.bmp MIME Type — image/bmp

Q: How do I set the Content-Type for .bmp in Nginx?

Make sure image/bmp bmp; is listed in the types block (usually in /etc/nginx/mime.types) and reload Nginx.

image/bmp

MIME type for .bmp

Images

What is the MIME type of .bmp files?

The MIME type (media type) for Bitmap image files with the .bmp extension is image/bmp. Uncompressed bitmaps compress well with gzip — but converting to PNG is much better.

Content-Type header

Content-Type: image/bmp

Server configuration

Server	Configuration
Nginx (`mime.types` or `types {}`)	`image/bmp bmp;`
Apache (`.htaccess`)	`AddType image/bmp .bmp`
IIS (`web.config`)	`<mimeMap fileExtension=".bmp" mimeType="image/bmp" />`
Node.js / Express	`res.type('bmp')` or `res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'image/bmp')`
Amazon S3	Set `Content-Type: image/bmp` on the object (metadata), or pass `--content-type image/bmp` to `aws s3 cp`

Should .bmp files be compressed?

Yes. Bitmap image is uncompressed data, so enabling gzip or Brotli for image/bmp typically saves 50–80 % of the transfer size. Make sure your server’s compression list includes this type — check with the website compression test.

Why the MIME type matters

Browsers decide what to do with a response — render, run, play or download — from the Content-Type header, not the file extension. With X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff, a wrong type causes stylesheets and scripts to be blocked outright. For uploads, never trust the type sent by the client; check the file’s content (its magic bytes) on the server.

Frequently asked questions

What is the MIME type for .bmp?

image/bmp.

How do I set the Content-Type for .bmp in Nginx?

Make sure image/bmp bmp; is listed in the types block (usually in /etc/nginx/mime.types) and reload Nginx.

Should I gzip .bmp files?

Yes — the format compresses well, so add the type to your gzip/Brotli configuration.

.bmp MIME Type: image/bmp