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RFC 2046: Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) Part Two: Media Types

Still current, but amended. Parts of this document are changed or extended by RFC 2646, RFC 3798, RFC 5147, RFC 6657, RFC 8098. Read both.

In plain English — editorial summary, not part of the RFC

RFC 2046 defines MIME media types — the type/subtype strings such as text/html and application/json that tell software how to interpret a body of bytes — along with multipart message structure.

Original abstract from the RFC

This second document defines the general structure of the MIME media typing system and defines an initial set of media types. [STANDARDS-TRACK]

Document record

Document ID
RFC2046
Published
November 1996
Authors
N. Freed; N. Borenstein
Status
DRAFT STANDARD
Stream
IETF
Area
app
Pages
44
Also known as
—
Obsoletes:
RFC 1521, RFC 1522, RFC 1590
Updated by:
RFC 2646, RFC 3798, RFC 5147, RFC 6657, RFC 8098

Topics

Standards lineage

This document is one revision in a chain of 13 RFCs, each formally replacing the one before it.

  1. RFC 1341 (1992)
  2. RFC 1342 (1992)
  3. RFC 1521 (1993)
  4. RFC 1522 (1993)
  5. RFC 1590 (1994)
  6. RFC 2045 (1996)
  7. RFC 2046 (1996)
  8. RFC 2047 (1996)
  9. RFC 2048 (1996)
  10. RFC 2049 (1996)
  11. RFC 4288 (2005)
  12. RFC 4289 (2005)
  13. RFC 6838 (2013) ✓

Read the full history of Media Type Specifications and Registration Procedures →

Referenced by

5 later RFCs formally update or obsolete part of this document.

Related documents

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About this page

The document record above — title, authors, date, status, stream, area, relationships, DOI and errata — is imported verbatim from the public RFC Editor index. The “in plain English” section is editorial: written by The metasystema editorial team, not part of the RFC. Where the two differ, the RFC text governs.

Last checked against the RFC Editor index on . RFCs are never revised after publication; changes are issued as new documents.

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canonical URL: /rfc/2046-multipurpose-internet-mail-extensions-mime-part-two-media-types