DELETE
Removes the target resource. DELETE is idempotent—deleting an already-deleted resource typically returns 404 or 204, same effect.
Properties
- Safe
- No
- Idempotent
- Yes
- Has body
- No
Typical use cases
Removing resources, soft/hard delete
cURL example
curl -X DELETE https://api.example.com/users/1
Typical response
204 No Content (or 200 with deleted resource)
Common status codes
200 OK204 No Content202 Accepted404 Not Found409 Conflict500 Server Error
Comparison with similar methods
DELETE removes; GET retrieves. Both can be idempotent.