.bmp MIME type
Bitmap imageimages
image/bmpUncompressed Windows bitmaps — large files, rarely appropriate on the web.
| MIME type | image/bmp |
|---|---|
| Extensions | .bmp |
| Content-Type | image/bmp |
| Compress in transit? | Yes — enable gzip or Brotli |
| File signature | 42 4D (BM) |
Good to know
- Convert to PNG for lossless storage; it's typically a fraction of the size.
Serve .bmp files with the right type
The response header to send:
Content-Type: image/bmp
Most servers pick the type from the file extension. If yours sends the wrong one, map it explicitly:
nginx (inside the types block in mime.types)
image/bmp bmp;
Apache (.htaccess or server config)
AddType image/bmp .bmp
Express
res.set("Content-Type", "image/bmp");Python
import mimetypes
mimetypes.add_type("image/bmp", ".bmp")HTML file input
<input type="file" accept=".bmp,image/bmp">
Check it
See what a server sends for a file, and what type a local file really is by its contents:
curl -sI https://example.com/file.bmp | grep -i '^content-type:' file --mime-type file.bmp
Frequently asked questions
What is the MIME type for .bmp files?
image/bmp.
What Content-Type header should a .bmp file be served with?
Content-Type: image/bmp. It compresses well, so let the server apply gzip or Brotli.
How can I tell if a file is really a .bmp?
Check its bytes rather than the extension: BMP files start with 42 4D (BM). On the command line, file --mime-type name.bmp does this for you.
Related types
Headers that go with it: Content-Type · Content-Disposition · X-Content-Type-Options