Content and representation

Content-Location HTTP Header

Provides a URI that identifies a location associated with the selected representation.

Applicability

This field applies to both HTTP requests and responses.

Syntax

Content-Location: <URI-reference>

Examples

Content-Location: /documents/report.en.html

Common use cases

  • Identify the URI of a negotiated language or format representation returned for a broader resource.
  • Describe where a created or submitted representation can be referenced when its semantics support that statement.

Common mistakes

  • Treating Content-Location as an automatic redirect equivalent to the Location field on a 3xx response.
  • Emitting a URI that does not actually identify the enclosed representation or leaks an internal storage path.

Security considerations

Values can disclose private identifiers or infrastructure paths and may influence cache interpretation, so they must be generated from public representation semantics.

Detailed guidance

Meaning and behavior

Content-Location provides a URI reference for the particular representation enclosed in a message. That URI can be the effective request URI or a more specific identifier for a negotiated variant. For example, a request to a general document resource might return an English representation and identify /documents/report.en.html as its content location. The field is representation metadata and does not instruct the user agent to navigate anywhere.

Location has different semantics. On many 3xx responses it identifies a redirect target, and on a 201 response it can identify a created resource. Content-Location does not create that behavior merely because its value looks like a URL. It can affect how a recipient interprets representation identity and caching, so a value should be truthful and stable. Relative references resolve according to normal URI rules.

Implementation notes

Emit the field only when the application can state a meaningful representation URI. Keep public URIs separate from filesystem paths, object keys, internal hostnames, and signed storage locations. When content negotiation selects language or format, align Content-Location with Content-Language, Content-Type, Vary, validators, and canonical-link strategy. Test relative resolution through proxies and alternate hosts. Do not use the field in place of a redirect when navigation is intended. Review caches and clients that consume representation metadata, and omit the field rather than publishing a speculative or misleading identifier.

Sources