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HTTP Methods

5 min read Quiz at the end

GET/POST/PUT/PATCH/DELETE — understand safety, idempotency, and when to use each HTTP method.

HTTP Methods

Method	Action	Idempotent?	Safe?
GET	Read	Yes	Yes
POST	Create	No	No
PUT	Replace	Yes	No
PATCH	Partial update	No	No
DELETE	Remove	Yes	No

# Safe = no side effects
# Idempotent = same result no matter how many times called

PUT /users/1 {name:Bob,email:b@c.com}  # full replace
PATCH /users/1 {name:Bob}              # partial update

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Topic Quiz · 2 questions

Test your understanding before moving on

1. Which HTTP method is both safe AND idempotent?

💡 GET is safe (no side effects) and idempotent (same result no matter how many times called).

2. What does idempotent mean for an HTTP method?

💡 Idempotent operations can be retried safely — GET, PUT, DELETE are idempotent; POST is not.

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HTTP Methods

HTTP Methods

Test your understanding before moving on