An Internet media type, originally called a MIME type after MIME

MIME

Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions is an Internet standard that extends the format of email to support:* Text in character sets other than ASCII* Non-text attachments* Message bodies with multiple parts...

 (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) and sometimes a Content-type after the name of a header in several protocols whose value is such a type, is a two-part identifier for file format

File format

A file format is a particular way that information is encoded for storage in a computer file.Since a disk drive, or indeed any computer storage, can store only bits, the computer must have some way of converting information to 0s and 1s and vice-versa. There are different kinds of formats for...

s on the Internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

.
The identifiers were originally defined in RFC 2046 for use in email sent through SMTP

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol is an Internet standard for electronic mail transmission across Internet Protocol networks. SMTP was first defined by RFC 821 , and last updated by RFC 5321 which includes the extended SMTP additions, and is the protocol in widespread use today...

, but their use has expanded to other protocols such as HTTP

Hypertext Transfer Protocol

The Hypertext Transfer Protocol is a networking protocol for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems. HTTP is the foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web....

, RTP

Real-time Transport Protocol

The Real-time Transport Protocol defines a standardized packet format for delivering audio and video over IP networks. RTP is used extensively in communication and entertainment systems that involve streaming media, such as telephony, video teleconference applications, television services and...

 and SIP

Session Initiation Protocol

The Session Initiation Protocol is an IETF-defined signaling protocol widely used for controlling communication sessions such as voice and video calls over Internet Protocol . The protocol can be used for creating, modifying and terminating two-party or multiparty sessions...

.

A media type is composed of at least two parts: a type, a subtype, and one or more optional parameters.
For example, subtypes of text have an optional charset parameter that can be included to indicate the character encoding

Character encoding

A character encoding system consists of a code that pairs each character from a given repertoire with something else, such as a sequence of natural numbers, octets or electrical pulses, in order to facilitate the transmission of data through telecommunication networks or storage of text in...

 (E.g.: text/html; charset=UTF-8

UTF-8

UTF-8 is a multibyte character encoding for Unicode. Like UTF-16 and UTF-32, UTF-8 can represent every character in the Unicode character set. Unlike them, it is backward-compatible with ASCII and avoids the complications of endianness and byte order marks...

),
and subtypes of multipart type often define a boundary between parts.
Allowed charset values are defined in the list of IANA

Internet Assigned Numbers Authority

The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority is the entity that oversees global IP address allocation, autonomous system number allocation, root zone management in the Domain Name System , media types, and other Internet Protocol-related symbols and numbers...

 character sets.

Types or subtypes that begin with x- are non-standard (they are not registered with IANA). Subtypes that begin with vnd. are vendor-specific; subtypes in the personal or vanity tree begin with prs..

MIME is short for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions, a specification for formatting non-ASCII messages so that they can be sent over the Internet. Many email clients now support MIME, which enables them to send and receive graphics, audio, and video files via the Internet mail system.

There are many predefined media types, such as GIF graphics files and PostScript files. It is also possible to define custom media types.

In addition to email applications, web browser

Web browser

A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...

s also support various media types. This enables the browser to display or output files that are not in HTML format. Media type specification is also an important information for search engine

Search engine

A search engine is an information retrieval system designed to help find information stored on a computer system. The search results are usually presented in a list and are commonly called hits. Search engines help to minimize the time required to find information and the amount of information...

s for the classification of data files on the web.

MIME was defined in 1992 by the Internet Engineering Task Force

Internet Engineering Task Force

The Internet Engineering Task Force develops and promotes Internet standards, cooperating closely with the W3C and ISO/IEC standards bodies and dealing in particular with standards of the TCP/IP and Internet protocol suite...

 (IETF). A new version, called S/MIME

S/MIME

S/MIME is a standard for public key encryption and signing of MIME data. S/MIME is on an IETF standards track and defined in a number of documents, most importantly RFCs. S/MIME was originally developed by RSA Data Security Inc...

, supports encrypted messages.

