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M3U8 (.m3u8)

.m3u8 file signature | application/vnd.apple.mpegurl

Multimedia playlist

Safe

Magic Bytes

Offset 0
23 45 58 54 4D 33 55

Sources: Apache Tika, Wikipedia

Extension

.m3u8

MIME Type

application/vnd.apple.mpegurl

Byte Offset

0

Risk Level

Safe

Validation Code

How to validate .m3u8 files in Python

Python
def is_m3u8(file_path: str) -> bool:
    """Check if file is a valid M3U8 by magic bytes."""
    signature = bytes([0x23, 0x45, 0x58, 0x54, 0x4D, 0x33, 0x55])
    with open(file_path, "rb") as f:
        return f.read(7) == signature

How to validate .m3u8 files in Node.js

Node.js
function isM3U8(buffer: Buffer): boolean {
  const signature = Buffer.from([0x23, 0x45, 0x58, 0x54, 0x4D, 0x33, 0x55]);
  return buffer.subarray(0, 7).equals(signature);
}

How to validate .m3u8 files in Go

Go
func IsM3U8(data []byte) bool {
    signature := []byte{0x23, 0x45, 0x58, 0x54, 0x4D, 0x33, 0x55}
    if len(data) < 7 {
        return false
    }
    return bytes.Equal(data[:7], signature)
}

API Endpoint

GET /api/v1/m3u8
curl https://filesignature.org/api/v1/m3u8

See the full API documentation for all endpoints and parameters.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a .m3u8 file?

A .m3u8 file is a M3U8 file. Multimedia playlist

What are the magic bytes for .m3u8 files?

The magic bytes for M3U8 files are 23 45 58 54 4D 33 55 at byte offset 0. These bytes uniquely identify the file format regardless of the file extension.

How do I validate a .m3u8 file?

To validate a .m3u8 file, read the first bytes of the file and compare them against the known magic bytes (23 45 58 54 4D 33 55) at offset 0. This is more reliable than checking the file extension alone, as extensions can be renamed.

What is the MIME type for .m3u8 files?

The primary MIME type for .m3u8 files is application/vnd.apple.mpegurl.

Is it safe to open .m3u8 files?

M3U8 (.m3u8) files are generally safe to open. They are classified as low risk because they primarily contain data rather than executable code. However, always ensure files come from a trusted source.