What is MIME type "application/x-troff"?

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

application/x-troff is a MIME type for documents written in the troff markup language. These files contain plain text mixed with formatting commands that need processing by text layout engines.

This format is used mainly on Unix-like systems. It enables text to be converted into formatted manuals and documentation by tools like roff, nroff, and groff.

• Unix manual pages generated for command-line help and system documentation
• Input for typesetting programs that produce formatted output for printing or terminal display
• Maintaining legacy documentation with rich text formatting instructions

Files associated with this MIME type include those with extensions such as MAN, MS, TR, T, ME, and ROFF.

The MIME type tells compatible applications how to process these files, ensuring that text is properly formatted before display. For more details, see the discussion on troff at Wikipedia.

Associated file extensions

.man, .ms, .tr, .t, .me, .roff

Usage Examples

HTTP Header

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

    Content-Type: application/x-troff
  

HTML

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

    <a href="file.dat" type="application/x-troff">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/x-troff');
      res.end('Content here');
    }).listen(3000);
  

Associated file extensions

.man, .ms, .tr, .t, .me, .roff