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Accept Header

Specifies the media types that the client is willing to receive in the response.

Header TypeRequest Header
SpecificationStandard RFC compliant
Associated CodesHTTP 406

What is the Accept header?

The Accept request header tells the server which media types (like JSON, XML, or HTML) the client is able to process. It enables content negotiation, allowing the same URL to serve different formats depending on client capability.

API Usage & Best Practices

  • Always require it in strict APIs: If your API only supports JSON, validate that the client accepts JSON.
  • Fallback gracefully: If the client specifies an Accept value your API cannot satisfy, return a 406 Not Acceptable response.

Examples

GET /v1/leads HTTP/1.1
Host: api.apiguide.dev
Accept: application/json

Associated HTTP Status Codes

HTTP 406 — Not Acceptable

The server cannot produce a response matching the Accept headers sent by the client.

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