The first release candidate for fido 1.4.0 is now available for community testing 

Fido (Format Identification for Digital Objects) is an open-source command-line tool to identify the file formats of digital objects and part of the OPF reference toolset.

The new release features Python 3 support in preparation for the end of Python 2 support in January 2020. Python 2 compatibility has been retained. Version 1.4.0 also includes improved testing and QA alongside a number of bug fixes and new features, including:

• New command-line option to allow disabling extension matches
• Fixed a bug that caused PRONOM to crash when handling embedded containers
• PRONOM signatures updated to v95
• Refactoring and improvements made while adding Python 3 support

The draft release notes contain more information on the changes. You can also sign up to our ‘What’s new with fido?’ webinar to hear more about the release.

Our thanks go to all contributors and the OPF Product Board for their ongoing guidance and support.

Getting the release candidate

Fido is usually distributed as a PyPi package. If you want to use pip to install the release candidate package you must specify the version number. e.g. :

pip install "opf-fido==1.4.0rc1"

For version 1.4 we’re also offering a downloadable debian package that’s installable of Linux systems that use the Advance Packaging Tool (apt). The release candidate package can be downloaded here from the OPF download site. To install it use dpkg:

dpkg -i opf-fido_1.4.0~rc1_all.deb

Debian stretch users please note that there’s no python3-olefile package available. If you see an error that mentions: 

opf-fido depends on python3-olefile; however:

  Package python3-olefile is not installed.

Then download and install the buster package from Debian which solves the problem.

Feedback welcome

We invite you to download and test the release candidate. If you experience a problem please report it on the Fido issue tracker on GitHub or contact us. We will continue to test the release candidate internally, and there may be a few small changes before the public production release.

About fido

Since 2015, fido has been maintained by Artefactual as part of their OPF membership. Fido can be automatically installed with Archivematica, but it is also available as a stand-alone command-line tool and can be incorporated into other digital preservation systems.

OPF provides hosting and support through software quality testing and delivery, and open source best practice. Fido is free to download, use and modify. However, it is not free to host, maintain, support or develop. If you use fido, please consider supporting its development by becoming an OPF member or making a donation.