mime-types vs mime vs http-errors vs content-disposition vs type-is vs content-type
HTTP Header Management Libraries Comparison
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mime-typesmimehttp-errorscontent-dispositiontype-iscontent-typeSimilar Packages:
What's HTTP Header Management Libraries?

These libraries are essential for managing HTTP headers in web applications, particularly for handling content types, error responses, and MIME types. They simplify the process of setting and interpreting headers, which are crucial for content negotiation and response handling in HTTP communication. By using these packages, developers can ensure that their applications correctly handle file downloads, serve the right content types, and manage errors effectively, enhancing the overall user experience and compliance with web standards.

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mime-types70,282,6621,38122.3 kB13a month agoMIT
mime65,657,1202,248108 kB0a month agoMIT
http-errors59,000,6901,52818.8 kB123 years agoMIT
content-disposition38,780,19223219.1 kB133 years agoMIT
type-is35,837,14022821.3 kB8a month agoMIT
content-type35,079,81413610.5 kB32 years agoMIT
Feature Comparison: mime-types vs mime vs http-errors vs content-disposition vs type-is vs content-type

Content Handling

  • mime-types:

    mime-types extends the functionality of the mime package by providing a more comprehensive set of MIME types and supporting both file extensions and types. This package is suitable for applications that need to handle a wide variety of file types and ensure accurate content negotiation in HTTP communications.

  • mime:

    The mime package offers a simple mapping of file extensions to their corresponding MIME types. It is lightweight and efficient, making it ideal for applications that require basic MIME type lookups without additional complexity. This package is particularly useful for serving static files and ensuring that the correct content type is sent in HTTP responses.

  • http-errors:

    http-errors provides a straightforward way to create HTTP error responses with appropriate status codes and messages. This package allows developers to generate errors that can be easily sent back to clients, ensuring that error handling is consistent and informative. It simplifies the process of managing error states in applications, making it easier to maintain a robust error handling strategy.

  • content-disposition:

    The content-disposition package allows developers to specify how content should be handled by the browser, particularly for file downloads. It supports both inline and attachment options, enabling control over whether files are displayed in the browser or downloaded directly. This is crucial for applications that serve downloadable content, as it enhances user experience by providing clear instructions on how to handle files.

  • type-is:

    type-is is designed to determine the content type of incoming requests based on their headers. This package is particularly useful in middleware for web frameworks, allowing developers to easily identify the type of data being sent by clients. It supports various content types and provides a flexible way to handle different data formats.

  • content-type:

    The content-type package focuses on managing the Content-Type header, which is essential for informing the client about the type of data being sent. It simplifies the process of setting and parsing this header, ensuring that clients can correctly interpret the data they receive. This is particularly important in APIs and web services where content negotiation is a key aspect of communication.

Error Management

  • http-errors:

    http-errors excels in error management by providing a simple API to create error objects with specific HTTP status codes. This allows developers to handle errors consistently across their applications, ensuring that clients receive meaningful error messages and status codes. It is particularly useful in RESTful APIs where error handling is critical for client-server communication.

Simplicity

  • mime:

    mime is a lightweight package that provides basic functionality for mapping file extensions to MIME types. Its simplicity makes it ideal for applications that do not require extensive MIME type handling.

  • content-type:

    content-type is designed to be straightforward and easy to use, focusing solely on managing the Content-Type header. This simplicity makes it an excellent choice for applications that require precise control over content negotiation without unnecessary complexity.

Extensibility

  • mime-types:

    mime-types offers a more extensible solution for handling MIME types, allowing developers to add custom types and extensions as needed. This flexibility is beneficial for applications that deal with a wide range of file types and require a robust MIME type management system.

Middleware Integration

  • type-is:

    type-is is particularly useful for middleware integration in web frameworks, allowing developers to easily determine the content type of incoming requests. This capability is essential for building flexible and responsive applications that can handle various data formats.

