📂 MIME Types Lookup
Search MIME types by extension or media type and copy clean Content-Type headers.
Last updated: June 9, 2026 · By Λ
What is a MIME Types Lookup Tool?
A MIME type lookup tool helps you map file extensions to media types used in HTTP headers. MIME stands for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions, and on the web it is primarily used in the Content-Type response header. Correct MIME values ensure browsers and clients interpret resources correctly, such as rendering HTML, executing JavaScript, applying CSS, playing media, or downloading binary files.
When MIME types are misconfigured, front-end and API behavior can break in subtle ways. A script may fail to execute, a font may not load due to strict type checks, or an uploaded file may be handled incorrectly by downstream services. During debugging, quickly checking the expected MIME value for an extension avoids configuration mistakes in Nginx, Apache, CDN rules, object storage metadata, and application frameworks.
This tool provides searchable extension-to-MIME mappings with practical usage notes and copy-ready header strings. You can search by extension like .json or by explicit MIME such as application/json. The mapping table ships inside the page and every search is answered from it directly, so no lookup request ever crosses the network.
What the search actually matches
The page carries a built-in table of 32 common mappings spanning seven families: text (.html, .css, .js, .mjs, .txt, .csv), application (.xml, .json, .pdf, .zip, .gz, .wasm, .bin), image (.ico through .avif), audio, video, font, and multipart. Your query is checked against three fields at once: the extension (a leading dot is stripped, so .png and png behave the same), the MIME string, and the usage note. The list refreshes 300 ms after you stop typing and the first match auto-fills the detail panel.
Worked examples
Type woff and the status line reports 2 results: .woff (font/woff) and .woff2 (font/woff2). Selecting the second shows category font and the header Content-Type: font/woff2.
Type javascript and you get .js and .mjs, both mapping to text/javascript with a UTF-8 charset in the header. That is intentional: the HTML standard settled on text/javascript for both classic scripts and ES modules, and the older application/javascript label is now considered legacy.
How to Use This Tool
- Enter an extension or MIME string in the search field.
- Optionally filter by top-level category like text or image.
- Select a result to view details and usage notes.
- Copy the MIME value or full Content-Type header snippet.
- Apply the value in server config, API response, or upload metadata.
Key Features
- Fast lookup by extension or MIME value.
- Category filtering across common media families.
- Header templates ready for copy and paste.
- Useful notes for typical file and API contexts.
- Lookups read a table bundled with the page, never a remote API.
Limitations to keep in mind
This is a curated reference, not the full IANA registry; rare vendor formats like application/vnd.* subtypes return zero results here. Note that .bin maps to the catch-all application/octet-stream, which forces a download in most browsers, and the multipart entry shows a placeholder boundary that your HTTP client normally generates, so never paste it into code unchanged. Finally, an extension is a hint, not proof; upload handlers should sniff file contents rather than trust the name.
Frequently Asked Questions
What MIME should JSON use?
Use application/json. For APIs, this is the standard response type for JSON payloads.
Why do some text types include charset?
Text formats often include a charset parameter, commonly UTF-8, to specify character encoding for correct rendering.
Is extension alone enough to determine MIME?
Usually yes for common assets, but well-built systems may also inspect file content or metadata for security and validation.
What happens if MIME is wrong?
Browsers may block resources, parse them incorrectly, or trigger downloads instead of rendering.