HTTP 308 Permanent Redirect (Experimental)

Overview

The HTTP 308 Permanent Redirect status code indicates that the requested resource has been permanently moved to a new URL, as indicated by the Location header in the response. Unlike HTTP 301, a 308 redirect does not allow changing the request method from POST to GET.

Purpose

The HTTP 308 response is used to redirect clients to a new URL permanently while ensuring that the method and body of the original request are reused in the redirected request.

Usage

Client Behavior:

Send Request: The client sends an HTTP request to a resource’s original URL.
Receive Response: The client receives the HTTP 308 status code, indicating a permanent redirect to a new URL provided in the Location header.

Server Behavior:

Permanent Redirect: The server determines that the requested resource has been permanently moved to a different URL.
Send Response: The server sends a 308 Permanent Redirect response, providing the new URL in the Location header.

Scenarios

Permanent Resource Relocation: Used when a resource has been permanently moved to a new URL.
Maintaining Request Integrity: Ensuring that the HTTP method and body are not altered during the redirection process.

Sequence Diagram

Illustrating the process for an HTTP 308 response:

sequenceDiagram
    participant Client
    participant Server as Web Server

    Note over Client: Client sends a request
    Client->>Server: POST /original-resource HTTP/1.1
    Note over Server: Server permanently redirects
    Server->>Client: HTTP/1.1 308 Permanent Redirect
    Server->>Client: Location: /new-resource

Curl Request and Response Example

Sending a request using Curl that results in a 308 Permanent Redirect:

curl -i -X POST -d "data=example" http://example.com/original-resource
# Expected response: HTTP/1.1 308 Permanent Redirect
# Location: http://example.com/new-resource

PHP cURL Request and Response Example

PHP script using cURL to handle a 308 Permanent Redirect response:

<?php
$ch = curl_init('http://example.com/original-resource');
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, array('data' => 'example'));
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
$response = curl_exec($ch);
if (curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE) == 308) {
    $newUrl = curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_REDIRECT_URL);
    echo "Permanently redirected to: " . $newUrl;
}
curl_close($ch);
?>

Python Request and Response Example

Python script to send a POST request and handle a 308 Permanent Redirect response:

import requests
response = requests.post('http://example.com/original-resource', data={'data': 'example'})
if response.status_code == 308:
    print("Permanently redirected to:", response.headers['Location'])

Apache Configuration for HTTP 308 Permanent Redirect

Configuring Apache for a permanent redirection:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName example.com
    Redirect permanent /original-resource /new-resource
</VirtualHost>

NGINX Configuration for HTTP 308 Permanent Redirect

Setting up NGINX to handle a 308 Permanent Redirect:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;
    location /original-resource {
        return 308 /new-resource;
    }
}

HTTP 307 Temporary Redirect HTTP 400 Bad Request