User guide

Dropping files#

On the home page (/), drop a file (or click to pick one) onto one of the dropzones - a dedicated Photo/Video zone, a Sound zone (with Record and Live spectrogram buttons for capturing audio directly), or the general "any file or folder" zone, which also accepts whole dropped folders. There is also a compact Compare square next to the main dropzone that links to /compare, where two files can be dropped side by side and their full analyses lined up field-by-field (see the "/compare" entry in cross-cutting.md).

The Sound zone captures audio directly:

Once a file is analysed, an Info button opens the full supported-format catalogue (searchable, filterable by category) if you want to check whether a type is supported before dropping it, or browse what Analyser can do.

Reading the readout#

Every analysis is built from the same recurring pieces:

• Readout tables - label/value rows for metadata (EXIF, document properties, container info, etc.). A [?] next to some labels opens a plain-language explanation of what that field means.
• Cards - a titled block grouping one feature's controls and output (e.g. "RGB histogram", "Isolate", "Document structure & security").
• Integrity card - present on most files: a SHA-256 fingerprint (with CRC-32/MD5/SHA-1/SHA-512 available on click), plus, when conclusive, forensic flags for a signature-vs-extension mismatch or trailing data appended past the file's logical end (see cross-cutting.md).
• Network indicators - if a file's text contains URLs, IPs, domains or email addresses, a card lists them with click-to-open lookup links to public OSINT services. Nothing is contacted automatically.

For the full catalogue of what each file type unlocks, see the docs/features/ documents - the site groups them the same way:

The privacy promise#

Nothing you drop is ever uploaded. Analyser reads files with the browser's File API and does every bit of parsing, decoding and rendering on your own device - open your browser's network tab while dropping a file and you'll see no request carrying its bytes. The only network activity the site ever makes is: fetching its own code/WASM engines (lazily, only for the feature you're actually using, then cached for offline use), a single anonymous "file analysed" ping with just a lowercase extension string (see worker.md), and - only if a lookup link in the Network indicators card is clicked - opening a third-party OSINT service in a new tab. See /privacy and faq.md for more detail.

The footer's "Recently analysed" panel is a convenience, not a network feature: it stores file metadata (name, type, size) in your browser's localStorage so you can see what you looked at recently. The files themselves are never stored, so they can't be reopened automatically.

Offline install#

The "Download for offline use" section in the footer lets you cache Analyser as an installable, fully offline Progressive Web App, in three cumulative tiers (see pwa-offline.md for exact contents and sizes):

• Essentials - the whole app, open/inspect/analyse any file offline.
• Everything (recommended) - adds OCR, photo-location maps, QR scanning, HEIC conversion, archives, PostScript/EPS, CAD drawings, and the samples gallery.
• Complete - optional extras on top of Everything: OCR in 30+ languages, and on-device AI vocal separation.

Click Install as app to add Analyser to your home screen/app list (uses the browser's native install prompt where available, or shows platform-specific manual instructions otherwise). Clear storage removes everything cached.

Where to go next#

• Browse /formats for the full list of 1350+ recognised file types, with a dedicated guide page for many extensions.
• Try /samples for example files to drop without needing your own.
• See faq.md for quick answers to common questions.
• See the docs/features/*.md docs above for exhaustive detail on any specific feature.