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

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

application/x-troff-ms is a MIME type for unformatted UNIX manual pages. It indicates that a file contains troff commands using the ms macro package to define document structure and layout.

This type is used as input for tools like troff, which process the file and produce formatted documentation.

• Main Use: Serving as source files for UNIX manual pages.
• Technical Role: Holding troff markup that directs formatting operations.
• Additional Uses: Assisting in document processing for help files and system documentation on UNIX-like systems.

Files with this type are commonly seen with extensions such as MAN, MS, TR, T, ME, and ROFF.

When processed, these files become the well-organized command-line documentation familiar on UNIX systems.

For more details on troff and its macro packages, see troff on 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-ms
  

HTML

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

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

Associated file extensions

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