How to encode UTF8 filename for HTTP headers? (Python, Django)

This is a FAQ.

There is no interoperable way to do this. Some browsers implement proprietary extensions (IE, Chrome), other implement RFC 2231 (Firefox, Opera).

See test cases at http://greenbytes.de/tech/tc2231/.

Update: as of November 2012, all current desktop browsers support the encoding defined in RFC 6266 and RFC 5987 (Safari >= 6, IE >= 9, Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Konqueror).

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