List of common media types

IANA

Internet Assigned Numbers Authority

The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority is the entity that oversees global IP address allocation, autonomous system number allocation, root zone management in the Domain Name System , media types, and other Internet Protocol-related symbols and numbers...

 manages a registry of media types and character encoding

Character encoding

A character encoding system consists of a code that pairs each character from a given repertoire with something else, such as a sequence of natural numbers, octets or electrical pulses, in order to facilitate the transmission of data through telecommunication networks or storage of text in...

s. The organization makes a list available to the public through the Web.
Some of the more notable media types used on the Web are listed below:

Type application

For Multipurpose files.

• application/atom+xml: Atom feeds
  Atom (standard)
  The name Atom applies to a pair of related standards. The Atom Syndication Format is an XML language used for web feeds, while the Atom Publishing Protocol is a simple HTTP-based protocol for creating and updating web resources.Web feeds allow software programs to check for updates published on a...
  
  
• application/ecmascript: ECMAScript
  ECMAScript
  ECMAScript is the scripting language standardized by Ecma International in the ECMA-262 specification and ISO/IEC 16262. The language is widely used for client-side scripting on the web, in the form of several well-known dialects such as JavaScript, JScript, and ActionScript.- History :JavaScript...
  
  /JavaScript
  JavaScript
  JavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles....
  
  ; Defined in RFC 4329 (equivalent to application/javascript but with stricter processing rules)
• application/EDI-X12: EDI
  Electronic Data Interchange
  Electronic data interchange is the structured transmission of data between organizations by electronic means. It is used to transfer electronic documents or business data from one computer system to another computer system, i.e...
  
   X12
  ANSI ASC X12
  The Accredited Standards Committee X12 , chartered by the American National Standards Institute more than 30 years ago, develops and maintains EDI and CICA standards along with XML schemas which drive business processes globally...
  
   data; Defined in RFC 1767
• application/EDIFACT: EDI
  Electronic Data Interchange
  Electronic data interchange is the structured transmission of data between organizations by electronic means. It is used to transfer electronic documents or business data from one computer system to another computer system, i.e...
  
   EDIFACT
  EDIFACT
  United Nations/Electronic Data Interchange For Administration, Commerce and Transport is the international EDI standard developed under the United Nations...
  
   data; Defined in RFC 1767
• application/json: JavaScript Object Notation JSON
  JSON
  JSON , or JavaScript Object Notation, is a lightweight text-based open standard designed for human-readable data interchange. It is derived from the JavaScript scripting language for representing simple data structures and associative arrays, called objects...
  
  ; Defined in RFC 4627
• application/javascript: ECMAScript
  ECMAScript
  ECMAScript is the scripting language standardized by Ecma International in the ECMA-262 specification and ISO/IEC 16262. The language is widely used for client-side scripting on the web, in the form of several well-known dialects such as JavaScript, JScript, and ActionScript.- History :JavaScript...
  
  /JavaScript
  JavaScript
  JavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles....
  
  ; Defined in RFC 4329 (equivalent to application/ecmascript but with looser processing rules) It is not accepted in IE 8 or earlier - text/javascript is accepted but it is defined as obsolete in RFC 4329. The "type" attribute of the <script> tag in HTML5 is optional and in practice omitting the media type of JavaScript programs is the most interoperable solution since all browsers have always assumed the correct default even before HTML5.
• application/octet-stream: Arbitrary binary data. Generally speaking this type identifies files that are not associated with a specific application. Contrary to past assumptions by software packages such as Apache
  Apache HTTP Server
  The Apache HTTP Server, commonly referred to as Apache , is web server software notable for playing a key role in the initial growth of the World Wide Web. In 2009 it became the first web server software to surpass the 100 million website milestone...
  
   this is not a type that should be applied to unknown files. In such a case, a server or application should not indicate a content type, as it may be incorrect, but rather, should omit the type in order to allow the recipient to guess the type.
• application/ogg: Ogg
  Ogg
  Ogg is a free, open container format maintained by the Xiph.Org Foundation. The creators of the Ogg format state that it is unrestricted by software patents and is designed to provide for efficient streaming and manipulation of high quality digital multimedia.The Ogg container format can multiplex...
  
