HTTP status · 2xx — success
204 No Content
204 No Content means the request succeeded but there is no body to return.
Key facts
| Class | 2xx — success |
|---|---|
| Standard | RFC 9110 §15.3.5 |
| Cacheable by default | Yes |
| Body | Must not be present |
| Typical methods | DELETE, PUT, PATCH |
What 204 means
The server completed the request and deliberately returns no content. It is common after a DELETE, or after an update where the client does not need the new representation. Because there is no body, the response must not include Content-Length with a non-zero value or Transfer-Encoding; a 204 that carries a body confuses clients and proxies.
204 versus 200 with an empty body
Both can express “nothing to return”, but 204 is semantically stronger: it tells caches and clients not to expect content at all. Use 200 when the response is a representation that happens to be empty (for example an empty JSON array), and 204 when the operation itself produces nothing to show.
Frequently asked questions
Can a 204 response have a body?
No. The standard forbids content in a 204 response; clients may ignore it, and intermediaries may treat it as a protocol error.
Is 204 good for a DELETE request?
Yes. It is a common answer when the resource was removed and no further information is needed.