HTTP status code

The HTTP 208 status code stands for "Already Reported". It is a WebDAV-specific response, used to indicate that a resource has already been reported in a previous part of the response and does not need to be listed again.

When is HTTP 208 Used?

• Used in WebDAV's PROPFIND requests, which retrieve properties of multiple resources in a directory.
• Prevents duplicate listing of the same resource in multistatus responses.
• Optimizes responses by avoiding redundant data.

Example Scenario

A WebDAV client requests a list of files, and the server avoids repeating the same resource if it has already been included earlier in the response.

Example

Client Request (Retrieving Directory Information)

  
    PROPFIND /documents/ HTTP/1.1
    Host: example.com
    Depth: infinity

  

Server Response (Avoiding Duplicates)

  
    HTTP/1.1 207 Multi-Status
    Content-Type: application/xml

    <multistatus>
      <response>
        <href>/documents/file1.txt</href>
        <status>HTTP/1.1 200 OK</status>
      </response>
      <response>
        <href>/documents/folder/</href>
        <status>HTTP/1.1 208 Already Reported</status>
      </response>
    </multistatus>

  

Summary

HTTP 208 is used in WebDAV responses to indicate that a resource has already been reported earlier in the response, preventing duplicate entries.