Musical Instrument Digital Interface magic bytes (.mid)
.mid file signature: 4D 54 68 64 | audio/midi
Category: Audio
Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) is a standardized music data format originally developed by industry collaborators and now maintained by The MIDI Association. It is used to store performance instructions for sequencing, playback, notation software, synthesizers, and digital audio workstations rather than recorded audio. MIDI files are generally safe, though some players may support embedded metadata or external references; the format remains widely used and is supported across many legacy and modern systems.
Magic Bytes
Offset 0
4D 54 68 64
Sources: Apache Tika, Wikipedia, Gary Kessler, Neil Harvey FileSignatures
Validation Code
How to validate .mid files in Python
def is_mid(file_path: str) -> bool:
"""Check if file is a valid MID by magic bytes."""
signature = bytes([0x4D, 0x54, 0x68, 0x64])
with open(file_path, "rb") as f:
return f.read(4) == signatureHow to validate .mid files in Node.js
function isMID(buffer: Buffer): boolean {
const signature = Buffer.from([0x4D, 0x54, 0x68, 0x64]);
return buffer.subarray(0, 4).equals(signature);
}How to validate .mid files in Go
func IsMID(data []byte) bool {
signature := []byte{0x4D, 0x54, 0x68, 0x64}
if len(data) < 4 {
return false
}
return bytes.Equal(data[:4], signature)
}API Endpoint
/api/v1/mid
curl https://filesignature.org/api/v1/mid
See the full API documentation for all endpoints and parameters.
Related Formats
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a .mid file?
A .mid file is a Musical Instrument Digital Interface file. Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) is a standardized music data format originally developed by industry collaborators and now maintained by The MIDI Association. It is used to store performance instructions for sequencing, playback, notation software, synthesizers, and digital audio workstations rather than recorded audio. MIDI files are generally safe, though some players may support embedded metadata or external references; the format remains widely used and is supported across many legacy and modern systems.
What are the magic bytes for .mid files?
The magic bytes for Musical Instrument Digital Interface (.mid) files are 4D 54 68 64 at byte offset 0. These bytes identify the file format more reliably than the extension alone.
How do I validate a .mid file?
To validate a .mid file, read the first bytes of the file and compare them against the known magic bytes (4D 54 68 64) at offset 0. This is more reliable than checking the file extension alone, as extensions can be renamed.
What is the MIME type for .mid files?
The primary MIME type for .mid files is audio/midi.
Is it safe to open .mid files?
Musical Instrument Digital Interface (.mid) 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.