@ghalfacree yeah but if I have to choose between using some AI crap to identify the files or rely on file(1) which really depends on the libmagic database -- it would be easier to use the AI tool's API.

libmagic does not have a stable ABI. It sucks balls if you want to use it in your software but not ship a copy of it built for every OS you want people to run your software on. You really can't just dynamically link to it and ship your code with any expectation it will work