HTTP 201 Created indicates that the request was fulfilled and a new resource was created as a result. The Location header typically contains the URI of the newly created resource. This is the expected response for successful POST requests that create new entities.
Status
201 CreatedExample
POST /blog/posts/42/comments HTTP/1.1
Host: www.example.com
User-Agent: curl/8.6.0
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
Content-Length: 58
name=Alice&comment=Great+post%2C+really+helpful+thank+you%21HTTP/1.1 201 Created
Location: /blog/posts/42#comment-187
Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8
Content-Length: 389
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<title>Comment posted - Example Blog</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Thanks, Alice!</h1>
<p>Your comment has been posted.</p>
<a href="/blog/posts/42">Back to post</a>
</body>
</html>How to Troubleshoot
Check the Location header
The response should include a Location header pointing to the newly created resource.
curl -v -X POST -d '{"name":"test"}' -H 'Content-Type: application/json' https://api.example.com/itemsVerify the resource exists
Send a GET request to the Location URI to confirm the resource was created correctly.
Check for idempotency issues
If repeated POST requests create duplicate resources, the API may need idempotency keys.
Common Causes
Successful resource creation via POST
highAn API endpoint received a valid POST request and created a new record, returning its location.
File upload completed
mediumA file was successfully uploaded and stored on the server.
Related Status Codes
References
| Specification | Section |
|---|---|
| HTTP Semantics | RFC 9110 §15.3.2 |
Frequently Asked Questions
This reference was compiled from official RFCs, protocol specifications, and hands-on troubleshooting experience. AI tools were used primarily for formatting and organizing the content on the page.