MIME Type

text/calendar

Text

MIME type for iCalendar files used to share calendar events and scheduling data.

MIME type reference, HTTP example, browser usage, common mistakes, and related content.

What is the text/calendar MIME type?

The MIME type text/calendar is used to tell browsers, APIs, and servers how a file or response body should be interpreted.

MIME stands for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions, and MIME types are now a standard part of HTTP responses and web content delivery.

When a browser or client receives a response with text/calendar, it uses that information to decide how the content should be processed, rendered, downloaded, or executed.

Example

Content-Type: text/calendar

HTTP example

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: text/calendar
Content-Length: 1256

Common file extensions

.ics

Common use cases

Calendar event invites
Exporting events from web apps
Email calendar attachments

Common mistakes

Using the wrong MIME type for the file being served
Returning text/plain instead of text/calendar
Forgetting required parameters like charset when relevant
Using a deprecated MIME type in older server configurations
Serving assets with a mismatched Content-Type header, causing browser parsing issues

How browsers use it

Browsers use the Content-Type response header to decide how a response should be handled. For example, HTML is rendered as a page, CSS is parsed as styles, JavaScript is executed as script, and images are displayed visually. If the MIME type is incorrect, the browser may refuse to load the file correctly or may treat it as plain text or a download instead.

Practical developer insight

ICS files are the standard for sharing calendar events across platforms including Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, and Outlook. Often used in email attachments to trigger 'Add to calendar' actions. Serving a .ics file with this MIME type will prompt most operating systems and email clients to offer adding the event to the user's calendar.

Related MIME types

text/plain application/json