`magic-filetype' parse Vim-style file type header. For example, in executable JavaScript(node) file is... #!/usr/bin/env node // vim:set ft=javascript: (function(){ "use strict"; .... put into your own .emacs file (init.el) (magic-filetype-enable-vim-filetype) `magic-filetype-exemplary-filename-alist' have dummy filename that is delegate of major-mode.