.flv MIME type
Flash videovideo
video/x-flvFlash Video. Nothing plays it in the browser anymore, but the format lives on in live streaming.
| MIME type | video/x-flv |
|---|---|
| Extensions | .flv |
| Content-Type | video/x-flv |
| Compress in transit? | No — already compressed |
| File signature | 46 4C 56 01 (FLV.) |
Good to know
- RTMP — still the common way to push a live stream from OBS to a streaming platform — carries its audio and video as FLV tags.
- To put old FLV files on the web, remux or transcode them to MP4.
Serve .flv files with the right type
The response header to send:
Content-Type: video/x-flv
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)
video/x-flv flv;
Apache (.htaccess or server config)
AddType video/x-flv .flv
Express
res.set("Content-Type", "video/x-flv");Python
import mimetypes
mimetypes.add_type("video/x-flv", ".flv")HTML file input
<input type="file" accept=".flv,video/x-flv">
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.flv | grep -i '^content-type:' file --mime-type file.flv
Frequently asked questions
What is the MIME type for .flv files?
video/x-flv.
What Content-Type header should a .flv file be served with?
Content-Type: video/x-flv. It's already compressed, so servers shouldn't gzip it.
How can I tell if a file is really a .flv?
Check its bytes rather than the extension: FLV files start with 46 4C 56 01 (FLV.). On the command line, file --mime-type name.flv does this for you.
Related types
Headers that go with it: Content-Type · Content-Disposition · X-Content-Type-Options