Microsoft OutlookPersonal Folder File
application/vnd.ms-outlook-pst
Magic Bytes
Offset: 0
21 42 44 4E 2E 2E 2E 2E 53 4D
The Microsoft Outlook Personal Folder File is a proprietary format developed by Microsoft for storing local copies of messages, calendar events, and other items. It is primarily utilized by Microsoft Outlook to manage offline data, archive older emails, and facilitate the migration of information between different user profiles or installations. While generally considered safe for data storage, these files can be password protected or encrypted to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive personal communications.
Validation Code
How to validate .pst files in Python
Python
def is_pst(file_path: str) -> bool:
"""Check if file is a valid PST by magic bytes."""
signature = bytes([0x21, 0x42, 0x44, 0x4E, 0x2E, 0x2E, 0x2E, 0x2E, 0x53, 0x4D])
with open(file_path, "rb") as f:
return f.read(10) == signatureHow to validate .pst files in Node.js
Node.js
function isPST(buffer: Buffer): boolean {
const signature = Buffer.from([0x21, 0x42, 0x44, 0x4E, 0x2E, 0x2E, 0x2E, 0x2E, 0x53, 0x4D]);
return buffer.subarray(0, 10).equals(signature);
}
Go
func IsPST(data []byte) bool {
signature := []byte{0x21, 0x42, 0x44, 0x4E, 0x2E, 0x2E, 0x2E, 0x2E, 0x53, 0x4D}
if len(data) < 10 {
return false
}
return bytes.Equal(data[:10], signature)
}API Endpoint
GET
/api/v1/pst
curl https://filesignature.org/api/v1/pst