AI-powered file type validation for Laravel using Google's Magika — a deep learning model (~1 MB) that achieves ~99% accuracy across 200+ content types.

Unlike traditional MIME-type checking (which relies on file extensions or magic bytes), Magika uses a trained neural network to accurately identify file content, making it significantly harder to bypass with spoofed extensions or headers.

Requirements

• PHP 8.1+
• Laravel 10, 11, or 12
• Magika CLI installed on your system

Installing the Magika CLI

Choose one:

# macOS / Linux (Homebrew)
brew install magika

# Python (pipx)
pipx install magika

# Rust (Cargo)
cargo install --locked magika-cli

Installation

composer require yousefkadah/laravel-magika

Publish the configuration (optional):

php artisan vendor:publish --tag=magika-config

Configuration

// config/magika.php
return [
    'binary_path'     => env('MAGIKA_BINARY_PATH', null),     // null = use system PATH
    'prediction_mode' => env('MAGIKA_PREDICTION_MODE', 'high-confidence'),
    'timeout'         => env('MAGIKA_TIMEOUT', 30),
];

Usage

Detecting File Types

use YousefKadah\LaravelMagika\Facades\Magika;

// Detect a file by path
$result = Magika::detect('/path/to/file.pdf');

$result->label;       // "pdf"
$result->mimeType;    // "application/pdf"
$result->group;       // "document"
$result->description; // "PDF document"
$result->score;       // 0.99
$result->isText;      // false
$result->extensions;  // ["pdf"]

// Detect from raw content
$result = Magika::detectContent('<?php echo "hello";');
$result->label; // "php"

// Detect an uploaded file
$result = Magika::detectUploadedFile($request->file('document'));

// Batch detection
$results = Magika::detectMany(['/path/to/file1.pdf', '/path/to/file2.jpg']);

Validation Rules

By Magika Label

Validate that an uploaded file matches specific Magika content type labels:

// Using string rule (in controller or form request)
$request->validate([
    'document' => 'required|file|magika:pdf,docx,xlsx',
]);

// Using invokable rule
use YousefKadah\LaravelMagika\Rules\MagikaFileType;

$request->validate([
    'document' => ['required', 'file', new MagikaFileType(['pdf', 'docx', 'xlsx'])],
]);

By MIME Type

// Using string rule
$request->validate([
    'image' => 'required|file|magika_mime:image/png,image/jpeg',
]);

// Using invokable rule
use YousefKadah\LaravelMagika\Rules\MagikaMimeType;

$request->validate([
    'image' => ['required', 'file', new MagikaMimeType(['image/png', 'image/jpeg'])],
]);

By Group

// Using string rule
$request->validate([
    'upload' => 'required|file|magika_group:document,image',
]);

// Using invokable rule
use YousefKadah\LaravelMagika\Rules\MagikaGroup;

$request->validate([
    'upload' => ['required', 'file', new MagikaGroup(['document', 'image'])],
]);

Checking Installation

use YousefKadah\LaravelMagika\Facades\Magika;

Magika::isInstalled(); // true/false
Magika::version();     // "magika 0.1.0-rc.3 (model standard_v3_3)"

MagikaResult API

Common Magika Labels

For the full list of 200+ supported types, see the Magika content types documentation.

Why Use Magika Over Standard Validation?

Laravel's built-in mimes and mimetypes rules rely on file extensions and PHP's finfo (which uses libmagic). These can be easily tricked:

• Renaming malware.exe to malware.pdf bypasses extension checks
• Crafted files can fool magic-byte detection

Magika uses a deep learning model trained on ~100M files, analyzing actual file content patterns — making it far more robust against evasion.

License

MIT License. See LICENSE for details.