# Prefer header

> Lets the client request optional, non-critical handling behaviors from the server.

Source: https://apiguide.dev/headers/prefer
Direction: request
Registered: yes
Defined in: RFC 7240 <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7240.html>
Updated: 2026-10-14

## What is the Prefer header?

The `Prefer` request header, defined in RFC 7240, lets a client indicate preferences for how a request is processed. Preferences are optional hints: the server may honor or ignore them without changing the outcome's validity.

## API Usage & Best Practices

* **Control the response body**: `return=minimal` asks the server to return little or no body, while `return=representation` asks for the full resource state.
* **Request asynchronous processing**: `respond-async` asks the server to process the request asynchronously, often answered with `202 Accepted`; `wait=` bounds how long the client will wait.
* **Confirm what was applied**: When the server acts on a preference, it can echo it back in the [`Preference-Applied`](/headers/preference-applied) response header. RFC 7240 says this is only needed when the response does not already make it obvious, but `return=minimal` and `return=representation` are exactly the cases where a client cannot always tell, so send it for those.

## Examples

```http
POST /v1/orders HTTP/1.1
Host: api.example.com
Prefer: return=minimal, respond-async, wait=10
```