How to Choose: mime-types vs mime vs http-errors vs content-disposition vs type-is vs content-type
  • mime-types:

    Choose mime-types if you require a more comprehensive solution for handling MIME types, including support for a wider range of file types and the ability to work with both extensions and types. This package is ideal for applications that need robust MIME type handling.

  • mime:

    Opt for mime when you need a simple way to map file extensions to MIME types. This package is lightweight and efficient, making it suitable for applications that require basic MIME type lookups without additional overhead.

  • http-errors:

    Use http-errors if your application needs to create HTTP error responses easily. This package provides a simple way to generate error objects with appropriate status codes and messages, which can be used to handle errors gracefully in your application.

  • content-disposition:

    Choose content-disposition if you need to control how content is presented to the user, particularly for file downloads. This package allows you to specify whether the content should be displayed inline or as an attachment, along with the filename for downloads.

  • type-is:

    Select type-is when you need to determine the content type of a request based on its headers. This package is particularly useful for middleware in web frameworks, allowing you to easily identify the type of incoming data.

  • content-type:

    Select content-type when you need to set or parse the Content-Type header in HTTP requests and responses. This package is straightforward and focuses solely on managing the Content-Type, making it ideal for applications that require precise content negotiation.

README for mime-types

mime-types

NPM Version NPM Downloads Node.js Version Build Status Test Coverage

The ultimate javascript content-type utility.

Similar to the mime@1.x module, except:

  • No fallbacks. Instead of naively returning the first available type, mime-types simply returns false, so do var type = mime.lookup('unrecognized') || 'application/octet-stream'.
  • No new Mime() business, so you could do var lookup = require('mime-types').lookup.
  • No .define() functionality
  • Bug fixes for .lookup(path)

Otherwise, the API is compatible with mime 1.x.

Install

This is a Node.js module available through the npm registry. Installation is done using the npm install command:

$ npm install mime-types

Note on MIME Type Data and Semver

This package considers the programmatic api as the semver compatibility. Additionally, the package which provides the MIME data for this package (mime-db) also considers it's programmatic api as the semver contract. This means the MIME type resolution is not considered in the semver bumps.

In the past the version of mime-db was pinned to give two decision points when adopting MIME data changes. This is no longer true. We still update the mime-db package here as a minor release when necessary, but will use a ^ range going forward. This means that if you want to pin your mime-db data you will need to do it in your application. While this expectation was not set in docs until now, it is how the pacakge operated, so we do not feel this is a breaking change.

If you wish to pin your mime-db version you can do that with overrides via your package manager of choice. See their documentation for how to correctly configure that.

Adding Types

All mime types are based on mime-db, so open a PR there if you'd like to add mime types.

API

var mime = require('mime-types')

All functions return false if input is invalid or not found.

mime.lookup(path)

Lookup the content-type associated with a file.

mime.lookup('json') // 'application/json'
mime.lookup('.md') // 'text/markdown'
mime.lookup('file.html') // 'text/html'
mime.lookup('folder/file.js') // 'application/javascript'
mime.lookup('folder/.htaccess') // false

mime.lookup('cats') // false

mime.contentType(type)

Create a full content-type header given a content-type or extension. When given an extension, mime.lookup is used to get the matching content-type, otherwise the given content-type is used. Then if the content-type does not already have a charset parameter, mime.charset is used to get the default charset and add to the returned content-type.

mime.contentType('markdown') // 'text/x-markdown; charset=utf-8'
mime.contentType('file.json') // 'application/json; charset=utf-8'
mime.contentType('text/html') // 'text/html; charset=utf-8'
mime.contentType('text/html; charset=iso-8859-1') // 'text/html; charset=iso-8859-1'

// from a full path
mime.contentType(path.extname('/path/to/file.json')) // 'application/json; charset=utf-8'

mime.extension(type)

Get the default extension for a content-type.

mime.extension('application/octet-stream') // 'bin'

mime.charset(type)

Lookup the implied default charset of a content-type.

mime.charset('text/markdown') // 'UTF-8'

var type = mime.types[extension]

A map of content-types by extension.

[extensions...] = mime.extensions[type]

A map of extensions by content-type.

License

MIT