  , a multimedia bitstream container format; Defined in RFC 5334
• application/pdf: Portable Document Format, PDF has been in use for document exchange on the Internet since 1993; Defined in RFC 3778
• application/postscript: PostScript
  PostScript
  PostScript is a dynamically typed concatenative programming language created by John Warnock and Charles Geschke in 1982. It is best known for its use as a page description language in the electronic and desktop publishing areas. Adobe PostScript 3 is also the worldwide printing and imaging...
  
  ; Defined in RFC 2046
• application/rss+xml: RSS feeds
  RSS
  -Mathematics:* Root-sum-square, the square root of the sum of the squares of the elements of a data set* Residual sum of squares in statistics-Technology:* RSS , "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary", a family of web feed formats...
  
  
• application/soap+xml: SOAP
  SOAP
  SOAP, originally defined as Simple Object Access Protocol, is a protocol specification for exchanging structured information in the implementation of Web Services in computer networks...
  
  ; Defined by RFC 3902
• application/font-woff: Web Open Font Format
  Web Open Font Format
  The Web Open Font Format is a font format for use in web pages. It was developed during 2009 and is in the process of being standardized as a recommendation by the World Wide Web Consortium Web Fonts Working Group....
  
  ; (candidate recommendation; use application/x-font-woff until standard is official)
• application/xhtml+xml: XHTML
  XHTML
  XHTML is a family of XML markup languages that mirror or extend versions of the widely-used Hypertext Markup Language , the language in which web pages are written....
  
  ; Defined by RFC 3236
• application/xml-dtd: DTD
  Document Type Definition
  Document Type Definition is a set of markup declarations that define a document type for SGML-family markup languages...
  
   files; Defined by RFC 3023
• application/xop+xml:XOP
• application/zip: ZIP
  ZIP (file format)
  Zip is a file format used for data compression and archiving. A zip file contains one or more files that have been compressed, to reduce file size, or stored as is...
  
   archive files; Registered
• application/x-gzip: Gzip
  Gzip
  Gzip is any of several software applications used for file compression and decompression. The term usually refers to the GNU Project's implementation, "gzip" standing for GNU zip. It is based on the DEFLATE algorithm, which is a combination of Lempel-Ziv and Huffman coding...
  
  

Type audio

For Audio

Sound

Sound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.-Propagation of...

.

• audio/basic: mulaw audio at 8 kHz, 1 channel; Defined in RFC 2046
• audio/L24: 24bit Linear PCM audio at 8-48kHz, 1-N channels; Defined in RFC 3190
• audio/mp4: MP4 audio
• audio/mpeg: MP3
  MP3
  MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
  
   or other MPEG audio; Defined in RFC 3003
• audio/ogg: Ogg
  Ogg
  Ogg is a free, open container format maintained by the Xiph.Org Foundation. The creators of the Ogg format state that it is unrestricted by software patents and is designed to provide for efficient streaming and manipulation of high quality digital multimedia.The Ogg container format can multiplex...
  
   Vorbis
  Vorbis
  Vorbis is a free software / open source project headed by the Xiph.Org Foundation . The project produces an audio format specification and software implementation for lossy audio compression...
  
  , Speex
  Speex
  Speex is a patent-free audio compression format designed for speech and also a free software speech codec that may be used on VoIP applications and podcasts. It is based on the CELP speech coding algorithm. Speex claims to be free of any patent restrictions and is licensed under the revised BSD...
  
  , Flac
  FLAC
  FLAC is a codec which allows digital audio to be losslessly compressed such that file size is reduced without any information being lost...
  
   and other audio; Defined in RFC 5334
• audio/vorbis: Vorbis
  Vorbis
  Vorbis is a free software / open source project headed by the Xiph.Org Foundation . The project produces an audio format specification and software implementation for lossy audio compression...
  
   encoded audio; Defined in RFC 5215
• audio/x-ms-wma: Windows Media Audio
  Windows Media Audio
  Windows Media Audio is an audio data compression technology developed by Microsoft. The name can be used to refer to its audio file format or its audio codecs. It is a proprietary technology that forms part of the Windows Media framework. WMA consists of four distinct codecs...
  
