// mime type · application type
application/pdf
PDF document · .pdf
What application/pdf is
application/pdf marks a PDF document. Browsers with a built-in viewer render it inline; add Content-Disposition: attachment to force a download instead.
How it's used
You'll see this as a Content-Type value on requests and responses — for example Content-Type: application/pdf. It's the type associated with the .pdf file extension. Application types cover structured data and binary formats — from JSON and XML to PDFs, archives, and Office documents.
Other application types
application/json application/ld+json application/xml application/javascript application/pdf application/zip application/gzip application/octet-stream application/x-www-form-urlencoded application/wasm application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document