.kml MIME type
KMLtext & code
application/vnd.google-earth.kml+xmlKeyhole Markup Language — placemarks, paths and overlays for Google Earth and Google Maps.
| MIME type | application/vnd.google-earth.kml+xml |
|---|---|
| Extensions | .kml |
| Content-Type | application/vnd.google-earth.kml+xml; charset=utf-8 |
| Compress in transit? | Yes — enable gzip or Brotli |
Good to know
- Zipped KML uses
.kmzandapplication/vnd.google-earth.kmz: a ZIP archive with a main.kmlfile (conventionallydoc.kml) and its images. - KML writes coordinates as
longitude,latitude[,altitude]— the same order as GeoJSON.
Serve .kml files with the right type
The response header to send:
Content-Type: application/vnd.google-earth.kml+xml; charset=utf-8
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)
application/vnd.google-earth.kml+xml kml;
Apache (.htaccess or server config)
AddType application/vnd.google-earth.kml+xml .kml
Express
res.set("Content-Type", "application/vnd.google-earth.kml+xml; charset=utf-8");Python
import mimetypes
mimetypes.add_type("application/vnd.google-earth.kml+xml", ".kml")HTML file input
<input type="file" accept=".kml,application/vnd.google-earth.kml+xml">
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.kml | grep -i '^content-type:' file --mime-type file.kml
Frequently asked questions
What is the MIME type for .kml files?
application/vnd.google-earth.kml+xml.
What Content-Type header should a .kml file be served with?
Content-Type: application/vnd.google-earth.kml+xml; charset=utf-8. As a text format, include the charset so browsers don't guess the encoding. It compresses well, so let the server apply gzip or Brotli.
Related types
Headers that go with it: Content-Type · Content-Disposition · X-Content-Type-Options