image/gif

The 1987 format that refuses to die, registered alongside image/jpeg in the original MIME RFC. Its 256-color palette makes it a poor choice for almost everything it is still used for — animation survives on inertia, not merit, and a looping MP4 or WebP is usually a tenth the size. Send it only when a legacy pipeline demands it. The signature reads GIF8, covering both the GIF87a and GIF89a versions; only 89a can animate.

Defined by RFC 2046 · IANA registration. Registry facts from the IANA media-types registry via mime-db.