What Are HTTP Methods? The Verbs of the Web

The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is a structured language that web browsers (clients) and web servers use to communicate. At the core of this language are HTTP methods. You can think of them as the action verbs of a request. They tell the server what the client wants to do with a specific resource, whether that resource is a webpage, an image, a video, or a piece of data from a database.

When a browser sends a request to a server, the very first piece of information in that request is the method. It sets the context for the entire communication. For example, asking the server to simply provide a webpage is a fundamentally different action from asking it to store a user's new profile picture. Using different methods for different actions allows servers to understand the client's intent immediately and process the request efficiently and securely. This system of methods is a cornerstone of the modern web and is particularly crucial in the design of RESTful APIs, which are the backbone of most web services today. In this guide, we will explore the most common methods, their specific purposes, and their defining characteristics.

Primary Methods: The Workhorses of the Web

While numerous HTTP methods exist, a small handful are responsible for the vast majority of interactions on the internet. Understanding these primary methods is essential for grasping how the web functions.

-- Request --
GET /users/profile/123 HTTP/1.1
Host: api.example.com
Accept: application/json

-- Response --
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json
Content-Length: 104

{
  "userId": 123,
  "username": "AlexSmith",
  "email": "[email protected]"
}

-- Request --
POST /users HTTP/1.1
Host: api.example.com
Content-Type: application/json
Content-Length: 56

{
  "username": "JaneDoe",
  "password": "supersecret"
}

-- Response --
HTTP/1.1 201 Created
Location: /users/456

{
  "userId": 456,
  "message": "User created successfully"
}

-- Request --
PUT /users/123 HTTP/1.1
Host: api.example.com
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "username": "AlexSmith",
  "email": "[email protected]"
}

-- Response --
HTTP/1.1 200 OK

{
  "userId": 123,
  "username": "AlexSmith",
  "email": "[email protected]"
}

-- Request --
DELETE /users/123 HTTP/1.1
Host: api.example.com

-- Response --
HTTP/1.1 204 No Content

-- Request --
HEAD /downloads/large-file.zip HTTP/1.1
Host: storage.example.com

-- Response --
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/zip
Content-Length: 104857600
Last-Modified: Fri, 15 Jun 2025 10:00:00 GMT

Secondary Methods: The Specialized Tools

Beyond the primary methods, HTTP defines several others with more specialized purposes, often used in API development or for network diagnostics.

OPTIONS

The $OPTIONS$ method is used to describe the communication options for the target resource. A client can use $OPTIONS$ to find out which HTTP methods a server supports for a specific URL. It is a critical part of the CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) mechanism. Before a browser sends a complex cross-origin request (like a $PUT$ or $DELETE$ to a different domain), it first sends an $OPTIONS$ request (a "pre-flight" request) to ask the server for permission.

PATCH

The $PATCH$ method is used to apply partial modifications to a resource. While $PUT$ replaces the entire resource, $PATCH$ provides a set of instructions on how to change it. For example, a $PATCH$ request might just contain the instruction to change a user's email address, leaving the username and other fields untouched. This can be more efficient than sending the entire resource representation back and forth. $PATCH$ is not safe and, importantly, is not necessarily idempotent. For example, a patch instruction like "add 10 to the user's score" would produce a different result if sent twice.

CONNECT

The $CONNECT$ method establishes a tunnel to the server identified by the target resource. It is primarily used to create a secure $HTTPS$ connection through an $HTTP$ proxy server. The client asks the proxy to make a TCP connection to the destination server, and once established, the proxy simply relays data back and forth without inspecting the encrypted traffic.

TRACE

The $TRACE$ method performs a message loop-back test along the path to the target resource. It allows a client to see what (if any) changes or additions have been made by intermediate servers (like proxies) to the request message. It is a debugging and diagnostic tool. Due to potential security risks (Cross-Site Tracing), it is often disabled on production web servers.

Understanding Safety vs. Idempotency

Two of the most important but often confused properties of HTTP methods are safety and idempotency. Let's clarify the difference.