  ; Documented in Microsoft KB 288102
• audio/x-ms-wax: Windows Media Audio
  Windows Media Audio
  Windows Media Audio is an audio data compression technology developed by Microsoft. The name can be used to refer to its audio file format or its audio codecs. It is a proprietary technology that forms part of the Windows Media framework. WMA consists of four distinct codecs...
  
   Redirector; Documented in Microsoft help page
• audio/vnd.rn-realaudio: RealAudio
  RealAudio
  RealAudio is a proprietary audio format developed by RealNetworks and first released in April 1995. It uses a variety of audio codecs, ranging from low-bitrate formats that can be used over dialup modems, to high-fidelity formats for music. It can also be used as a streaming audio format, that is...
  
  ; Documented in http://real.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/real.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=2559&p_created=&p_sid=uz4Tpoti&p_lva=1085179956&p_sp=2559&p_li=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9MSZwX3Byb2RzPTMsMTEmcF9jYXRzPSZwX3B2PTIuMTEmcF9jdj0mcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT1hbnN3ZXJzLmFfaWQmcF9wYWdlPTEmcF9zZWFyY2hfdGV4dD0yNTU5cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9MyZwX3Byb2RzPTMsMTEmcF9jYXRzPSZwX3B2PTIuMTEmcF9jdj0mcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT1hbnN3ZXJzLnNlYXJjaF9ubCZwX3BhZ2U9MSZwX3NlYXJjaF90ZXh0PU1JTUU*&p_prod_lvl1=3&p_prod_lvl2=11&tabName=tab0&p_topview=1RealPlayer Customer Support Answer 2559]
• audio/vnd.wave: WAV
  WAV
  Waveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs...
  
   audio; Defined in RFC 2361
• audio/webm: WebM
  WebM
  WebM is an audio-video format designed to provide a royalty-free, open video compression format for use with HTML5 video. The project's development is sponsored by Google....
  
   open media format

Type image

• image/gif: GIF
  GIF
  The Graphics Interchange Format is a bitmap image format that was introduced by CompuServe in 1987 and has since come into widespread usage on the World Wide Web due to its wide support and portability....
  
   image; Defined in RFC 2045 and RFC 2046
• image/jpeg: JPEG
  JPEG
  In computing, JPEG . The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality....
  
   JFIF image; Defined in RFC 2045 and RFC 2046
• image/pjpeg: JPEG
  JPEG
  In computing, JPEG . The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality....
  
   JFIF image; Associated with Internet Explorer; Listed in ms775147(v=vs.85) - Progressive JPEG, initiated before global browser support for progressive JPEGs (Microsoft and Firefox).
• image/png: Portable Network Graphics; Registered, Defined in RFC 2083
• image/svg+xml: SVG vector image; Defined in SVG Tiny 1.2 Specification Appendix M
• image/tiff: Tag Image File Format (only for Baseline TIFF); Defined in RFC 3302
• image/vnd.microsoft.icon: ICO
  ICO (icon image file format)
  The ICO file format is an image file format for computer icons in Microsoft Windows. ICO files contain one or more small images at multiple sizes and color depths, such that they may be scaled appropriately...
  
   image; Registered

Type message

• message/http: Defined in RFC 2616
• message/imdn+xml: IMDN Instant Message Disposition Notification; Defined in RFC 5438
• message/partial: Email
  Email
  Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
  
  ; Defined in RFC 2045 and RFC 2046
• message/rfc822: Email
  Email
  Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
  
  ; EML files, MIME files, MHT
  MHTML
  MHTML, short for MIME HTML, is a web page archive format used to combine resources that are typically represented by external links together with HTML code into a single file. The content of an MHTML file is encoded as if it were an HTML e-mail message, using the MIME type multipart/related...
  
   files, MHTML
  MHTML
  MHTML, short for MIME HTML, is a web page archive format used to combine resources that are typically represented by external links together with HTML code into a single file. The content of an MHTML file is encoded as if it were an HTML e-mail message, using the MIME type multipart/related...
  
   files; Defined in RFC 2045 and RFC 2046

Type model

For 3D models.

