diff --git a/platypush/backend/http/media/handlers/__init__.py b/platypush/backend/http/media/handlers/__init__.py
index f6e8b8e323..2d63ab81c7 100644
--- a/platypush/backend/http/media/handlers/__init__.py
+++ b/platypush/backend/http/media/handlers/__init__.py
@@ -1,7 +1,12 @@
+from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
+import hashlib
 import logging
+from typing import Optional
+
+from platypush.message import JSONAble
 
 
-class MediaHandler:
+class MediaHandler(JSONAble, ABC):
     """
     Abstract class to manage media handlers that can be streamed over the HTTP
     server through the `/media` endpoint.
@@ -9,17 +14,26 @@ class MediaHandler:
 
     prefix_handlers = []
 
-    def __init__(self, source, filename=None,
-                 mime_type='application/octet-stream', name=None, url=None,
-                 subtitles=None):
-        matched_handlers = [hndl for hndl in self.prefix_handlers
-                            if source.startswith(hndl)]
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        source: str,
+        *_,
+        filename: Optional[str] = None,
+        mime_type: str = 'application/octet-stream',
+        name: Optional[str] = None,
+        url: Optional[str] = None,
+        subtitles: Optional[str] = None,
+        **__,
+    ):
+        matched_handlers = [
+            hndl for hndl in self.prefix_handlers if source.startswith(hndl)
+        ]
 
         if not matched_handlers:
-            raise AttributeError(('No matched handlers found for source "{}" ' +
-                                  'through {}. Supported handlers: {}').format(
-                                      source, self.__class__.__name__,
-                                      self.prefix_handlers))
+            raise AttributeError(
+                f'No matched handlers found for source "{source}" '
+                f'through {self.__class__.__name__}. Supported handlers: {self.prefix_handlers}'
+            )
 
         self.name = name
         self.path = None
@@ -32,7 +46,7 @@ class MediaHandler:
         self._matched_handler = matched_handlers[0]
 
     @classmethod
-    def build(cls, source, *args, **kwargs):
+    def build(cls, source: str, *args, **kwargs) -> 'MediaHandler':
         errors = {}
 
         for hndl_class in supported_handlers:
@@ -42,32 +56,68 @@ class MediaHandler:
                 logging.exception(e)
                 errors[hndl_class.__name__] = str(e)
 
-        raise AttributeError(('The source {} has no handlers associated. ' +
-                              'Errors: {}').format(source, errors))
+        raise AttributeError(
+            f'The source {source} has no handlers associated. Errors: {errors}'
+        )
 
-    def get_data(self, from_bytes=None, to_bytes=None, chunk_size=None):
+    @abstractmethod
+    def get_data(
+        self,
+        from_bytes: Optional[int] = None,
+        to_bytes: Optional[int] = None,
+        chunk_size: Optional[int] = None,
+    ) -> bytes:
         raise NotImplementedError()
 
-    def set_subtitles(self, subtitles_file):
+    @property
+    def media_id(self) -> str:
+        """
+        :returns: The unique ID of the media handler.
+        """
+        return self.get_media_id(self.source)
+
+    def set_subtitles(self, subtitles_file: Optional[str]):
         self.subtitles = subtitles_file
 
     def remove_subtitles(self):
         self.subtitles = None
 
     def __iter__(self):
-        for attr in ['name', 'source', 'mime_type', 'url', 'subtitles',
-                     'prefix_handlers', 'media_id']:
+        """
+        Iterate over the attributes of the media handler.
+        """
+        for attr in [
+            'name',
+            'source',
+            'mime_type',
+            'url',
+            'subtitles',
+            'prefix_handlers',
+            'media_id',
+        ]:
             if hasattr(self, attr):
                 yield attr, getattr(self, attr)
 
+    @staticmethod
+    def get_media_id(source: str) -> str:
+        """
+        :returns: The ID of a media file given its source.
+        """
+        return hashlib.sha1(source.encode()).hexdigest()
 
-from .file import FileHandler
+    def to_json(self):
+        """
+        :returns: A dictionary representation of the media handler.
+        """
+        return dict(self)
+
+
+from .file import FileHandler  # noqa
 
 __all__ = ['MediaHandler', 'FileHandler']
 
 
-supported_handlers = [eval(hndl) for hndl in __all__
-                      if hndl != MediaHandler.__name__]
+supported_handlers = [eval(hndl) for hndl in __all__ if hndl != MediaHandler.__name__]
 
 
 # vim:sw=4:ts=4:et:
diff --git a/platypush/backend/http/media/handlers/file.py b/platypush/backend/http/media/handlers/file.py
index f76ada5685..3aafba5966 100644
--- a/platypush/backend/http/media/handlers/file.py
+++ b/platypush/backend/http/media/handlers/file.py
@@ -8,30 +8,38 @@ from . import MediaHandler
 
 
 class FileHandler(MediaHandler):
+    """
+    Handler for local media files.
+    """
+
     prefix_handlers = ['file://']
 
     def __init__(self, source, *args, **kwargs):
         super().__init__(source, *args, **kwargs)
 
-        self.path = os.path.abspath(os.path.expanduser(
-            self.source[len(self._matched_handler):]))
+        self.path = os.path.abspath(
+            os.path.expanduser(self.source[len(self._matched_handler) :])
+        )
         self.filename = self.path.split('/')[-1]
 
         if not os.path.isfile(self.path):
-            raise FileNotFoundError('{} is not a valid file'.
-                                    format(self.path))
+            raise FileNotFoundError(f'{self.path} is not a valid file')
 
         self.mime_type = get_mime_type(source)
-        if self.mime_type[:5] not in ['video', 'audio', 'image'] and self.mime_type != 'application/octet-stream':
-            raise AttributeError('{} is not a valid media file (detected format: {})'.
-                                 format(source, self.mime_type))
+        assert self.mime_type, f'Could not detect mime type for {source}'
+        if (
+            self.mime_type[:5] not in ['video', 'audio', 'image']
+            and self.mime_type != 'application/octet-stream'
+        ):
+            raise AttributeError(
+                f'{source} is not a valid media file (detected format: {self.mime_type})'
+            )
 
         self.extension = mimetypes.guess_extension(self.mime_type)
         if self.url:
             self.url += self.extension
         self.content_length = os.path.getsize(self.path)
 
-
     def get_data(self, from_bytes=None, to_bytes=None, chunk_size=None):
         if from_bytes is None:
             from_bytes = 0
@@ -42,8 +50,9 @@ class FileHandler(MediaHandler):
 
         with open(self.path, 'rb') as f:
             f.seek(from_bytes)
-            for chunk in iter(functools.partial(
-                    f.read, min(to_bytes-from_bytes, chunk_size)), b''):
+            for chunk in iter(
+                functools.partial(f.read, min(to_bytes - from_bytes, chunk_size)), b''
+            ):
                 yield chunk