Why does MIME type matter?

The wrong MIME type leads to the wrong handling. A JPG served as text/plain shows up in the browser as garbled raw bytes. A PDF served as application/octet-stream forces a download instead of displaying. The correct MIME ensures proper rendering, supports security features like XSS prevention, and unlocks browser features for that format.

What's the difference between text/plain and text/html?

text/plain is raw text with no formatting, and the browser displays it as-is. text/html is HTML markup, which the browser renders as elements, runs scripts inside, and styles with CSS. Sending the wrong type means HTML may render as plain text (a broken page) or plain text may be interpreted as HTML (an XSS risk).

What's application/octet-stream?

It is the generic binary data type. The browser typically forces a download rather than trying to display it. It is used for unknown file types and explicit downloads. It is not ideal for known formats — a specific MIME type lets the browser preview, choose the right handler, and take appropriate security measures.

How do I detect MIME type from file?

Two main approaches. From the extension via a lookup table (this tool). From the content via 'magic bytes' (the file signature). Combining both is more reliable. The JavaScript File object has a .type property that the browser detects, and on the server side you have the Linux file command, python-magic, and various content-sniffing libraries.

Are MIME types case-sensitive?

The RFC specifies that they are case-insensitive — text/HTML and TEXT/html are both valid. The convention is lowercase, and most tools and parsers handle either. Use lowercase for consistency, and the tool typically returns lowercase.

What about charset parameter?

It is often included with text types. text/html; charset=utf-8 is unambiguous; text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 covers legacy encodings. Without a charset, the browser auto-detects, which is sometimes wrong. Including the charset makes rendering more reliable, and it is the best practice for text content.

Is the data sent to a server?

The lookup tool is a pure database query in the browser — an extension-to-MIME mapping table. Everything runs client-side, and no data is sent.

MIME Type Lookup

Look up MIME types by file extension or search MIME types to find associated extensions. Free MIME type reference with 200+ common types.

