diff --git a/lib/src/event.rs b/lib/src/event.rs
index 96492d8..9f628de 100644
--- a/lib/src/event.rs
+++ b/lib/src/event.rs
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@
 use std::{
 	collections::HashMap,
 	fmt,
-	fs::FileType,
 	path::{Path, PathBuf},
 	process::ExitStatus,
 };
@@ -54,6 +53,7 @@ pub enum Tag {
 	Signal(MainSignal),
 
 	/// The event is about the subprocess exiting.
+	// TODO: replace ExitStatus with something we can de/serialize.
 	ProcessCompletion(Option<ExitStatus>),
 }
 
@@ -71,6 +71,51 @@ impl Tag {
 	}
 }
 
+/// The type of a file.
+///
+/// This is a simplification of the [`std::fs::FileType`] type, which is not constructable and may
+/// differ on different platforms.
+#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, Eq, PartialEq)]
+#[non_exhaustive]
+pub enum FileType {
+	/// A regular file.
+	File,
+
+	/// A directory.
+	Dir,
+
+	/// A symbolic link.
+	Symlink,
+
+	/// Something else.
+	Other,
+}
+
+impl From<std::fs::FileType> for FileType {
+	fn from(ft: std::fs::FileType) -> Self {
+		if ft.is_file() {
+			Self::File
+		} else if ft.is_dir() {
+			Self::Dir
+		} else if ft.is_symlink() {
+			Self::Symlink
+		} else {
+			Self::Other
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+impl fmt::Display for FileType {
+	fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> fmt::Result {
+		match self {
+			Self::File => write!(f, "file"),
+			Self::Dir => write!(f, "dir"),
+			Self::Symlink => write!(f, "symlink"),
+			Self::Other => write!(f, "other"),
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 /// The general origin of the event.
 ///
 /// This is set by the event source. Note that not all of these are currently used.
@@ -159,19 +204,7 @@ impl fmt::Display for Event {
 				Tag::Path { path, file_type } => {
 					write!(f, " path={}", path.display())?;
 					if let Some(ft) = file_type {
-						write!(
-							f,
-							" filetype={}",
-							if ft.is_file() {
-								"file"
-							} else if ft.is_dir() {
-								"dir"
-							} else if ft.is_symlink() {
-								"symlink"
-							} else {
-								"special"
-							}
-						)?;
+						write!(f, " filetype={}", ft)?;
 					}
 				}
 				Tag::FileEventKind(kind) => write!(f, " kind={:?}", kind)?,
diff --git a/lib/src/filter/globset.rs b/lib/src/filter/globset.rs
index 773c365..43e86af 100644
--- a/lib/src/filter/globset.rs
+++ b/lib/src/filter/globset.rs
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ use tokio::fs::read_to_string;
 use tracing::{debug, trace};
 
 use crate::error::RuntimeError;
-use crate::event::Event;
+use crate::event::{Event, FileType};
 use crate::filter::Filterer;
 use crate::ignore_files::IgnoreFile;
 
@@ -98,7 +98,9 @@ impl Filterer for GlobsetFilterer {
 	/// This implementation never errors.
 	fn check_event(&self, event: &Event) -> Result<bool, RuntimeError> {
 		for (path, file_type) in event.paths() {
-			let is_dir = file_type.map(|t| t.is_dir()).unwrap_or(false);
+			let is_dir = file_type
+				.map(|t| matches!(t, FileType::Dir))
+				.unwrap_or(false);
 
 			if self.ignores.matched(path, is_dir).is_ignore() {
 				trace!(?path, "ignored by globset ignore");
diff --git a/lib/src/filter/tagged.rs b/lib/src/filter/tagged.rs
index f1fc785..a83b98d 100644
--- a/lib/src/filter/tagged.rs
+++ b/lib/src/filter/tagged.rs
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ use tracing::{debug, trace, warn};
 use unicase::UniCase;
 
 use crate::error::RuntimeError;
-use crate::event::{Event, Tag};
+use crate::event::{Event, FileType, Tag};
 use crate::filter::tagged::error::TaggedFiltererError;
 use crate::filter::Filterer;
 use crate::ignore_files::IgnoreFile;
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ impl TaggedFilterer {
 					let mut tag_match = true;
 
 					if let (Matcher::Path, Tag::Path { path, file_type }) = (matcher, tag) {
-						let is_dir = file_type.map_or(false, |ft| ft.is_dir());
+						let is_dir = file_type.map_or(false, |ft| matches!(ft, FileType::Dir));
 
 						let gc = self.glob_compiled.borrow();
 						if let Some(igs) = gc.as_ref() {
@@ -311,15 +311,7 @@ impl TaggedFilterer {
 					..
 				},
 				Matcher::FileType,
-			) => filter.matches(if ft.is_dir() {
-				"dir"
-			} else if ft.is_file() {
-				"file"
-			} else if ft.is_symlink() {
-				"symlink"
-			} else {
-				"special"
-			}),
+			) => filter.matches(ft.to_string()),
 			(Tag::FileEventKind(kind), Matcher::FileEventKind) => {
 				filter.matches(format!("{:?}", kind))
 			}
@@ -588,8 +580,8 @@ pub enum Matcher {
 	///
 	/// This is not guaranteed to be present for every filesystem event.
 	///
-	/// It can be any of these values: `file`, `dir`, `symlink`, `special`. That last one means
-	/// "not any of the first three," it does not mean "a special file" as defined by the OS.
+	/// It can be any of these values: `file`, `dir`, `symlink`, `other`. That last one means
+	/// "not any of the first three."
 	FileType,
 
 	/// The [`EventKind`][notify::event::EventKind] of a filesystem event.
diff --git a/lib/src/fs.rs b/lib/src/fs.rs
index 40f2843..9506cb7 100644
--- a/lib/src/fs.rs
+++ b/lib/src/fs.rs
@@ -285,7 +285,7 @@ fn process_event(
 	for path in nev.paths {
 		// possibly pull file_type from whatever notify (or the native driver) returns?
 		tags.push(Tag::Path {
-			file_type: metadata(&path).ok().map(|m| m.file_type()),
+			file_type: metadata(&path).ok().map(|m| m.file_type().into()),
 			path: dunce::canonicalize(path)?,
 		});
 	}