Tips for working with MIME types

Tips for working with MIME types

1. Always specify Content-Type

Without the Content-Type header, the browser may misinterpret the contents of the file.

2. Use charset for text

For text types, specify the encoding: `text/html; charset=utf-8`.

3. Set up X-Content-Type-Options

The `X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff` header prevents MIME sniffing - an attack through content type substitution.

4. Handle multipart correctly

When uploading files through forms, use `multipart/form-data` and handle each part separately.

5. Configure Gzip by Type

Compress text types (HTML, CSS, JS, JSON, SVG), but do not touch already compressed ones (PNG, JPEG, MP4).

6. Use the correct types for the API

7. Validate uploaded files

Don't just rely on the file extension - check the MIME type and content (magic bytes).

See also: HTTP status codes, JSON Formatter, XML Formatter