HTTP defines a set of request methods to indicate the desired action to be performed for a given resource. Although they can also be nouns, these request methods are sometimes referred to as HTTP verbs. Each of them implements a different semantic, but some common features are shared by a group of them: e.g. a request method can be safe, idempotent, or cacheable.
GET
- The
GET
method requests a representation of the specified resource. Requests usingGET
should only retrieve data. HEAD
- The
HEAD
method asks for a response identical to that of aGET
request, but without the response body. POST
- The
POST
method is used to submit 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 payload. 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 is used to describe 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 is used to apply partial modifications to a resource.
Specifications
Specification | Title | Comment |
---|---|---|
RFC 7231, section 4: Request methods | Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Semantics and Content | Specifies GET, HEAD, POST, PUT, DELETE, CONNECT, OPTIONS, TRACE. |
RFC 5789, section 2: Patch method | PATCH Method for HTTP | Specifies PATCH. |
Browser compatibility
The compatibility table in this page is generated from structured data. If you'd like to contribute to the data, please check out https://github.com/mdn/browser-compat-data and send us a pull request.
Feature | Chrome | Firefox | Edge | Internet Explorer | Opera | Safari |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CONNECT | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) |
DELETE | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) |
GET | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) |
HEAD | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) |
OPTIONS | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) |
POST | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) |
PUT | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) |
Feature | Android | Chrome for Android | Edge mobile | Firefox for Android | IE mobile | Opera Android | iOS Safari |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CONNECT | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) |
DELETE | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) |
GET | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) |
HEAD | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) |
OPTIONS | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) |
POST | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) |
PUT | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) |