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Instant results

Showing 162 of 162 MIME types

Extension	MIME Type	Category
`.json`	application/json	Application
`.xml`	application/xml	Application
`.pdf`	application/pdf	Application
`.zip`	application/zip	Application
`.gz`	application/gzip	Application
`.tar`	application/x-tar	Application
`.7z`	application/x-7z-compressed	Application
`.rar`	application/vnd.rar	Application
`.bz2`	application/x-bzip2	Application
`.xz`	application/x-xz	Application
`.js`	application/javascript	Application
`.mjs`	application/javascript	Application
`.cjs`	application/javascript	Application
`.wasm`	application/wasm	Application
`.doc`	application/msword	Application
`.docx`	application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document	Application
`.xls`	application/vnd.ms-excel	Application
`.xlsx`	application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet	Application
`.ppt`	application/vnd.ms-powerpoint	Application
`.pptx`	application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation	Application
`.odt`	application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text	Application
`.ods`	application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet	Application
`.odp`	application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.presentation	Application
`.rtf`	application/rtf	Application
`.swf`	application/x-shockwave-flash	Application
`.jar`	application/java-archive	Application
`.war`	application/java-archive	Application
`.sql`	application/sql	Application
`.graphql`	application/graphql	Application
`.woff`	application/font-woff	Application
`.jsonld`	application/ld+json	Application
`.rss`	application/rss+xml	Application
`.atom`	application/atom+xml	Application
`.xhtml`	application/xhtml+xml	Application
`.epub`	application/epub+zip	Application
`.mpkg`	application/vnd.apple.installer+xml	Application
`.bin`	application/octet-stream	Application
`.exe`	application/octet-stream	Application
`.dll`	application/octet-stream	Application
`.dmg`	application/octet-stream	Application
`.iso`	application/octet-stream	Application
`.deb`	application/x-debian-package	Application
`.rpm`	application/x-rpm	Application
`.php`	application/x-httpd-php	Application
`.crt`	application/x-x509-ca-cert	Application
`.pem`	application/x-pem-file	Application
`.p12`	application/x-pkcs12	Application
`.key`	application/pkcs8	Application
`.torrent`	application/x-bittorrent	Application
`.ics`	application/calendar	Application
`.html`	text/html	Text
`.htm`	text/html	Text
`.css`	text/css	Text
`.csv`	text/csv	Text
`.tsv`	text/tab-separated-values	Text
`.txt`	text/plain	Text
`.log`	text/plain	Text
`.md`	text/markdown	Text
`.markdown`	text/markdown	Text
`.yaml`	text/yaml	Text
`.yml`	text/yaml	Text
`.toml`	text/toml	Text
`.ini`	text/plain	Text
`.cfg`	text/plain	Text
`.conf`	text/plain	Text
`.env`	text/plain	Text
`.ts`	text/typescript	Text
`.tsx`	text/tsx	Text
`.jsx`	text/jsx	Text
`.py`	text/x-python	Text
`.rb`	text/x-ruby	Text
`.java`	text/x-java-source	Text
`.c`	text/x-c	Text
`.cpp`	text/x-c++src	Text
`.h`	text/x-c	Text
`.hpp`	text/x-c++hdr	Text
`.cs`	text/x-csharp	Text
`.go`	text/x-go	Text
`.rs`	text/x-rustsrc	Text
`.swift`	text/x-swift	Text
`.kt`	text/x-kotlin	Text
`.scala`	text/x-scala	Text
`.sh`	text/x-shellscript	Text
`.bash`	text/x-shellscript	Text
`.zsh`	text/x-shellscript	Text
`.bat`	text/x-bat	Text
`.ps1`	text/x-powershell	Text
`.lua`	text/x-lua	Text
`.r`	text/x-r	Text
`.dart`	text/x-dart	Text
`.vue`	text/x-vue	Text
`.svelte`	text/x-svelte	Text
`.scss`	text/x-scss	Text
`.sass`	text/x-sass	Text
`.less`	text/x-less	Text
`.styl`	text/x-stylus	Text
`.asm`	text/x-asm	Text
`.vtt`	text/vtt	Text
`.srt`	text/srt	Text
`.ical`	text/calendar	Text
`.vcf`	text/vcard	Text
`.jpg`	image/jpeg	Image
`.jpeg`	image/jpeg	Image
`.png`	image/png	Image
`.gif`	image/gif	Image
`.webp`	image/webp	Image
`.avif`	image/avif	Image
`.svg`	image/svg+xml	Image
`.ico`	image/x-icon	Image
`.bmp`	image/bmp	Image
`.tiff`	image/tiff	Image
`.tif`	image/tiff	Image
`.heic`	image/heic	Image
`.heif`	image/heif	Image
`.jxl`	image/jxl	Image
`.raw`	image/x-raw	Image
`.psd`	image/vnd.adobe.photoshop	Image
`.ai`	application/postscript	Image
`.eps`	application/postscript	Image
`.apng`	image/apng	Image
`.cur`	image/x-icon	Image
`.mp3`	audio/mpeg	Audio
`.wav`	audio/wav	Audio
`.ogg`	audio/ogg	Audio
`.oga`	audio/ogg	Audio
`.flac`	audio/flac	Audio
`.aac`	audio/aac	Audio
`.m4a`	audio/mp4	Audio
`.wma`	audio/x-ms-wma	Audio
`.opus`	audio/opus	Audio
`.mid`	audio/midi	Audio
`.midi`	audio/midi	Audio
`.aiff`	audio/aiff	Audio
`.weba`	audio/webm	Audio
`.amr`	audio/amr	Audio
`.mp4`	video/mp4	Video
`.m4v`	video/mp4	Video
`.webm`	video/webm	Video
`.ogv`	video/ogg	Video
`.avi`	video/x-msvideo	Video
`.mov`	video/quicktime	Video
`.wmv`	video/x-ms-wmv	Video
`.flv`	video/x-flv	Video
`.mkv`	video/x-matroska	Video
`.ts`	video/mp2t	Video
`.3gp`	video/3gpp	Video
`.3g2`	video/3gpp2	Video
`.m3u8`	application/vnd.apple.mpegurl	Video
`.mpd`	application/dash+xml	Video
`.woff2`	font/woff2	Font
`.woff`	font/woff	Font
`.ttf`	font/ttf	Font
`.otf`	font/otf	Font
`.eot`	application/vnd.ms-fontobject	Font
`.gltf`	model/gltf+json	Model
`.glb`	model/gltf-binary	Model
`.obj`	model/obj	Model
`.stl`	model/stl	Model
`.webmanifest`	application/manifest+json	Application
`.map`	application/json	Application
`.wsdl`	application/wsdl+xml	Application
`.proto`	text/x-protobuf	Text

About MIME Type Lookup

Look up MIME types (media types) by file extension or search by MIME type string. Includes 162+ entries covering documents, images, audio, video, fonts, code files, and more. Click any row to copy the MIME type to your clipboard.

