MIME Types — Complete Media Type Reference List

About the MIME Types Dataset

This dataset catalogs every registered MIME type (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions), also known as media types or content types. MIME types are the standard way that software identifies the format of a file or data stream on the internet. When a web server sends a file, it includes a Content-Type header with the MIME type so the browser knows how to handle it. The data is sourced from the IANA Media Types registry and includes official types, common vendor extensions, and widely-used unregistered types. Each entry maps the MIME type string to its associated file extensions and top-level category.

Common Use Cases

MIME types appear throughout web development and system administration. Here are the most practical applications for this dataset:

• File upload validation: Check the Content-Type of uploaded files against this list to ensure they match expected types. Cross-reference the file extension with the MIME type to detect spoofed uploads.
• Web server configuration: Generate Apache .htaccess or Nginx configuration blocks that map file extensions to the correct Content-Type headers for proper browser rendering.
• Email attachment handling: MIME types originated in email. Use this dataset to identify attachment types and determine which viewer or handler to invoke for each attachment in your email client or processing pipeline.
• API content negotiation: Implement proper Accept header parsing in your REST API by validating requested types against the full registry of known MIME types.

Column Reference

The dataset provides all the fields needed to map between MIME types and file extensions:

• mime_type — The full MIME type string in type/subtype format (e.g. application/pdf, image/svg+xml, text/csv).
• extension — The primary file extension associated with this MIME type, without the leading dot (e.g. "pdf", "svg", "csv").
• category — The top-level type category: application, audio, font, image, message, model, multipart, text, or video.
• description — A brief human-readable description of what the MIME type represents and where it is commonly used.

Understanding MIME Type Structure

Every MIME type follows a type/subtype format. The type identifies the general category of data (text, image, audio, video, application, etc.) while the subtype identifies the specific format within that category. Some subtypes include a tree prefix: vnd. indicates a vendor-specific type (e.g. application/vnd.ms-excel), x- was historically used for experimental types (e.g. application/x-tar), and prs. denotes personal or vanity types. Parameters can follow the subtype after a semicolon, such as text/html; charset=utf-8, though these parameters are not included in the base registry entries.

Security Considerations

MIME types play an important role in web security. Browsers use MIME type sniffing to determine how to handle content when the declared type does not match the actual data. This can lead to security vulnerabilities if an attacker uploads a file with one extension but embeds executable content inside. Setting the X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff header tells browsers to strictly respect the declared MIME type and prevents sniffing-based attacks. This dataset helps you build comprehensive allowlists for file upload endpoints, ensuring only expected MIME types are accepted and served to users.

Integration Examples

Download the JSON format to build a bidirectional lookup in your application — map from MIME type to extension for file saving, and from extension to MIME type for serving files with correct headers. For web server configuration, use the CSV to generate bulk AddType directives for Apache or types blocks for Nginx. The SQL format works well as a reference table in content management systems where uploaded assets need their MIME type resolved and validated during the upload pipeline.