Which TOML features do the samples use?

A standard table, an array of tables, strings, integers, floats, booleans, dates and arrays.

What is the MIME type of a TOML file?

The MIME type is application/toml. The file extension is .toml.

Is a sample TOML file the same as a dummy or example TOML file?

Yes. Sample, test, dummy and example TOML files are different names for the same thing: a TOML file with known contents that stands in for a real one. Any file on this page will do wherever a tutorial or a test plan asks for a dummy TOML file.

Free TOML sample files

A configuration format with explicit types and sections, used by Rust, Python and many tools. Download valid TOML test files in 4 exact sizes, from 1 KB to 1 MB, each with a checksum.

Extension: .toml
MIME type: application/toml
Kind: Text
Category: Configuration

TOML files by size

Every file below is a valid Tom's Obvious Minimal Language file of exactly the stated size. Open a file's page for its checksum and contents, and to preview it in your browser before downloading.

TOML sample files by size
File	Size	Contents	Download
1 KB TOML samplesample-toml-1kb.toml	1 KB1,024 bytes	Tables: 5 [[record]] entries	Download TOML
10 KB TOML samplesample-toml-10kb.toml	10 KB10,240 bytes	Tables: 63 [[record]] entries	Download TOML
100 KB TOML samplesample-toml-100kb.toml	100 KB102,400 bytes	Tables: 633 [[record]] entries	Download TOML
1 MB TOML samplesample-toml-1mb.toml	1 MB1,048,576 bytes	Tables: 6,420 [[record]] entries	Download TOML

What is a TOML file?

TOML was designed for configuration files that map unambiguously to a hash table. Values have explicit types, strings are always quoted and sections are introduced by headers in square brackets.

It is the format of Cargo.toml in Rust and pyproject.toml in Python.

How to recognise a TOML file

No signature bytes. TOML files are identified by parsing their content.

Extension	.toml
MIME type	application/toml
Specification	TOML 1.0.0
Types	String, integer, float, boolean, date-time, array, table
Comments	Start with #
Encoding	UTF-8

What to test for

These are the behaviours that most often go wrong when software handles TOML files.

Arrays of tables use double brackets, [[name]], and are easy to confuse with ordinary tables.
Dates are a native type, so a value such as 2026-01-01 is not a string unless it is quoted.

Strengths of TOML

Unambiguous: every value has an explicit type.
Comfortable to edit by hand, with comments and clear sections.

Limitations of TOML

Deeply nested data becomes awkward to express.
Less widely supported than JSON or YAML.

Typical uses of TOML test files

Testing configuration parsers
Checking project tooling
Testing format converters

Software that opens TOML

Cargo, pip, Poetry and uv
Hugo and Netlify configuration
tomllib (Python), toml-rs and @iarna/toml

Specifications

TOML 1.0.0 specification

TOML sample files: questions

Which TOML features do the samples use?: A standard table, an array of tables, strings, integers, floats, booleans, dates and arrays.
What is the MIME type of a TOML file?: The MIME type is application/toml. The file extension is .toml.
Is a sample TOML file the same as a dummy or example TOML file?: Yes. Sample, test, dummy and example TOML files are different names for the same thing: a TOML file with known contents that stands in for a real one. Any file on this page will do wherever a tutorial or a test plan asks for a dummy TOML file.