• model/example: Defined in RFC 4735
• model/iges: IGS files, IGES
  IGES
  The Initial Graphics Exchange Specification is a file format which defines a vendor neutral data format that allows the digital exchange of information among Computer-aided design systems....
  
   files; Defined in RFC 2077
• model/mesh: MSH files, MESH files; Defined in RFC 2077, SILO files
• model/vrml: WRL
  WRL
  WRL can stand for different things:* Wales Rugby League, governing body for rugby league football in Wales* Worland Municipal Airport, a public airport in Wyoming* War Resisters League* the filename extension .wrl is used for VRML files...
  
   files, VRML
  VRML
  VRML is a standard file format for representing 3-dimensional interactive vector graphics, designed particularly with the World Wide Web in mind...
  
   files; Defined in RFC 2077
• model/x3d+binary: X3D
  X3D
  X3D is the ISO standard XML-based file format for representing 3D computer graphics, the successor to the Virtual Reality Modeling Language . X3D features extensions to VRML X3D is the ISO standard XML-based file format for representing 3D computer graphics, the successor to the Virtual Reality...
  
   ISO standard for representing 3D computer graphics
  3D computer graphics
  3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
  
  , X3DB binary
  Binary
  - Mathematics :* Binary numeral system, a representation for numbers using only two digits * Binary function, a function in mathematics that takes two arguments- Computing :* Binary file, composed of something other than human-readable text...
  
   files
• model/x3d+vrml: X3D
  X3D
  X3D is the ISO standard XML-based file format for representing 3D computer graphics, the successor to the Virtual Reality Modeling Language . X3D features extensions to VRML X3D is the ISO standard XML-based file format for representing 3D computer graphics, the successor to the Virtual Reality...
  
   ISO standard for representing 3D computer graphics
  3D computer graphics
  3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
  
  , X3DV VRML
  VRML
  VRML is a standard file format for representing 3-dimensional interactive vector graphics, designed particularly with the World Wide Web in mind...
  
   files
• model/x3d+xml: X3D
  X3D
  X3D is the ISO standard XML-based file format for representing 3D computer graphics, the successor to the Virtual Reality Modeling Language . X3D features extensions to VRML X3D is the ISO standard XML-based file format for representing 3D computer graphics, the successor to the Virtual Reality...
  
   ISO standard for representing 3D computer graphics
  3D computer graphics
  3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
  
  , X3D XML
  XML
  Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
  
   files

Type multipart

For archives and other objects made of more than one part.

• multipart/mixed: MIME Email
  Email
  Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
  
  ; Defined in RFC 2045 and RFC 2046
• multipart/alternative: MIME Email
  Email
  Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
  
  ; Defined in RFC 2045 and RFC 2046
• multipart/related: MIME Email
  Email
  Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
  
  ; Defined in RFC 2387 and used by MHTML
  MHTML
  MHTML, short for MIME HTML, is a web page archive format used to combine resources that are typically represented by external links together with HTML code into a single file. The content of an MHTML file is encoded as if it were an HTML e-mail message, using the MIME type multipart/related...
  
   (HTML mail)
• multipart/form-data: MIME Webform; Defined in RFC 2388
• multipart/signed: Defined in RFC 1847
• multipart/encrypted: Defined in RFC 1847

Type text

For human-readable text

Writing

Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols . It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and non-symbolic preservation of language via non-textual media, such as magnetic tape audio.Writing most likely...

 and source code

Source code

In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...

.

• text/cmd: commands; subtype resident in Gecko
  Gecko (layout engine)
  Gecko is a free and open source layout engine used in many applications developed by Mozilla Foundation and the Mozilla Corporation , as well as in many other open source software projects....
  
   browsers like Firefox 3.5
• text/css: Cascading Style Sheets
  Cascading Style Sheets
  Cascading Style Sheets is a style sheet language used to describe the presentation semantics of a document written in a markup language...
  
