HTTP 200 OK vs 204 No Content
Both 200 and 204 indicate success, but 204 explicitly signals that there is no response body. A 200 includes a response body with the result, while a 204 tells the client the action succeeded but there is nothing to send back.
Description
The request succeeded. The meaning depends on the HTTP method: GET returns the resource, POST reports the action result, HEAD returns headers only.
When You See It
The most common HTTP response — indicates the request was processed successfully.
How to Fix
No fix needed. The request succeeded as expected.
Description
The server successfully processed the request but is not returning any content. Common for DELETE operations and form submissions that don't need a response body.
When You See It
After DELETE requests, PUT updates where no body is needed, or CORS preflight responses.
How to Fix
No fix needed. The action was successful; there is simply no content to return.
Key Differences
200 includes a response body — the client should parse and process the returned data.
204 has no response body — the client should not expect any content in the response.
204 is ideal for DELETE operations where no confirmation body is needed.
200 is required when the client needs the result (e.g., fetching data, returning the updated resource).
204 is useful for fire-and-forget operations like toggling a setting or acknowledging a webhook.
When to Use Which
Return 200 when the response includes meaningful content the client needs to process. Return 204 when the operation succeeded but there is nothing to return — common for DELETE, PUT/PATCH operations that do not return the updated resource, or idempotent acknowledgments.