Can a whole HTTP response have status 208?
It should not. 208 is meant only for entries inside a 207 Multi-Status XML body, marking resources already listed earlier in that same response.
HTTP 208 ALREADY REPORTED
WebDAV: members of this binding were already listed earlier in the response. 208 belongs to the 2xx success class and is defined in RFC 5842.
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About HTTP 208
What Does HTTP 208 Already Reported Mean?
WebDAV: members of this binding were already listed earlier in the response. The code is registered with IANA and defined in RFC 5842.
Success: the request was received, understood, and accepted. Every code from 200 to 299 shares that general meaning, so a client that does not recognise 208 must treat it like 200.
When Do You See a 208 Response?
208 Already Reported appears only inside a WebDAV 207 Multi-Status body, never as the status of a whole response. It comes from the binding extension (RFC 5842), where one resource can be reachable through several paths in a collection. When a recursive PROPFIND reaches a member it has already listed, the server reports it as 208 instead of enumerating it again, which prevents duplicate entries and infinite loops through cyclic bindings.
How Do You Handle a 208?
Clients reading a multistatus body should treat a 208 entry as a pointer to information already given earlier in the same response, not as an error. Servers should only emit it when the client opted in with DAV: bind support, and only inside a 207 body. If you see 208 as a top-level status, the server is misbehaving, and the safest client response is to treat it as a generic 2xx.
What Does a 208 Response Look Like?
HTTP/1.1 207 Multi-Status
Content-Type: application/xml; charset=utf-8
(an inner response element carries status 208)208 is not cacheable by default: a browser or CDN stores it only when Cache-Control or Expires explicitly allows it.
To inspect a real one without sending it anywhere:
- Copy the response headers from your browser Network tab, or from
curl -i. - Paste them into the Header decoder to see every header explained.
- Check caching in the Cache lane.
Which Status Codes Are Related to 208?
- 207 Multi-Status: WebDAV: the body holds separate status codes for several resources.
- 508 Loop Detected: WebDAV: an infinite loop was found while processing.
- 200 OK: The request succeeded. The body depends on the method.
Browse every code on the HTTP status codes page.
What Other Lanes Are in the Reference Section?
- HTTP status codes: Every IANA-registered status code, with a page per code.
- MIME types: File extensions to Content-Type, searchable both ways, plus a Content-Type parser.
- HTTP methods: GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE and the rest: safe, idempotent, cacheable.
Elsewhere in 2http: Header decoder, Cookie decoder, Cache-Control decoder, CORS checker, User-agent parser, and all eleven lanes on the 2http home page. Part of the 2suite.io privacy-first ecosystem.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why would a resource be listed twice in WebDAV?
With bindings, the same resource can appear at several paths in a collection tree. 208 lets the server avoid repeating it, or looping forever, during a recursive listing.
Is HTTP 208 an error?
No. 208 is a success response, not an error.
Is a 208 response cacheable by default?
No. Caches store a 208 only when Cache-Control or Expires explicitly allows it.
How Can You Verify That Nothing Leaves This Browser?
You do not have to take our word that your headers stay here. Developer tools show every request a page makes, so you can watch this page work and confirm that nothing is sent. The check takes under a minute.
- Open your browser developer tools with
F12, orCmd+Option+Ion a Mac, and select the Network tab. - Reload the page and let it finish. You will see the page's own files, its web fonts, and one anonymous page-view request. Nothing has been typed yet, so none of them can contain your headers.
- Click the clear icon in the Network tab so that the log is empty.
- Paste real headers into any lane and read the result.
- Look at the Network tab again. It is still empty. For extra proof, turn on offline mode after the page loads and every lane keeps working.
Only two things can add a line to that log, and neither carries your headers. Submitting the feedback form sends the vote and comment you typed. Typing characters in a script the page has not displayed yet, such as Cyrillic or Greek, can make the browser fetch the matching font file, and that request names only the font.
2http never sends a request on your behalf: the request builder writes code for you to run, and the meta inspector reads source you paste instead of fetching a URL. The production site also sends a Content-Security-Policy header that tells your browser to refuse connections to anywhere except this site and the anonymous analytics endpoint.