GitHub Mobile renders .zip files as plain text instead of detecting binary files

[pedrodev2026]

Description

When opening a .zip file in a repository using GitHub Mobile, the app attempts to render the file content as plain text instead of detecting it as a binary file.

This results in unreadable characters (e.g., ???????) being displayed in the integrated file viewer.

On GitHub Web, binary files such as .zip are correctly detected and not rendered as text. Instead, the UI displays a message like “Binary file not shown” and provides a download option.

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Steps to Reproduce

1. Open a repository that contains a .zip file

2. Tap on the .zip file in GitHub Mobile

3. Observe that the file content is rendered as text

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Expected Behavior

The app should detect that the file is binary and:

Display a message similar to GitHub Web (e.g., “Binary file not displayed”)

Offer a download option

Avoid attempting to render the file as text

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Actual Behavior

The file is rendered as if it were a text file, resulting in unreadable characters and inconsistent behavior compared to GitHub Web.

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Environment

Platform: Android

App Version: v1.246.0

Device Model: Xiaomi POCO X7 Pro

[HenSquared]

Thanks for the feedback. I've created an issue internally to track this.