4xx Client Errors
HTTP 415 Unsupported Media Type
The request payload format is not supported by the server for the target resource.
When is 415 used?
- Sending XML to a JSON-only API
- Uploading unsupported file types
How to handle a 415 response
Inspect the request — URL, method, headers, credentials, and body. Retrying the same request unchanged will usually fail again; 429 is the exception, where you should wait for the Retry-After period.
Check the status code a URL returns from the command line:
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}\n" https://example.comHow to return 415 from your server
Node.js (Express)
res.status(415).json({ message: 'Unsupported Media Type' });Python (Flask)
return {"message": "Unsupported Media Type"}, 415Go (net/http)
w.WriteHeader(415)Frequently Asked Questions
What does HTTP 415 mean?
415 Unsupported Media Type: The request payload format is not supported by the server for the target resource.
Is 415 an error?
Yes. 415 is in the 4xx Client Errors class. Client errors: the request is malformed, unauthorized, or targets something that does not exist.