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

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

application/x-troff-man is a MIME type for Unix manual pages written in roff languages such as troff, nroff, or groff. It marks files that contain unformatted source text for system documentation. These files are later processed by text-formatting tools to present the documentation on-screen in a readable format.

• Main use: Display command and system manuals in Unix systems.
• Key fact: The source text is written in a markup language that is converted to formatted output at display time.
• Application: Provides on-demand help and technical info without storing fully preformatted pages.

Manual pages use file names with extensions like MAN, MS, TR, T, ME, and ROFF. They also appear in numbered sections such as 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8.

For a deeper dive into manual pages, check out this reference.

Associated file extensions

.1, .2, .3, .5, .8, .4, .6, .man, .ms, .7, .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-man
  

HTML

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

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

Associated file extensions

.1, .2, .3, .5, .8, .4, .6, .man, .ms, .7, .tr, .t, .me, .roff