HTTP defines a set of request methods to indicate the purpose of the request and what is expected if the request is successful. Although they can also be nouns, these request methods are sometimes referred to as HTTP verbs. Each request method has its own semantics, but some characteristics are shared across multiple methods, specifically request methods can be safe, idempotent, or cacheable.

GET

The GET method requests a representation of the specified resource. Requests using GET should only retrieve data and should not contain a request content.

QUERY

The QUERY method initiates a server-side query. It requests that the target resource process the request content in a safe and idempotent manner, returning the result in the response. It is similar to GET, but allows request content with defined semantics.

HEAD

The HEAD method asks for a response identical to a GET request, but without a response body.

POST

The POST method submits an entity to the specified resource, often causing a change in state or side effects on the server.

PUT

The PUT method replaces all current representations of the target resource with the request content.

DELETE

The DELETE method deletes the specified resource.

CONNECT

The CONNECT method establishes a tunnel to the server identified by the target resource.

OPTIONS

The OPTIONS method describes the communication options for the target resource.

TRACE

The TRACE method performs a message loop-back test along the path to the target resource.

PATCH

The PATCH method applies partial modifications to a resource.

Safe, idempotent, and cacheable request methods

The following table lists HTTP request methods and their categorization in terms of safety, cacheability, and idempotency.

* POST and PATCH are cacheable when responses explicitly include freshness information and a matching Content-Location header.

Specifications

Browser compatibility

See also

• HTTP response status codes
• HTTP headers