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HTTP 415 Unsupported Media Type: What It Means and When You See It

Quick Answer

HTTP 415 Unsupported Media Type means the server refuses the request because the payload format is not supported. Check the Content-Type header.

Why HTTP 415 Occurs

HTTP 415 Unsupported Media Type means the server refuses the request because the Content-Type header does not match what the endpoint expects. Common causes: sending JSON without Content-Type: application/json, sending form data to an endpoint expecting JSON, uploading an image type the server does not accept, and using the wrong charset. The Accept header in the request and the Content-Type in the response are separate - 415 is about the request body format.

Fixing HTTP 415 Errors

Add the correct Content-Type header: curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"key":"val"}' URL. For file uploads: Content-Type: multipart/form-data (set automatically by browsers). For URL-encoded forms: Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded. If uploading images, check the server's accepted formats (JPEG, PNG, WebP). In Express, the express.json() middleware only parses requests with Content-Type: application/json.

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