---
name: "dcmftest"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "dcmtk"
version: "3.7.1-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/dcmftest"
---

# dcmftest(1)

Test if file uses DICOM part 10 format

## NAME

dcmftest - Test if file uses DICOM part 10 format

## SYNOPSIS

```
dcmftest file...
```

## DESCRIPTION

The **dcmftest** utility checks whether the files specified on the command line are DICOM files in part 10 format (with meta-header).

## PARAMETERS

```
dcmfile-in  DICOM input filename to be checked
```

## NOTES

All files specified on the command line are checked for the presence of the DICOM "magic word" 'DICM' at byte position 128. No attempt is made to parse the complete data set. For each file the test result is printed to *stdout* in the form "yes: \<filename\>\\n" or "no: \<filename\>\\n". The utility terminates with a return code corresponding to the number of files found to be non-DICOM, i.e. if all files pass as DICOM files, the return value is 0. This behavior is intended for use in shell script programming.

## SEE ALSO

[**dcmgpdir**(1)](/dcmgpdir/1.md), [**dcmmkdir**(1)](/dcmmkdir/1.md)

## COPYRIGHT

Copyright (C) 1997-2026 by OFFIS e.V., Escherweg 2, 26121 Oldenburg, Germany.