Category: Application
application/json
application/json is the universal MIME type for exchanging structured data in modern REST APIs, GraphQL, and configuration files. Defined in RFC 8259, it does not require a charset parameter as UTF-8 is mandated by default.
MIME / CONTENT-TYPE
application/json
ASSOCIATED EXTENSIONS
.json
PRIMARY CATEGORY
Application
HTTP Headers & Web Server Configurations
Standard HTTP Response Header
Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8Send this exact header in HTTP responses to instruct browsers how to decode and render the payload.
Node.js / Express / Web API
res.setHeader("Content-Type", "application/json");
res.send(JSON.stringify({ status: "success", data: [] }));NGINX Configuration (mime.types)
types {
application/json json;
}Apache (.htaccess / httpd.conf)
AddType application/json .jsonSecurity Advisory & Hardening
Always validate and parse JSON with safe parsers. Protect against JSON Hijacking / JSON Injection in legacy browsers by ensuring sensitive GET endpoints return objects, not arrays.
Frequently Asked Questions
application/json Questions & Answers
Common questions regarding MIME types, Content-Type headers, and web server configurations.
The standard HTTP response header is: "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8".