Knowledge Base

File Information Tool Set (FITS)

FITS (File Information Tool Set) identifies file formats, validates files, and extracts technical metadata. ResourceSpace can import selected values from its XML output into metadata fields.

Installation (Ubuntu/Debian)

The current FITS repository specifies Java 11 or later. FITS also uses external tools with dependencies including Perl, Python and the Unix file utility.

Run the following:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install default-jre-headless unzip perl python3 file

Download a compiled release ZIP from the official FITS releases.

Run the following commands, replacing VERSION with the downloaded version number, and adjusting the ZIP path:

sudo unzip /path/to/fits-VERSION.zip -d /opt/
sudo chmod +x /opt/fits-VERSION/fits.sh

Create a stable path for ResourceSpace:

sudo ln -s /opt/fits-VERSION /opt/fits

Configure ResourceSpace

Add the FITS directory to ResourceSpace’s include/config.php:

$fits_path = '/opt/fits';

Map FITS output to metadata fields

Open ResourceSpace’s metadata-field administration and create a dedicated test field, such as FITS video bitrate. Start with a text field applicable to your video resource type.

In its advanced configuration, set FITS field to:

video.bitRate

ResourceSpace uses dot-separated XML element paths. For a specific video track, the documented example is:

video.track[@type="video"].bitRate