application/x-tar
The MIME type for tar archives — Unix's go-to bundle format for software distribution and backups.
Typical extensions
Primary uses
- Software distribution (often inside .tar.gz / .tar.xz)
- Backups
In a browser
Served as a download.
On a server
Large tars benefit from `Accept-Ranges: bytes`. Some clients extract on the fly.
In email
Enterprise gateways scan executables inside tar — prefer cloud shares for distribution.