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HTTP Methods Reference API

REAL DATA

The complete current IANA HTTP Method Registry with safe and idempotent flags — filter the list or look up one canonical method token.

Authoritative reference data or standards computation

Base URL
/api/http-methods
Category
Developer Tools
Capabilities
2 routes
Last updated
July 29, 2026
Data source

GET /api/http-methods List and filter registered HTTP methods

Filters compose with AND semantics. With no filters, all registry rows are returned. Zero matches produce an empty list plus a warning.

Live requestRuns against the public API
No key required
GET/api/http-methods?safe=true

Request parameters

Keep only methods whose IANA Safe flag equals this value.

Keep only methods whose IANA Idempotent flag equals this value.

Case-insensitive substring search against the registered method token.

Advanced response options6 options

Limit the number of returned records (1–100). Defaults to all matches.

Return only these fields (comma-separated). Mutually exclusive with 'exclude'.

Return all fields except these (comma-separated).

Response format: json envelope, ndjson (one record per line) or csv.

Pretty-print the JSON response.

Drop the envelope: return the raw array/object without data/meta wrapper.

Response

Example parameters are ready. Send the request to inspect the live response.

Route reference

Code, request parameters, response fields and verified examples
Code samples Ready-to-copy requests in 4 languages
Choose a code sample language 
curl "https://randomapi.dev/api/http-methods?safe=true"
const res = await fetch("https://randomapi.dev/api/http-methods?safe=true");
const { data, meta } = await res.json();
import requests

data = requests.get("https://randomapi.dev/api/http-methods?safe=true").json()["data"]
$json = json_decode(file_get_contents(
  "https://randomapi.dev/api/http-methods?safe=true"
), true);
$data = $json["data"];
Parameters Route-specific request inputs 3
safe boolean

Keep only methods whose IANA Safe flag equals this value.

example: safe=true
idempotent boolean

Keep only methods whose IANA Idempotent flag equals this value.

example: idempotent=false
search string

Case-insensitive substring search against the registered method token.

allowed: ≤ 32
example: search=QUERY
Universal parameters Shared response and formatting options 6
count int

Limit the number of returned records (1–100). Defaults to all matches.

default: all matches
allowed: 1 – 100
example: count=3
fields list

Return only these fields (comma-separated). Mutually exclusive with 'exclude'.

example: fields=method,safe
exclude list

Return all fields except these (comma-separated).

example: exclude=reference
format enum

Response format: json envelope, ndjson (one record per line) or csv.

default: json
allowed: json | ndjson | csv
example: format=csv
pretty boolean

Pretty-print the JSON response.

default: false
example: pretty=true
unwrap boolean

Drop the envelope: return the raw array/object without data/meta wrapper.

default: false
example: unwrap=true
Response schema Fields returned in each record 4
method string

Registered HTTP method token, in its canonical IANA spelling.

example: GET

safe boolean

IANA Safe flag: the method is defined as read-only in its intended semantics.

example: true

idempotent boolean

IANA Idempotent flag: repeating the intended request has the same effect as one request.

example: true

reference string

The defining reference exactly as cited by the IANA registry.

example: [RFC9110, Section 9.3.1]

Documented examples

Build-generated requests and complete responses 3
Methods standardized as safe
GET /api/http-methods?safe=true 
{
  "data": [
    {
      "method": "GET",
      "safe": true,
      "idempotent": true,
      "reference": "[RFC9110, Section 9.3.1]"
    },
    {
      "method": "HEAD",
      "safe": true,
      "idempotent": true,
      "reference": "[RFC9110, Section 9.3.2]"
    },
    {
      "method": "OPTIONS",
      "safe": true,
      "idempotent": true,
      "reference": "[RFC9110, Section 9.3.7]"
    },
    {
      "method": "PRI",
      "safe": true,
      "idempotent": true,
      "reference": "[RFC9113, Section 3.4]"
    },
    {
      "method": "PROPFIND",
      "safe": true,
      "idempotent": true,
      "reference": "[RFC4918, Section 9.1][RFC8144, Section 2.1]"
    },
    {
      "method": "QUERY",
      "safe": true,
      "idempotent": true,
      "reference": "[RFC10008, Section 2]"
    },
    {
      "method": "REPORT",
    …
    "generatedAt": "2026-07-29T08:13:22.000Z"
  }
}
Unsafe but idempotent methods
GET /api/http-methods?safe=false&idempotent=true 
{
  "data": [
    {
      "method": "ACL",
      "safe": false,
      "idempotent": true,
      "reference": "[RFC3744, Section 8.1]"
    },
    {
      "method": "BASELINE-CONTROL",
      "safe": false,
      "idempotent": true,
      "reference": "[RFC3253, Section 12.6]"
    },
    {
      "method": "BIND",
      "safe": false,
      "idempotent": true,
      "reference": "[RFC5842, Section 4]"
    },
    {
      "method": "CHECKIN",
      "safe": false,
      "idempotent": true,
      "reference": "[RFC3253, Section 9.4]"
    },
    {
      "method": "CHECKOUT",
      "safe": false,
      "idempotent": true,
      "reference": "[RFC3253, Section 8.8]"
    },
    {
      "method": "COPY",
      "safe": false,
      "idempotent": true,
      "reference": "[RFC4918, Section 9.8]"
    },
    {
      "method": "DELETE",
    …
    "generatedAt": "2026-07-29T08:13:22.000Z"
  }
}
Find the QUERY method
GET /api/http-methods?search=query 
{
  "data": [
    {
      "method": "QUERY",
      "safe": true,
      "idempotent": true,
      "reference": "[RFC10008, Section 2]"
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    "endpoint": "http-methods",
    "count": 1,
    "params": {
      "search": "query"
    },
    "generatedAt": "2026-07-29T08:13:22.000Z"
  }
}

GET /api/http-methods/lookup Look up one registered HTTP method

Method tokens are matched case-insensitively and echoed in canonical IANA spelling. Unknown tokens return an explicit 404.

