HTTP HEAD Method

Information about the HTTP HEAD method.

HTTP HEAD

Retrieve the headers for the resource described by the request URL, but the content is not transferred.

Request Body

Data in a request body should not be sent. While not forbidden, the behaviour is undetermined and different servers may react differently.

Response Body

A response body will not be returned.

Cache

The response can be cached.

Safe

The request should not alter the state of the server - it should be read-only. This is not enforced by the server, and a common mistake is for a safe request to cause a change.

Idempotent

The request should not cause any side-effects on the server and it should be possible to issue the same request several times with the server being left in the same state.

This is not enforced by the server and a common mistake is for an idempotent request to change the server state.

Example

HEAD /
HEAD /a-url/?search=cat

Reference

https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7231#section-4.3.2