MIME Type Reference

About MIME Type Reference

This reference lists MIME types used in HTTP Content-Type headers, file uploads, email attachments, and web APIs. MIME types follow the format type/subtype where type is the general category (text, image, application) and subtype specifies the exact format.

Correct MIME types ensure browsers render content properly, downloads work correctly, and APIs parse data as expected.

MIME Type Structure

Format: type/subtype[; parameters]

Types:
  application  - Binary data, application-specific formats
  audio        - Audio files and streams
  font         - Font files (WOFF, TTF, OTF)
  image        - Image files (PNG, JPEG, GIF, SVG)
  message      - Email messages, MIME parts
  model        - 3D models, CAD files
  multipart    - Multiple parts (form-data, signed messages)
  text         - Text files (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, plain text)
  video        - Video files and streams

Parameters:
  charset=utf-8  - Character encoding for text types
  boundary=...   - Boundary for multipart types

Setting Content-Type in Different Contexts

// HTTP Response Header
Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8

// Apache (.htaccess)
AddType application/json .json
AddType image/webp .webp

// Nginx (nginx.conf)
types {
    application/json  json;
    image/webp        webp;
}

// Node.js Express
res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'application/json');
res.json({ key: 'value' });

// PHP
header('Content-Type: application/json');
echo json_encode($data);

// Python Flask
return jsonify({'key': 'value'})  # Auto-sets application/json

// HTML file input accept
<input type="file" accept="image/png,image/jpeg">

// JavaScript fetch
fetch('/api', {
  headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
  body: JSON.stringify(data)
});

MIME Types by Category

Text Formats

Application/Data Formats

Image Formats

Audio Formats

Video Formats

Archive/Compressed Formats

Font Formats

Multipart/Binary