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HTTP file transfer is the exchange of requests and responses that lets a client retrieve a resource’s representation or send content for a server to process. A browser commonly uses GET to request a download; clients may use POST or PUT to submit content, depending on the intended operation and what the server supports.

What HTTP file transfer means

HTTP is an application-level, request/response protocol. A client sends a request to a server, and the server returns a response. The exchange can carry a representation of a resource, but an HTTP resource is not necessarily a file or a path on a server’s filesystem. The protocol describes the interaction; the server’s implementation determines how a resource behaves. See the RFC 9110 HTTP Semantics and MDN’s Overview of HTTP.

For a download, a client requests a resource and may receive its representation in the response. For a submission, the client sends request content for the server to handle. These are HTTP interactions, not a guarantee that every server accepts every operation.

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How GET, POST, and PUT differ

These methods describe different intended operations; they are not interchangeable labels for “download” and “upload.” RFC 9110 defines their semantics:

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Method Defined operation Typical file-related use
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POST Asks the target resource to process the request content. Submitting form data or other content for processing; the resource may create or append data as part of its behavior.
PUT Asks the server to replace the target resource’s current representations with the request content. Submitting content when the intended operation is replacement.

Neither POST nor PUT guarantees that a file will be created: the server may reject a request, and the result depends on the target resource’s behavior. Likewise, a server may not support a method for a particular resource. The method definitions are in RFC 9110.

What happens in a file-transfer exchange

  1. The client identifies the resource. It sends an HTTP request with a method such as GET, POST, or PUT.
  2. The server interprets the request. It considers the method and other request information for the target resource, then applies the behavior implemented for that resource.
  3. The server returns a response. The response includes a status and, where applicable, content containing a resource representation.
  4. For a submission, the client sends request content. The resource handles that content according to the method’s semantics and its own behavior.

HTTP versions and the meaning of “file transfer”

HTTP’s shared method semantics are distinct from the syntax and connection handling used by a particular version. RFC 9110 defines semantics shared across HTTP versions, while RFC 9112 specifies HTTP/1.1 message syntax and connection management. HTTP file transfer therefore does not mean only HTTP/1.1, and different HTTP versions do not necessarily use the same wire format. MDN’s HTTP resources and specifications lists specifications for HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 as well.

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What to remember

  • HTTP transfers resource representations and submitted content through client requests and server responses; it is not limited to filesystem files.
  • GET requests a representation, POST asks a resource to process content, and PUT asks the server to replace the target resource’s current representations.
  • A method’s standard meaning does not tell you whether a particular server enables it for a particular resource.

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