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Link Header

Provides a means to serialize relationships between resources in HTTP headers, commonly used for pagination.

Header TypeBidirectional (Request/Response)
SpecificationStandard RFC compliant
Associated CodesHTTP 103,HTTP 200,HTTP 206

The Link header (RFC 8288) allows servers to express relationships between the current resource and other resources, such as pagination states.

API Usage & Best Practices

  • Best Practice for Pagination: Instead of packing pagination URLs inside your JSON envelope, serialize pagination links (next, prev, first, last) in the Link header. This keeps your payload focused purely on resource data.
  • Early Hints integration: Use to push early hints (like preloading critical assets) during connection startup.

Examples

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Link: <https://api.apiguide.dev/v1/leads?page=3>; rel="next",
      <https://api.apiguide.dev/v1/leads?page=1>; rel="prev"

Associated HTTP Status Codes

HTTP 103 — Early Hints

Allows the server to send link headers to prefetch resources while compiling the main response.

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HTTP 200 — OK

The request has succeeded. The response payload contains the requested resource representation.

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HTTP 206 — Partial Content

The server is delivering only part of the resource due to a Range header sent by the client.

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