What is MIME type "application/json"?

A MIME type is a string that tells browsers and other tools how to handle a particular kind of file.

• Data Exchange: It is the standard format for transferring information over networks.
• Configuration Storage: Many applications save settings and internal data using this structured text format.
• File Storage: Besides plain JSON files, specialized files use this format. Examples include interactive notebooks like IPYNB, geospatial data files like GEOJSON, and web application manifests like WEBMANIFEST.

Associated file extensions

.json, .yaml, .har, .ipynb, .spm, .pat, .mup, .gltf, .geojson, .ice, .epj, .mcmeta, .webapp, .mxt, .avsc, .yyp, .jsonl, .webmanifest, .yy, .b3dm, .4dform, .4dproject, .cmpt, .cryproject, .i3dm, .jq, .json-tmlanguage, .json.example, .json5, .jsonld, .maxhelp, .maxpat, .maxproj, .pnts, .sarif, .tact, .tfstate, .tfstate.backup, .topojson

Usage Examples

HTTP Header

When serving content with this MIME type, set the Content-Type header:

    Content-Type: application/json
  

HTML

In HTML, you can specify the MIME type in various elements:

    <a href="file.dat" type="application/json">Download file</a>
  

Server-side (Node.js)

Setting the Content-Type header in Node.js:

    const http = require('http');
    
    http.createServer((req, res) => {
      res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'application/json');
      res.end('Content here');
    }).listen(3000);
  

Associated file extensions

.json, .yaml, .har, .ipynb, .spm, .pat, .mup, .gltf, .geojson, .ice, .epj, .mcmeta, .webapp, .mxt, .avsc, .yyp, .jsonl, .webmanifest, .yy, .b3dm, .4dform, .4dproject, .cmpt, .cryproject, .i3dm, .jq, .json-tmlanguage, .json.example, .json5, .jsonld, .maxhelp, .maxpat, .maxproj, .pnts, .sarif, .tact, .tfstate, .tfstate.backup, .topojson