Do I need a content-type header for HTTP GET requests?

Question

As far as I understood there are two places where to set the content type:

1. The client sets a content type for the body he is sending to the server (e.g. for post)
2. The server sets a content type for the response.

Does this mean I don't have to or should not set a content type for all my get requests (client side). And if I can or should what content type would that be?

Also I read in a few posts that the content type of the client specifies what type of content the client would like to receive. So maybe my point 1 is not right?

Answer 1

According to the RFC 7231 section 3.1.5.5:

A sender that generates a message containing a payload body SHOULD generate a Content-Type header field in that message unless the intended media type of the enclosed representation is unknown to the sender. If a Content-Type header field is not present, the recipient MAY either assume a media type of "application/octet-stream" ([RFC2046], Section 4.5.1) or examine the data to determine its type.

It means that the Content-Type HTTP header should be set only for PUT and POST requests.

Answer 2

Get requests should not have content-type because they do not have request entity (that is, a body)

Answer 3

GET requests can have "Accept" headers, which say which types of content the client understands. The server can then use that to decide which content type to send back.

They're optional though.

http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec14.html#sec14.1

Answer 4

The accepted answer is wrong. The quote is correct, the assertion that PUT and POST must have it is incorrect. There is no requirement that PUT or POST actually have additional content. Nor is there a prohibition against GET actually having content.

The RFCs say exactly what they mean .. IFF your side (client OR origin server) will be sending additional content, beyond the HTTP headers, it SHOULD specify a Content-Type header. But note it is allowable to omit the Content-Type and still include content (say, by using a Content-Length header).

Answer 5

Short answer: Most likely, no you do not need a content-type header for HTTP GET requests. But the specs does not seem to rule out a content-type header for HTTP GET, either.

Supporting materials:

1. "Content-Type" is part of the representation (i.e. payload) metadata. Quoted from RFC 7231 section 3.1:

   3.1. Representation Metadata

   Representation header fields provide metadata about the representation. When a message includes a payload body, the representation header fields describe how to interpret the representation data enclosed in the payload body. ...

   The following header fields convey representation metadata:

   +-------------------+-----------------+
   | Header Field Name | Defined in...   |
   +-------------------+-----------------+
   | Content-Type      | Section 3.1.1.5 |
   | ...               | ...             |
   

   Quoted from RFC 7231 section 3.1.1.5(by the way, the current chosen answer had a typo in the section number):

   The "Content-Type" header field indicates the media type of the associated representation

2. In that sense, a Content-Type header is not really about an HTTP GET request (or a POST or PUT request, for that matter). It is about the payload inside such a whatever request. So, if there will be no payload, there needs no Content-Type. In practice, some implementation went ahead and made that understandable assumption. Quoted from Adam's comment:

   "While ... the spec doesn't say you can't have Content-Type on a GET, .Net seems to enforce it in it's HttpClient. See this SO q&a."

3. However, strictly speaking, the specs itself does not rule out the possibility of HTTP GET contains a payload. Quoted from RFC 7231 section 4.3.1:

   4.3.1 GET

   ...

   A payload within a GET request message has no defined semantics; sending a payload body on a GET request might cause some existing implementations to reject the request.

   So, if your HTTP GET happens to include a payload for whatever reason, a Content-Type header is probably reasonable, too.

Answer 6

The problem with not passing over the content-type on a GET message is that sure the content-type is irrelevant because the server side determines the content anyway. The problem that I have encountered is that there are now a lot of places that set up their webservices to be smart enough to pick up the content-type that you pass and return the response in the 'type' that you request. Eg. we are currently messaging with a place that defaults to JSON, however, they have set their webservice up so that if you pass a content-type of xml they will then return xml rather than their JSON default. Which I think going forward is a great idea