PortableWeb Media Type Is Now Registered with IANA
We are pleased to announce an important milestone for the Portable Web Content Format: its media type has been officially registered with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).
- Media type:
application/vnd.portableweb+zip - File extension:
.pweb
What Is PortableWeb?
PortableWeb enables applications, games, interactive presentations, simulations, and other web-based experiences to be packaged as self-contained .pweb files.
A .pweb file can be opened using a compatible PortableWeb viewer and run consistently across supported devices—including offline and without requiring a web server.
Why This Registration Matters
The IANA registration provides PortableWeb with an officially registered media type that software, operating systems, servers, and applications can use to identify .pweb content.
This establishes an important foundation for:
- Consistent identification of PortableWeb packages
- Interoperability between PortableWeb viewers and tools
- File associations across operating systems
- Content delivery through web servers and other systems
- Continued development of the PortableWeb specification
The registration does not by itself make PortableWeb an Internet Standard (yet), but it represents a significant step toward broader implementation, review, and standardization.
What Comes Next?
The PortableWeb Community Group will now focus on:
- Building reference viewers for major platforms
- Strengthening the container and packaging specification
- Defining the manifest schema and capability declarations
- Establishing viewer conformance and security requirements
- Developing per-bundle isolated storage
- Creating developer tools and a conformance test suite
- Publishing further revisions of the PortableWeb Internet-Draft
- Pursuing broader review and potential RFC publication
We sincerely thank the IANA team, the designated expert reviewers, and everyone who supported the registration process.
This is an exciting first milestone—but the real journey begins now: building an open and interoperable ecosystem in which a single .pweb file can deliver an interactive experience across devices.
Get Involved
PortableWeb is an open community initiative. Developers, browser and runtime engineers, security experts, standards contributors, educators, creators, and anyone interested in portable interactive web content are welcome to participate.
Let us build a truly portable web—one file, any device.