How to Use MIME Type Lookup

Enter file extension

Type an extension (.pdf, .jpg, .html, and so on) or paste a filename. The tool extracts the extension automatically.

View MIME type

The tool returns the standard MIME type (the most common one), lists alternatives when multiple exist, and provides a description with usage context.

Use in headers

Apply the result to HTTP Content-Type headers, email attachments, file upload validation, and API content negotiation.

Verify on real files

The extension lookup gives you the expected MIME type. For real files, check the magic bytes (the file signature) to confirm the actual content type, and combine both checks for accuracy.

When to Use MIME Type Lookup

Web development

Setting the Content-Type header for file uploads and downloads is one of those small configuration tasks that quietly determines whether everything works. The tool gives you the standard MIME type for any file extension, which fits server configuration, API development, and file handling work.

Email attachments

Programmatic email with attachments needs the correct MIME type on every part. The tool makes the lookup quick, which matters when working with SMTP libraries, automated emails, and attachment processing pipelines.

File processing

Categorizing files by MIME type drives a lot of file processing work. Image processors handle image/jpeg, image/png, and image/gif; video tools handle video/mp4 and video/webm. The tool provides a comprehensive lookup that fits file type detection and processing pipelines.

API design

RESTful APIs depend on Content-Type and Accept headers, and the tool helps you pick the right MIME types. It is useful in API design, content negotiation, and integration with diverse clients.

MIME Type Lookup Examples

Common file types

Input

.pdf

Output

application/pdf. Standard MIME type for PDF files. Used in: HTTP Content-Type, email attachments, file downloads.

A standard lookup. PDFs use application/pdf, which is critical for browsers to handle correctly — without it, the browser may not know whether to display or download.

Multiple options

Input

.html

Output

text/html (most common). Also: application/xhtml+xml (XHTML). Charset specifier optional: text/html; charset=utf-8.

Some extensions have more than one valid MIME type. The tool shows the most common first and lists alternatives so you can choose based on context.

Modern formats

Input

.webp

Output

image/webp. Modern image format (Google, since 2010). Better compression than JPG/PNG.

Modern formats have their own MIME types, and serving the correct one matters. Send the wrong MIME and the browser may not display the format properly.

Tips & Best Practices for MIME Type Lookup

1.Always set the correct Content-Type. HTTP responses without a proper MIME type can be misinterpreted by the browser, which creates security risks and broken displays.
2.Include the charset on text content. text/html; charset=utf-8 is unambiguous, while leaving the charset out forces the browser to auto-detect, which sometimes gets it wrong.
3.Distinct MIME types matter for security. Browsers treat application/octet-stream very differently from text/plain, and the wrong type can introduce XSS or other security issues.
4.Use modern alternatives where they exist. application/json is now standard for JSON (it used to be served as text/plain), and image/svg+xml is the right type for SVG. Update old configurations.
5.Do not rely on MIME type sniffing. Some browsers detect the type from content when Content-Type is missing or wrong, but you should always send the correct type.
6.When uploading multiple files, multipart/form-data is the MIME type for the form itself, and each part has its own Content-Type.

Frequently Asked Questions

MIME stands for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions, and a MIME type is a standardized identifier for file content. The format is type/subtype — text/html, image/jpeg, application/pdf, and so on. It tells browsers, email clients, and other applications how to handle a file, which makes it critical for HTTP Content-Type headers, email attachments, and file uploads.

MIME Type Lookup

About MIME Type Lookup

How to Use MIME Type Lookup

Enter file extension

View MIME type

Use in headers

Verify on real files

When to Use MIME Type Lookup

Web development

Email attachments

File processing

API design

MIME Type Lookup Examples

Common file types

Multiple options

Modern formats

Tips & Best Practices for MIME Type Lookup

Frequently Asked Questions

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