.webp MIME Type — image/webp

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

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

image/webp

MIME type for .webp

Images

What is the MIME type of .webp files?

The MIME type (media type) for WebP image files with the .webp extension is image/webp. Supported by all current browsers. Use <picture> with type="image/webp" if you still need a JPEG/PNG fallback.

Content-Type header

Content-Type: image/webp

Server configuration

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

Should .webp files be compressed?

No. WebP image files are already compressed internally, so gzip or Brotli would waste CPU and barely reduce — sometimes even increase — the size. Leave image/webp out of your compression configuration.

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 .webp?

image/webp.

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

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

Should I gzip .webp files?

No — the format is already compressed, so HTTP compression gives no benefit.

.webp MIME Type: image/webp