HTTP Request Methods
A semantic guide to HTTP verbs, outlining their proper application, safety/idempotency rules, and common status code correlations.
CONNECT
Establishes a tunnel to the server identified by the target resource, typically through a proxy.
COPY
Copies a resource from its current location to the URI given in the Destination header, in WebDAV.
GET
Requests a representation of the specified resource. Requests using GET should only retrieve data.
POST
Submits an entity to the specified resource, often causing a change in state or side effects on the server.
PUT
Replaces all current representations of the target resource with the request payload.
PATCH
Applies partial modifications to a resource.
DELETE
Deletes the specified resource.
OPTIONS
Describes the communication options for the target resource.
HEAD
Asks for a response identical to a GET request, but without the response body.
LOCK
Takes out a lock on a resource to prevent conflicting changes, in WebDAV.
MKCOL
Creates a new collection resource at the specified location in WebDAV.
MOVE
Moves or renames a resource to the URI given in the Destination header, in WebDAV.
PROPFIND
Retrieves properties defined on a resource, and optionally its member resources, in WebDAV.
PROPPATCH
Sets or removes properties on a resource atomically in WebDAV.
QUERY
A proposed safe, idempotent method for sending a query as a request body, for cases where GET's URI-only constraints are impractical. Still an IETF Internet-Draft — not yet an RFC.
SEARCH
Runs a server-side query described in the request body against a resource, in WebDAV.
TRACE
Performs a message loop-back test along the path to the target resource for diagnostics.
UNLOCK
Removes a lock from a resource using the supplied lock token, in WebDAV.