What Is a File Extension and MIME Type?

A multipurpose internet mail extension, or MIME type, is an internet standard that describes the contents of internet files based on their natures and formats. This cataloging helps the browser open the file with the appropriate extension or plugin. Although the term includes the word “mail,” it is used for web pages, too. 

MIME types contain two parts: a type and a sub-type.

1. The type describes the categorization of MIME types that are linked to each other.
2. In contrast, a subtype is unique to a specific file type that is part of the type.

Here is the MIME type for HTML:

text/html

MIME types are defined in HTML by the type attribute on links, objects, and script and style tags.

Distinguishing Among MIME Types

Following is a list of most MIME types, with their file extensions and the applications that use them. Many computers use file extensions to help identify file types. So, if you have a file with an odd extension on your website, you can look up the MIME type in this list.

Some types are prefixed with X, and some are prefixed with VND. These prefixes, respectively, refer to sub-types not listed with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority or values specific to a vendor.