  ; Defined in RFC 2318
• text/csv: Comma-separated values
  Comma-separated values
  A comma-separated values file stores tabular data in plain-text form. As a result, such a file is easily human-readable ....
  
  ; Defined in RFC 4180
• text/html: HTML
  HTML
  HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
  
  ; Defined in RFC 2854
• text/javascript (Obsolete): JavaScript
  JavaScript
  JavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles....
  
  ; Defined in and obsoleted by RFC 4329 in order to discourage its usage in favor of application/javascript. However, text/javascript is allowed in HTML 4 and 5 and, unlike application/javascript, has cross-browser support. The "type" attribute of the <script> tag in HTML5 is optional and there is no need to use it at all since all browsers have always assumed the correct default (even in HTML 4 where it was required by the specification).
• text/plain: Textual data; Defined in RFC 2046 and RFC 3676
• text/xml: Extensible Markup Language; Defined in RFC 3023

Type video

For video

Video

Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...

.

• video/mpeg: MPEG-1
  MPEG-1
  MPEG-1 is a standard for lossy compression of video and audio. It is designed to compress VHS-quality raw digital video and CD audio down to 1.5 Mbit/s without excessive quality loss, making video CDs, digital cable/satellite TV and digital audio broadcasting possible.Today, MPEG-1 has become...
  
   video with multiplexed audio; Defined in RFC 2045 and RFC 2046
• video/mp4: MP4 video; Defined in RFC 4337
• video/ogg: Ogg
  Ogg
  Ogg is a free, open container format maintained by the Xiph.Org Foundation. The creators of the Ogg format state that it is unrestricted by software patents and is designed to provide for efficient streaming and manipulation of high quality digital multimedia.The Ogg container format can multiplex...
  
   Theora
  Theora
  Theora is a free lossy video compression format. It is developed by the Xiph.Org Foundation and distributed without licensing fees alongside their other free and open media projects, including the Vorbis audio format and the Ogg container....
  
   or other video (with audio); Defined in RFC 5334
• video/quicktime: QuickTime
  QuickTime
  QuickTime is an extensible proprietary multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. The classic version of QuickTime is available for Windows XP and later, as well as Mac OS X Leopard and...
  
   video; Registered
• video/webm: WebM
  WebM
  WebM is an audio-video format designed to provide a royalty-free, open video compression format for use with HTML5 video. The project's development is sponsored by Google....
  
   open media format
• video/x-ms-wmv: Windows Media Video
  Windows Media Video
  'Windows Media Video is a video compression format for several proprietary codecs developed by Microsoft. The original video format, known as WMV, was originally designed for Internet streaming applications, as a competitor to RealVideo. The other formats, such as WMV Screen and WMV Image, cater...
  
  ; Documented in Microsoft KB 288102

Type vnd

For vendor-specific files.

• application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text: OpenDocument
  OpenDocument
  The Open Document Format for Office Applications is an XML-based file format for representing electronic documents such as spreadsheets, charts, presentations and word processing documents....
  
   Text; Registered
• application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet: OpenDocument
  OpenDocument
  The Open Document Format for Office Applications is an XML-based file format for representing electronic documents such as spreadsheets, charts, presentations and word processing documents....
  
   Spreadsheet; Registered
• application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.presentation: OpenDocument
  OpenDocument
  The Open Document Format for Office Applications is an XML-based file format for representing electronic documents such as spreadsheets, charts, presentations and word processing documents....
  
   Presentation; Registered
• application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.graphics: OpenDocument
  OpenDocument
  The Open Document Format for Office Applications is an XML-based file format for representing electronic documents such as spreadsheets, charts, presentations and word processing documents....
  
   Graphics; Registered
• application/vnd.ms-excel: Microsoft Excel
  Microsoft Excel
  Microsoft Excel is a proprietary commercial spreadsheet application written and distributed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications...
  
   files
• application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet: Microsoft Excel
  Microsoft Excel
  Microsoft Excel is a proprietary commercial spreadsheet application written and distributed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications...
  
