HTTP Methods
A scannable reference for every HTTP request method (GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE and the rest, plus WebDAV) showing at a glance whether each one is safe, idempotent and cacheable, if it takes a body, and a typical example. In your browser, free.
Every standard HTTP request method and its semantics, side by side. Everything runs in your browser from a built-in reference, nothing is sent to the server.
| Method | Purpose | Safe | Idempotent | Cacheable | Body | Typical use |
|---|
About HTTP Methods
This HTTP methods reference puts every standard request method (GET, HEAD, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, CONNECT, OPTIONS and TRACE) plus the common WebDAV extensions into one scannable table. For each method it answers the questions developers actually reason about: is it safe, is it idempotent, is it cacheable, does it carry a request body, and what does a typical use look like.
Those three semantic properties drive real design decisions. Safe methods are read-only and can be prefetched freely; idempotent methods can be retried after a network failure without side effects, which is exactly what proxies and HTTP clients assume; and cacheability determines whether responses may be stored and reused.
Search matches method names, properties and use cases (PATCH, idempotent and cache all filter the table) and a group toggle separates the standard methods from the WebDAV set. Each method name copies to the clipboard in one click.
How to use HTTP Methods
- Scan the table to compare methods across the Safe, Idempotent, Cacheable and Body columns.
- Search by name, property or use case, for example PUT, idempotent or upload.
- Switch between the Standard and WebDAV groups to include or exclude the extension methods.
- Hover the column tooltips for a plain-language definition of each property.
- Click the copy button to grab a method name for your API spec or test.