How the web talks: an introduction to HTTP

Follow a request from browser to server and learn methods, headers and status codes.

Lesson progress0 / 2

01 / STUDY1 / 2

A web request

A browser acts as a client: it sends a request and receives a response from a server. HTTP defines the structure of this conversation. You only need a browser and its developer tools for this lesson.

Read a request

In HTTP/1.1, the first line identifies the method and path. GET retrieves a resource. Host identifies the destination, while Accept indicates a preferred response format. The example below is a textual request, not a terminal command.

GET /api/lessons HTTP/1.1
Host: example.test
Accept: application/json

Understand the response

200 indicates success, 404 means the resource was not found, and 500 indicates a server error. Content-Type describes the response format, such as HTML or JSON.

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json

{"lessons": ["HTTP", "Python"]}

Enroll for free to practice ↗

02 / YOUR TURN

Learning ping-pong

⌑ Practice unlocks after you mark this section as studied.

LEARNING COPILOT

✦ Your AI learning companion

Ask for a simpler explanation, another example or a hint.

Instructor’s hint

Look at the first request line.

The tutor is available to enrolled students.