HttpPost

The HTTP POST method is a request method supported by the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). It is used to request that the origin server accept the entity enclosed in the request as a new subordinate of the resource identified by the Request-URI, or to trigger a processing operation. Unlike GET, which retrieves a representation, POST submits data that may create new resources or cause side effects on the server. The data to be processed is transmitted in the request body and can be in various media types, such as application/x-www-form-urlencoded, multipart/form-data, text/plain, or application/json.

When a server processes a POST request, the response status code varies. Commonly, 200 OK or 201 Created indicate success, 202 Accepted may be used if processing is asynchronous, and 204 No Content may be returned when no response body is provided. The response may also include a Location header pointing to a newly created resource.

Security and design considerations: POST requests can carry sensitive data, so their contents should be protected with TLS (HTTPS). Since POST is not inherently idempotent, clients must assume repeated requests may have additional effects. CSRF protection, authentication, and proper size limits are important for forms and API endpoints.

Examples: submitting form data to a server, uploading a file with multipart/form-data, or posting JSON to a REST API to create a resource.