diff --git a/.bazelversion b/.bazelversion
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0df17dd0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.bazelversion
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+6.2.1
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 40c8c4eb..08c5597c 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -11,3 +11,4 @@ pyvenv.cfg
 *.pyc
 *~
 dist/
+bazel-*
diff --git a/BUILD.bazel b/BUILD.bazel
index e69de29b..608070cc 100644
--- a/BUILD.bazel
+++ b/BUILD.bazel
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+package(default_visibility = ["//visibility:public"])
+
+
+filegroup(
+    name = "libmagic_linux",
+    srcs = [
+        "libmagic.so",
+	"libmagic.so.1",
+	"libmagic.so.1.0.0",
+    ],
+    visibility = ["//visibility:public"],
+)
diff --git a/WORKSPACE b/WORKSPACE
index fd686eee..47acb25c 100644
--- a/WORKSPACE
+++ b/WORKSPACE
@@ -1,7 +1,17 @@
 load("@bazel_tools//tools/build_defs/repo:http.bzl", "http_archive")
+http_archive(
+    name = "rules_foreign_cc",
+    sha256 = "476303bd0f1b04cc311fc258f1708a5f6ef82d3091e53fd1977fa20383425a6a",
+    strip_prefix = "rules_foreign_cc-0.10.1",
+    url = "https://github.com/bazelbuild/rules_foreign_cc/releases/download/0.10.1/rules_foreign_cc-0.10.1.tar.gz",
+)
+
+load("@rules_foreign_cc//foreign_cc:repositories.bzl", "rules_foreign_cc_dependencies")
+
+rules_foreign_cc_dependencies()
 
 http_archive(
-    name = "libmagic",
+    name = "libmagic_macos",
     sha256 = "09c588dac9cff4baa054f51a36141793bcf64926edc909594111ceae60fce4ee",
     strip_prefix = "file-5.31",
     urls = [
@@ -11,7 +21,7 @@ http_archive(
         "./configure",
         "make",
         "make install",
-        "cp src/.libs/libmagic.dylib /usr/local/lib/libmagic.dylib",
+        "cp src/.libs/libmagic.dylib /usr/local/lib/libmagic.dylib || true",
     ],
     build_file_content = """
 cc_library(
@@ -21,4 +31,4 @@ cc_library(
     linkstatic = 1,
     visibility = ['//visibility:public'],
 )""",
-)
\ No newline at end of file
+)
diff --git a/libmagic.so b/libmagic.so
new file mode 120000
index 00000000..26e2f2ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libmagic.so
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+libmagic.so.1.0.0
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/libmagic.so.1 b/libmagic.so.1
new file mode 120000
index 00000000..26e2f2ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libmagic.so.1
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+libmagic.so.1.0.0
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/libmagic.so.1.0.0 b/libmagic.so.1.0.0
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..639a592d
Binary files /dev/null and b/libmagic.so.1.0.0 differ
diff --git a/magic/BUILD.bazel b/magic/BUILD.bazel
index 5e956a7d..8f6fa019 100644
--- a/magic/BUILD.bazel
+++ b/magic/BUILD.bazel
@@ -2,9 +2,10 @@ py_library(
     name = "loader",
     srcs = ["loader.py", "__init__.py"],
     imports = [".."],
-    data = [
-        "@libmagic//:libmagic",
-    ],
+    data = select({
+        "@platforms//os:linux": ["//:libmagic_linux"],
+	"@platforms//os:osx": [], # does not support macos for hermetic(?) build 
+    }),
     visibility = ["//visibility:public"],
 )
 
@@ -16,4 +17,4 @@ py_library(
         ":loader",
     ],
     visibility = ["//visibility:public"],
-)
\ No newline at end of file
+)
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 06386c30..9ee0e8ff 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ def read(file_name):
     long_description_content_type='text/markdown',
     packages=['magic'],
     package_data={
-        'magic': ['py.typed', '*.pyi', '**/*.pyi'],
+        'magic': ['py.typed', '*.pyi', '**/*.pyi', '**/BUILD.bazel', 'WORKSPACE', 'libmagic.so*'],
     },
     keywords="mime magic file",
     license="MIT",
diff --git a/test/BUILD.bazel b/test/BUILD.bazel
index fe19b5cd..ae93977d 100644
--- a/test/BUILD.bazel
+++ b/test/BUILD.bazel
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@ py_test(
         "//magic:compat",
     ],
     data = [
-        "testdata"
-    ]
+        "testdata",
+    ],
 )
 
 py_test(
@@ -16,6 +16,6 @@ py_test(
         "//magic:compat",
     ],
     data = [
-        "testdata"
+        "testdata",
     ]
-)
\ No newline at end of file
+)