HEAD Registered Safe Idempotent
Verified 2026-09-18 · registry updated 2026-06-17

HEAD

Returns the headers a GET would return without a response body.

Use HEAD for metadata checks, availability checks, and cache or download decisions without transferring the representation.

httpmethodsmetadata

Reference (http)

HEAD /assets/app.js HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com

Use HEAD for metadata checks, availability checks, and cache or download decisions without transferring the representation.

Common mistakes

  • Returning headers that differ materially from the corresponding GET response.

Registry reference: rfc9110

Permalink: https://merginit.com/reference/http/method-head