PROPPATCH

PROPPATCH is an HTTP method defined as part of WebDAV (Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning) used to set or remove properties associated with a resource. Properties are metadata items stored by the server outside the resource’s primary content and can be either standard or server-defined. The method updates the resource’s property store rather than the resource body.

Request bodies for PROPPATCH must be an XML document containing a propertyupdate element. Inside this element there can be a set section and a remove section. Each section contains a prop element listing the properties to set or remove. To set a property, the request provides the property element with its new value. To remove, the request includes the corresponding property element within remove, typically without a value. The exact elements use the DAV: namespace; common properties might include displayname, author, or other server-defined metadata.

Responses use the 207 Multi-Status status code because updates may affect multiple properties with varying outcomes. The response can include one or more propstat blocks, each with its own status code, indicating success or failure for individual properties or groups of properties. A successful update yields 200 or 204 within the relevant propstat; failures may yield 403, 409, 424, or other codes per property.

PROPPATCH is defined in RFC 2518 and updated by RFC 4918. Its availability depends on WebDAV support in the server; not all servers expose all property namespaces, and some deployments limit property manipulation for security or design reasons.