Media type · text/plain
text/plain
text/plain is unformatted text: no markup, no structure, just characters and line breaks.
Key facts
| Type | text/plain |
|---|---|
| Extensions | .txt |
| Standard | RFC 2046; IANA registry |
| Text or binary | Text |
| Browser behavior | Displays inline as text |
What text/plain is
It is the fallback for readable text that is not HTML, JSON, CSS or another structured format. Browsers display it verbatim, preserving characters and line breaks. It is a good choice for logs, README files offered as downloads and simple API errors aimed at humans.
When not to use it
Do not use it for machine-readable payloads: JSON, CSV and XML have their own types, and clients use the type to choose a parser. Do not use it for HTML, either — a browser will show the tags. For a text format with an unknown charset, the charset parameter prevents the client from guessing.
Frequently asked questions
Can text/plain include a charset?
Yes. charset=utf-8 is common and recommended for non-ASCII text; without it the client may fall back to a locale default.
Is text/plain safe for user-supplied content?
It is safer than HTML because browsers do not parse markup, but content sniffing can still cause surprises. Send X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff to prevent the browser from reinterpreting it.