Syntax - Tasty Web Development Treats

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1020: Do You Read The Code?

Explore episode Jul 13, 2026
Technology
HTTP QUERY: The First New HTTP Method in 16 Years

1020: Do You Read The Code? · Jul 13, 2026 Technology

GET can't officially have a body. POST feels wrong for read-only queries. HTTP QUERY (RFC 10008) is the first new HTTP method in roughly 16 years, and it's already implemented in Node.js — filling the gap GraphQL has been hacking around forever.

Where this was said

Query: NEW HTTP Method

At 17:08 · chapter starts 16:50

HTTP QUERY (RFC 10008) is the first new HTTP method proposed in roughly 16 years, and CJ Reynolds breaks down exactly why it's needed. The problem is simple: GET requests officially cannot carry a body, so developers cramming complex query parameters into URLs either hit length limits or resort to using POST for read-only operations — exactly what GraphQL does with every single query. QUERY solves this cleanly: it's explicitly idempotent like GET, can carry a JSON or form-URL-encoded body, and signals to the entire stack that this is a data-fetching operation, not a mutation. Node.js has already implemented it in its HTTP module. Hacker News commenters push back that GET-with-body 'already works,' but CJ's counterargument lands: just because it works doesn't mean it's correct, and having an explicit method for something developers do constantly is exactly why specs like this exist. Scott agrees it's additive rather than breaking, and expresses mild enthusiasm for something that feels modern.

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