Apache2 server mime types

Question

I am trying to get my Apache2 web application to push an arbitrary file extension as an octet-stream when pointed to by a browser.

i.e. Someone goes to blahblah/examples/example1.xyz I want the browser to download the .xyz file rather than just display it.

I have tried adding .htaccess in the root of the web app including

AddType application/octet-stream xyz

And I have also tried to add the mime type to /etc/apache2/mods-enabled/mime.conf and /etc/mime.types which is referenced as the types library from mime.conf.

I have read a good deal about this on the internet and still haven't gotten this working. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Answer 1

I believe you have to add a . before the extension:

AddType application/octet-stream .xyz

Answer 2

I wont recommend to use .htaccess with Rails apps. You have to configure certain things for apache and passenger. Better use the config file in /etc/httpd/conf.d (or wherever you have configured your app on your server). If you put the AddType line as follows (in my case, I had the problem with downloadable Python Scripts):

AddType application/x-python-script .py

in the VirtualHosts section of your webapp config file, then you'll should be fine. If you really want to use .htaccess, do a

chmod 600 .htaccess

in your public folder, which causes apache not to ignore the file for savety reasons (but again, you'll need to configure lots of other stuff then).