Question 1

What is a MIME type?

Accepted Answer

A MIME type (also called media type or content type) is a standardized identifier for file formats on the internet, defined in RFC 6838. It has the form type/subtype (e.g. text/html, application/json) and tells browsers and servers how to handle a file.

Question 2

How do I find the MIME type for a file extension?

Accepted Answer

Search this reference by extension (e.g. .json, .mp4) or by the type string itself. The result shows the MIME type, its category, common file extensions, and a description of the format.

Question 3

What is the difference between application/octet-stream and a specific type?

Accepted Answer

application/octet-stream is the generic fallback for unknown binary data. Whenever a more specific MIME type is known (e.g. application/pdf for PDF), it should be used instead so browsers and clients can handle the file correctly.

Question 4

What are the standard MIME type categories?

Accepted Answer

The top-level types are: application, audio, image, video, text, font, multipart, message, and model. Each has many subtypes, and any can carry optional parameters like charset=utf-8.

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