair with metadata stripping, document details and format conversion for complete control.

Everything is free and browser-native.

Know your files before they go anywhere.

Common File Formats the Tool Recognizes

The inspection engine covers a broad set of everyday formats: images such as JPEG, PNG, WebP and GIF; documents including PDF and plain text; archive types like ZIP and GZIP; audio files in MP3 and WAV; and video containers in MP4 and MOV.

For each recognized format the tool reports the version, internal structure and any embedded stream details that matter for downstream processing.

Even when the extension is missing or wrong, the signature-based detection still identifies the real format, so you always know what you are dealing with.

Unrecognized files still report raw size, header bytes and any detectable chunks, giving developers useful breadcrumbs for further investigation.

Reading EXIF, XMP and Document Properties

Image files commonly carry EXIF and XMP blocks that record camera model, exposure settings, GPS coordinates, date-time stamps and software version used during creation.

PDF and office documents expose author, title, subject, creation date and modification history in their metadata dictionaries.

The file x-ray displays all available fields in a single view, letting you decide whether any of that information should be removed before publication.

For teams that process large volumes of incoming files, a quick metadata preview saves time that would otherwise be spent opening each file in a dedicated editor.

Practical Use Cases for File Inspection

Journalists receiving anonymous attachments verify file origins and strip identifying metadata before publishing.

IT support teams confirm whether an executable really is a binary or a renamed script, reducing risk before running diagnostics.

Developers building upload pipelines use the inspector to validate incoming file types against expected MIME categories.

Designers confirm color profiles, resolution and bit depth before handing assets to printers or web teams.

File Size Awareness for Email and Cloud Limits

Most email providers cap attachments at twenty-five megabytes, and cloud sharing links may impose their own thresholds on individual files.

A quick size check prevents bounced messages and failed uploads, especially when a photo or scan is larger than expected.

When a file exceeds the limit, the inspector gives you the number you need to decide whether to compress, split or use a different delivery method.

Knowing exact byte counts also helps when budgeting storage across backup drives and cloud tiers.

Edge Cases: Corrupted, Truncated and Partial Files

Files that were interrupted during download or copied from failing media may carry incomplete headers or missing footers.

The inspector reports when signatures do not match expected patterns, flagging likely corruption before you attempt to open the file in another application.

Partial files from incomplete uploads can be identified quickly, saving you from diagnosing downstream application errors that are really just data problems.

For developers, these warnings are a fast feedback loop when testing download resumers, sync tools or backup scripts.