Live requestRuns against the public API
No key required
GET/api/http-methods/lookup?method=GET

Request parameters

Registered HTTP method token, case-insensitive (for example GET, query or PROPFIND).

Advanced response options4 options

Return only these fields (comma-separated). Mutually exclusive with 'exclude'.

Return all fields except these (comma-separated).

Pretty-print the JSON response.

Drop the envelope: return the raw array/object without data/meta wrapper.

Response

Example parameters are ready. Send the request to inspect the live response.

Route reference

Code, request parameters, response fields and verified examples
Code samples Ready-to-copy requests in 4 languages
Choose a code sample language 
curl "https://randomapi.dev/api/http-methods/lookup?method=GET"
const res = await fetch("https://randomapi.dev/api/http-methods/lookup?method=GET");
const { data, meta } = await res.json();
import requests

data = requests.get("https://randomapi.dev/api/http-methods/lookup?method=GET").json()["data"]
$json = json_decode(file_get_contents(
  "https://randomapi.dev/api/http-methods/lookup?method=GET"
), true);
$data = $json["data"];
Parameters Route-specific request inputs 1
method string required

Registered HTTP method token, case-insensitive (for example GET, query or PROPFIND).

allowed: 1 – 32
example: method=GET
Universal parameters Shared response and formatting options 4
fields list

Return only these fields (comma-separated). Mutually exclusive with 'exclude'.

example: fields=method,safe
exclude list

Return all fields except these (comma-separated).

example: exclude=reference
pretty boolean

Pretty-print the JSON response.

default: false
example: pretty=true
unwrap boolean

Drop the envelope: return the raw array/object without data/meta wrapper.

default: false
example: unwrap=true
Response schema Fields returned in each record 4
method string

Registered HTTP method token, in its canonical IANA spelling.

example: GET

safe boolean

IANA Safe flag: the method is defined as read-only in its intended semantics.

example: true

idempotent boolean

IANA Idempotent flag: repeating the intended request has the same effect as one request.

example: true

reference string

The defining reference exactly as cited by the IANA registry.

example: [RFC9110, Section 9.3.1]

Documented examples

Build-generated requests and complete responses 2
Core GET semantics
GET /api/http-methods/lookup?method=GET 
{
  "data": {
    "method": "GET",
    "safe": true,
    "idempotent": true,
    "reference": "[RFC9110, Section 9.3.1]"
  },
  "meta": {
    "endpoint": "http-methods",
    "route": "/lookup",
    "params": {
      "method": "GET"
    },
    "generatedAt": "2026-07-29T08:13:22.000Z"
  }
}
Lowercase QUERY lookup
GET /api/http-methods/lookup?method=query&fields=method,safe,idempotent,reference 
{
  "data": {
    "method": "QUERY",
    "safe": true,
    "idempotent": true,
    "reference": "[RFC10008, Section 2]"
  },
  "meta": {
    "endpoint": "http-methods",
    "route": "/lookup",
    "params": {
      "method": "QUERY"
    },
    "generatedAt": "2026-07-29T08:13:22.000Z"
  }
}

About this API

Coverage, behavior and common use cases

Coverage & behavior

All 41 rows in the current IANA HTTP Method Registry, including core methods, WebDAV extensions, the newer QUERY method and IANA's registered * token.

The safe and idempotent booleans are copied from IANA rather than inferred. They describe the method's standardized semantics: they do not promise that every server implementation is bug-free, and this endpoint deliberately makes no cacheability claims.

  • /api/http-methods filters by safe, idempotent, and a case-insensitive method-name search.
  • /api/http-methods/lookup?method=GET returns one registry row. Lookup is case-insensitive and echoes the canonical uppercase token; unknown methods return 404, never a neighboring row.

The bundled snapshot records IANA's registry update date (2026-06-17), so results require no runtime network request.

Use it for

  • Populate an API client's method picker from the registered vocabulary
  • Check whether a registered method is standardized as safe or idempotent
  • Look up the defining RFC section for an unfamiliar WebDAV method

Frequently asked questions

Practical answers about this endpoint 3
Which HTTP methods are safe?

Filter with safe=true. The result uses IANA's Safe column directly; it includes methods such as GET and HEAD and does not infer behavior from method names.

Is POST idempotent?

The IANA registry marks POST as neither safe nor idempotent. PUT is not safe but is idempotent, which you can verify through lookup or filters.

Does the registry include the HTTP QUERY method?

Yes. The pinned IANA snapshot includes QUERY and cites RFC 10008; /lookup?method=query resolves it case-insensitively.

Standards & references

Primary sources behind the contract

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