Web/API/File/type

Returns the media type (MIME) of the file represented by a File object.

Syntax

var name = file.type;

Value

A string, containing the media type(MIME) indicating the type of the file, for example "image/png" for PNG images

Example

<input type="file" multiple onchange="showType(this)">

function showType(fileInput) {
  var files = fileInput.files;

  for (var i = 0; i < files.length; i++) {
    var name = files[i].name;
    var type = files[i].type;
    alert("Filename: " + name + " , Type: " + type);
  }
}

Note: Based on the current implementation, browsers won't actually read the bytestream of a file to determine its media type. It is assumed based on the file extension; a PNG image file renamed to .txt would give "text/plain" and not "image/png". Moreover, file.type is generally reliable only for common file types like images, HTML documents, audio and video. Uncommon file extensions would return an empty string. Client configuration (for instance, the Windows Registry) may result in unexpected values even for common types. Developers are advised not to rely on this property as a sole validation scheme.

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
File APIThe definition of 'type' in that specification.	Working Draft	Initial definition.

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
`type`	Chrome Full support 13	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 3.6	IE Full support 10	Opera Full support 16	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android No support No	Opera Android No support No	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support