HTTP request methods

HTTP defines a set of request methods to indicate the purpose of the request and what is expected if the request is successful. Although they can also be nouns, these request methods are sometimes referred to as HTTP verbs. Each request method has it's own semantics, but some characteristics are shared across multiple methods, specifically request methods can be safe, idempotent, or cacheable.

GET

The GET method requests a representation of the specified resource. Requests using GET should only retrieve data and should not contain a request content.

HEAD

The HEAD method asks for a response identical to a GET request, but without a response body.

POST

The POST method submits an entity to the specified resource, often causing a change in state or side effects on the server.

PUT

The PUT method replaces all current representations of the target resource with the request content.

DELETE

The DELETE method deletes the specified resource.

CONNECT

The CONNECT method establishes a tunnel to the server identified by the target resource.

OPTIONS

The OPTIONS method describes the communication options for the target resource.

TRACE

The TRACE method performs a message loop-back test along the path to the target resource.

PATCH

The PATCH method applies partial modifications to a resource.