   2007 files
• application/vnd.ms-powerpoint: Microsoft Powerpoint
  Microsoft PowerPoint
  Microsoft PowerPoint, usually just called PowerPoint, is a non-free commercial presentation program developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Office suite, and runs on Microsoft Windows and Apple's Mac OS X operating system...
  
   files
• application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation: Microsoft Powerpoint
  Microsoft PowerPoint
  Microsoft PowerPoint, usually just called PowerPoint, is a non-free commercial presentation program developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Office suite, and runs on Microsoft Windows and Apple's Mac OS X operating system...
  
   2007 files
• application/msword: Microsoft Word
  Microsoft Word
  Microsoft Word is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS , the Apple Macintosh , the AT&T Unix PC , Atari ST , SCO UNIX,...
  
   files
• application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document: Microsoft Word
  Microsoft Word
  Microsoft Word is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS , the Apple Macintosh , the AT&T Unix PC , Atari ST , SCO UNIX,...
  
   2007 files
• application/vnd.mozilla.xul+xml: Mozilla
  Mozilla
  Mozilla is a term used in a number of ways in relation to the Mozilla.org project and the Mozilla Foundation, their defunct commercial predecessor Netscape Communications Corporation, and their related application software....
  
   XUL
  XUL
  In computer programming, XUL , the XML User Interface Language, is an XML user interface markup language developed by the Mozilla project. XUL operates in Mozilla cross-platform applications such as Firefox...
  
   files
• application/vnd.google-earth.kml+xml: KML
  Keyhole Markup Language
  Keyhole Markup Language is an XML notation for expressing geographic annotation and visualization within Internet-based, two-dimensional maps and three-dimensional Earth browsers. KML was developed for use with Google Earth, which was originally named Keyhole Earth Viewer. It was created by...
  
   files (e.g. for Google Earth
  Google Earth
  Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a Central Intelligence Agency funded company acquired by Google in 2004 . It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite...
  
  )

Type x

For non-standard files.

• application/x-www-form-urlencoded Form Encoded Data; Documented in HTML 4.01 Specification, Section 17.13.4.1
• application/x-dvi: device-independent document in DVI format
• application/x-latex: LaTeX
  LaTeX
  LaTeX is a document markup language and document preparation system for the TeX typesetting program. Within the typesetting system, its name is styled as . The term LaTeX refers only to the language in which documents are written, not to the editor used to write those documents. In order to...
  
   files
• application/x-font-ttf: TrueType Font No registered MIME type, but this is the most commonly used
• application/x-shockwave-flash: Adobe Flash
  Adobe Flash
  Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
  
   files for example with the extension .swf
• application/x-stuffit: StuffIt
  StuffIt
  StuffIt is a family of computer software utilities for archiving and compressing files on the Macintosh and Microsoft Windows platforms: it was originally produced for the Macintosh. An old version for Linux and Sun Solaris 2.7 or later is also available...
  
   archive files
• application/x-rar-compressed: RAR archive files
• application/x-tar: Tarball
  Tar (file format)
  In computing, tar is both a file format and the name of a program used to handle such files...
  
   files
• text/x-jquery-tmpl: jQuery
  JQuery
  jQuery is a cross-browser JavaScript library designed to simplify the client-side scripting of HTML. It was released in January 2006 at BarCamp NYC by John Resig...
  
   template data
• application/x-javascript:

Type x-pkcs

For PKCS

PKCS

In cryptography, PKCS refers to a group of public-key cryptography standards devised and published by RSA Security.RSA Data Security Inc was assigned the licensing rights for the patent on the RSA asymmetric key algorithm and acquired the licensing rights to several other key patents as well...

standard files.

• application/x-pkcs12: p12 files
• application/x-pkcs12: pfx files
• application/x-pkcs7-certificates: p7b files
• application/x-pkcs7-certificates: spc files
• application/x-pkcs7-certreqresp: p7r files
• application/x-pkcs7-mime: p7c files
• application/x-pkcs7-mime: p7m files
• application/x-pkcs7-signature: p7s files

External links

• IANA MIME media types list
• IANA character sets
• RFC 2045, RFC 2046 - Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME), parts 1 and 2