What header should accompany a 201 Created response?

RFC 9110 recommends providing a Location header containing the absolute or relative URI where the new resource can be accessed.

Can a GET request return 201 Created?

No. GET requests are safe and idempotent by definition; they should never produce side effects like creating new resources.

How can I verify a 201 response header?

Test your API endpoint using our HTTP Header Checker or run 'curl -i -X POST ' in terminal.

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HTTP Status Code Reference

HTTP 201: Created

Indicates that the request has succeeded and led to the creation of a new resource on the server.

Status Code

201

Classification

2xx Success

Reason Phrase

Created

Specification

RFC 9110, Section 15.3.2

Inspect Live HTTP Headers & Status Codes

Test any URL to verify whether it returns HTTP 201 Created, measure TTFB latency, and trace redirect chains.

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Common Causes & Triggers

A POST request successfully generated a new database record.
An upload endpoint created a new file in object storage.
A batch creation job initialized a new resource.

Troubleshooting & Resolution

Confirm that the Location header accurately reflects the canonical URI of the new entity.
Ensure API documentation specifies the exact payload structure returned alongside 201 Created.
Verify idempotency keys on sensitive creation endpoints to prevent duplicate records.

Search Engine (Googlebot) SEO Impact

Neutral. 201 responses typically occur on authenticated API endpoints that are not indexed by public search engines.

Inspect via Terminal (cURL)

Execute this command to inspect headers and response codes from your terminal:

curl -i -X POST -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '{"name":"test"}' https://api.example.com/items

Frequently Asked Questions

Technical answers and debugging guidelines for HTTP 201 Created.

An API should return 201 Created when a request explicitly creates one or more new server-side resources, whereas 200 OK is used when updating existing resources or retrieving data.